Gospel singers Kirk Franklin and Fred Hammond turned the latest ‘Verzuz’ Instagram battle into a much-needed healing session amid a painful week.
After the death of George Floyd, Franklin and Hammond — wearing coordinating “I Can’t Breathe” and “I Can’t Breathe Again” statement shirts — went live with their uplifting music Sunday night (May 31) on Verzuz’s official Instagram page
Bishop T.D. Jakes opened the music event with words of hope.
“Darkness everywhere, seemingly everywhere,” he said. “Today we pray for light because we have seen too much darkness, from Trayvon to George Floyd. From 100K people dead from COVID … Lord knows we’ve seen too much darkness.”
Jakes continued, “I don’t know about you but sometimes I feel like that knee is on my back and I can’t breathe. But let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”
Then he led viewers in a prayer: “We pray back the darkness, we pray back the dark clouds … the injustice, the immorality … We pray it back out of our country, out of our world … out of minds, out of every crevice, out of every shadow, we cast you out! …
“Oh God, wherever there is pain, give healing. Wherever there is despair, give hope! The joy is coming in the morning. I can hear the tick-tock on the wall. We are getting closer and closer to the morning. It’ll not be long until joy comes into your heart, our communities, our lives, our homes, our churches. Joy is coming in the morning. And we will breathe again. Amen.”
Before the tracks were played, Franklin said, “It’s been a painful week. It’s been a difficult week. We want to make it a moment of healing for you. We have 42 songs to give to you. We know the pain, we see the pain.”
That impressive song list even included a surprise appearance by Gospel music heavyweights, Marvin Sapp and Tamela Mann. Mann treated the virtual audience to a live, emotional rendition of “Take Me to the King,” with Franklin playing keys.
Franklin’s wife, Tammy also made an appearance during his ‘Melodies From Heaven’ song round, to which the pair danced.
By the end of Sunday night’s ‘Verzuz, while it drew fewer numbers than most of the Verzus battles of the last month (peaking around 277K), the positive responses were overwhelming. Viewers shared that they felt lifted, renewed, and energized.
Some expressed that they felt hopeful for the first time in several days. This Verzuz wasn’t just about music. It was about ministering to the hurting using the tool of music, coupled with moments of inspirational talks, proclamation, and encouragement throughout
Verzuz created by Grammy-winning hip-hop artists, Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, is a new form of entertainment that pits producers, songwriters, and artists against each other in a rap battle style format on Instagram. It is reminiscent of the DJ battles of hip-hop’s early days for the “one gotta go” set.
Swizz Beatz said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Me and Tim’s mission is to bring happiness, to help everybody get past this hard moment because we’re all being affected.”
Article sourced and curated from Billbord.com, vibe.com,
