1997 brought another album, a collaboration with the vocal ensemble God's Property, aptly named God's Property from Kirk Franklin's Nu Nation. The album was certified 2× platinum and earned Franklin his first Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album. Two years later, after releasing a 1995 Christmas album entitled Kirk Franklin & the Family Christmas, the group released Whatcha Lookin' 4 in 1996. It was only the third gospel music album to sell over a million units after Aretha Franklin's Amazing Grace and BeBe & CeCe Winans' Addictive Love. 1 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart for 42 weeks. It spent almost two years on the gospel music charts and charted on the R&B charts, eventually earning platinum sales status. In 1993, the group, now known as "Kirk Franklin & The Family", released their debut album, Kirk Franklin & The Family. In 1992, Vicki Mack-Lataillade, the co-founder of fledgling GospoCentric Records label, heard one of their demo tapes and was so impressed she immediately signed up Kirk & The Family to a recording contract. In 1992, Franklin organized "The Family", which was a 17-voice choir, formed from neighborhood friends and associates. This led to Biggham hiring Franklin, just 20 years old at the time, to lead the choir at the 1990 Gospel Music Workshop of America Convention, an industry gathering. Impressed, Biggham enlisted him to lead the DFW Mass Choir in a recording of Franklin's song "Every Day with Jesus". He also co-founded a gospel group The Humble Hearts, which recorded one of Franklin's compositions and got the attention of gospel music legend Milton Biggham, musical director of the Georgia Mass Choir. When he was aged 15 he witnessed the death of a friend by shooting, after which Franklin returned to the church, where he again directed the choir.
He continued under her tutelage and ultimately became the pianist for the choir. įranklin studied music with Jewell Kelly and the Singing Chaparrals at Oscar Dean Wyatt High School. He was accepted, but later he had to deal with a girlfriend's pregnancy and his eventual expulsion from school for bad behavior.
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In his teenage years, Franklin rebelled against his strict religious upbringing, and in an attempt to keep him out of trouble, his grandmother arranged an audition for him at a professional youth conservatory associated with a local university. Rose Baptist Church adult choir at 11 years of age. He did join the church choir and became music director of the Mt.
Īt the age of seven, Franklin received his first contract which his aunt turned down. Kirk excelled and was able to read and write music while also playing by ear. Gertrude recycled aluminum cans to raise money for Kirk to take piano lessons from the age of four. A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Franklin was raised by his aunt, Gertrude, having been abandoned as a baby by his mother.
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