Kirk Franklin, Tasha Cobbs, JERUB, and Mercy Chinwo

The gospel star found success right from his 1993 debut, "Kirk Franklin & the Family," becoming the first gospel debut album to be certified Platinum. His album spent 100 weeks in the gospel and R&B charts, finding crossover success with his contemporary sound that incorporates R&B and hip hop elements. This was followed by another first, with "Kirk Franklin & the Family Christmas" becoming the genre's first number one Christmas album. Since these early breakthroughs, Franklin has continued to grow and grow as an artist, becoming one of the biggest stars in gospel music.

Raised by his aunt, Franklin began to develop his musical talents at a young age, taking piano lessons that his aunt afforded through collecting aluminium cans. He was a natural and soon began performing with the Mt. Rose Baptist Church choir. After a brief period of rebellion in his teens, Franklin dedicated himself to music and to his faith.

Backed by his 17-member choir, the Family, comprised of friends from his days spent in the church choir, Franklin has been composing and recording songs since 1991. His huge popularity was displayed following the release of his 1996 album, "Watcha Lookin' 4" which went Gold straight after it was distributed. His 1998 album, "Nu Nation Project," was greeted with wide critical acclaim, topping the Billboard 200 Chart, remaining on the Gospel Chart for 49 weeks.

Coming back in 2002 with "The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin" again topped the Gospel Albums chart and was certified Platinum. Franklin appears to be unable to do any wrong, releasing another four albums to huge success, topping the Gospel Albums Chart and Christian Albums Chart with every release. With seven Grammy Awards under his belt, he is undoubtedly a hugely respected artist. Yet Franklin remains humble and devoted to his faith, still labelling himself as 'just a church boy' as opposed to a superstar musician.

Fred Hammond’s journey to musical acclaim started age 12 when he began singing in his local church choir. In his 20s Hammond joined the gospel and R&B crossover band the Winans playing bass and providing vocals. During his tenure with the Winans, Hammond earned his first taste at recognition, which led the singer to form the gospel group Commissioned along with five other members in 1985.

In addition to Hammond’s powerful and often intense vocal delivery, the group’s music showcased the musician’s production and arranging talents. From 1985 until 1991, Commissioned released seven studio albums including “I’m Going On”, “On The Winning Side”, “Ordinary Just Won’t Do”, and “Number 7”. The gospel singer began releasing music as a solo artist in 1991 with the album “I Am Persuaded” followed by “Deliverance” in 1993. It wasn’t however until 1994 that Hammond broke into the charts with his contribution to the Commissioned album “Matters of the Heart”.

In 1995 the singer and bass player formed the gospel group Radical for Christ, through which Hammond witnessed his greatest commercial and critical success to date. Radical for Christ released four albums from 1995 which consistently were awarded Gold certifications. Notably, the album “Pages of Life: Chapter 1 and 2” went double platinum and won the group two Dove Awards for the singles “Let the Praise Begin” in 1998 and “Power” in 1999.

Hammond continued to release a string of albums into the new millennium including “In Case You Missed It… And Then Some”, the festive-themed “Christmas… Just Remember”, “Somethin ‘Bout Love”, the Grammy-Award winning “Free to Worship”, and “Love Unstoppable” – the latter of which topped the Gospel Albums chart in 2009. The album’s successor “God, Love & Romance” once again topped the Gospel Albums chart and charted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 in 2012. 2013 brought the singer’s eleventh full-length album issued on Verity records, followed one year later by the RCA issued album “I Will Trust”.