Ebube Immanuel is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and recording artist. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Ebube Immanuel began her career in music from an early age. She released her first single “I Surrender” and later released “Halleluyah – Jesus is Alive” and “He is Here” in 2019 and 2020 respectively, which brought her to limelight.
Her album, “Unveiled” which was officially released on Friday, the 6th of August 2021 was birth from her personal encounter and experience. Her aim is to propagate the gospel to the ends of the earth through her songs.
Breakout urban inspirational star, Pastor Mike Jr. (PMJ), who is known for hits including “Big” and “I Got It” (currently in Top 20 on R&B charts), has just released his sophomore album, I Got It: Singles Ministry which takes a direct look at relationship issues that both churchgoers and non-churchgoers alike can all identify with.
“I wanted to take a risk with this album…” he says. “There’s a demographic in all of our ministries that goes undervalued and overlooked, and that’s singles. With everybody pursuing ‘relationship goals’ and everybody pursuing the altar, there’s an unsaid narrative that’s being created that ‘to be single is to be a failure…’” He continues, “So I wanted to create some inspirational music that spoke to this demographic letting them know that ‘you’re not alone’ and ‘you can be single and embracing your single season.’” This urban inspirational trap music stands in a category of it’s own and is sure to receive a wide array of critical acclaim.
PMJ was named “New Artist of the Year” in the 2020 Stellar Awards and was named “Artist of the Year” at the 2021 Stellar Awards that aired on BET, and is on the fast track to global visibility. PMJ currently is the winner of 5 total Stellar Awards and is nominated for “Contemporary gospel recorded song of the year” at the 2021 GMA Dove Awards. Aside from the awards, his single “Big” hit over 10 million streams in February 2021 and spent 10 weeks at #1 on Billboard Gospel Airplay. His current leading single, “I Got It” hit #1 on Billboard Gospel Airplay Charts in March 2020 and is currently #18 on Billboard R&B Airplay. Aside from the long standing successes of “Big” and “I Got It”, PMJ released a gospel cover of the Gnarles Barkley hit, “Crazy”, and recreated it as “Amazing” to speak of the “amazing” power of God. He performed it at the Stellar Awards ceremony and released it separately as a single on August 3, 2021 and was Top 3 in sales this week —amazing!
I Got It: Singles Ministry, “Amazing”, “Big”, and “I Got It” are all currently available on all streaming platforms.
With a passion to encourage congregational worship, create resources for churches and draw listeners closer to God, Highlands Worship releases Prayers To The King today (Aug. 13) to digital retail and streaming outlets globally. Along with the 10 songs on the LP, an equal number of beautifully captured, contemplative videos began releasing Aug. 5, with one per week set to release from now through Oct. 8.
CCM Magazine premiered the first video, “Control,” while NewReleaseToday.com premiered “You Can Do All Things” yesterday (Aug. 12). Next week, WorshipLeader.com will feature “Into The Water” followed by Praise.com revealing “You’re Coming (Pray)” Aug. 26 and The Christian Post highlighting “Let It Fall” Sept. 2. GOD TV, Inspiration.org, Breathecast.com and JesusFreakHideout.com are set to premiere additional videos in the coming weeks.
Produced and co-written by Highlands Worship’s Chris Griffin and mixed by Chris Greeley (Bethel Music), Prayers To The King has been meticulously crafted to create a peaceful and worshipful environment to encourage and inspire listeners to connect with God in prayer. Nine of the songs were also co-written by legendary Hosanna! Music songwriter Lynn DeShazo.
Uniquely written and recorded for the Pray First app created by Church of the Highlands, one of the largest churches in America, the new music is being shared with the world on the app at no cost. Churches and individuals are invited to download the app for free on their devices via the Apple App or Google Play stores. To date, Prayers To The King songs in the app have been played over 100,000 times. Plus, the open-source app is built so that if churches wish, they may reconfigure the app specifically for their congregations.
“Our prayer is that the playlist of songs in the app is way more than just music— we hope it helps people encounter God in a real way,” says Griffin.
Prayers To The King and the Pray First app are an extension of Church of the Highlands’ annual 21 Days of Prayer that begins Aug. 8 and invites congregants to pray over their church, communities and nation.
“Pray First is a saying that the people of Church of the Highlands use often to remind us that in every situation we should take our burdens to God,” shares Worship Pastor John Larson, who leads Highlands Worship’s team of 1,000+ members and 70+ full or part-time musicians. “Prayer is our first priority, not our last resort. The Bible says that God sees when each sparrow falls [Matthew 10:29]. So how much more does God love and care for us? Our hope is to pray without ceasing; that every moment of our lives is covered by a faith-filled habit of prayer.”
Fair Trade Services’ Baylor Wilson releases new music with her Joy Comes In The Morning EP. The EP features four tracks, including Wilson’s already released “Jesus Happened” and the title track. You can download/streamJoy Comes In The Morning today.
At 26, Wilson has already lived a lot of life – starring in Season 29 of NBC’s “Survivor,” scoring a country music publishing deal, competitive cheerleading, to name a few – before graduating from college. But, those moments were just a precursor to the life she found when she met Jesus.
Growing up in Dallas, she arrived in Nashville after a chance meeting with Jeff Hanna, lead singer of the legendary rock band The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. It was Hanna who encouraged the then high school senior to pursue her music dreams. Taking his advice, she moved to Nashville to attend Belmont University where she dove into country music and played her songs at every showcase and venue she could.
She was a college sophomore when she appeared on CBS’s hit show “Survivor,” teaming up with her mom to spend 37 grueling days in Nicaragua, where she ended up finishing in fifth place and her mom made the top three. But it was a year after graduation that she walked into an auto body car shop turned church one Sunday with a friend and her life changed forever.
“I walked in and they were worshipping and singing. It was the first time I felt free to really worship. I felt God’s tangible presence fall over me for the first time. I was weeping and weeping, realizing I didn’t want to live the way I was living anymore. I didn’t want to fill my life with things like partying and drinking and dating the wrong people. I felt a profound peace that night. Later, I found out it was because I met the Prince of Peace.”
Nashville-based singer/songwriter Abby Robertson celebrates a milestone with the release of her debut, self-titled, EP. You can stream/downloadAbby Robertson now. Accompanying mech is available for purchase on her official website.
“Y’all, I could cry honestly. These songs were birthed out of some really character building seasons in my life,” Robertson shares on social media. “Literally, every single one of these songs means so much to me. I am excited to see how God uses these songs for His glory.”
Branan Murphy releases his new EP Better King (DREAM Records & Paravel Records) to all digital retail outlets today. The North Carolina native teamed up with producers Eric Ramey, Justin Amundrud, Kyle Williams, TBabz and David Spencer to create his best work yet. Branan started releasing songs from his EP earlier last year when he debuted his first single “I Will Wait” that saw a Billboard Top 10 Hot AC / CHR single from it.
Since, songs like “Good”, “Bored (feat. Byron Juane)”, and his ever #1 Billboard Hot AC / CHR single “This World Is Not My Home” have broken new ground for the artist. Now, with a new bass driven pop single “Better King” and an Afrobeat remix by TBabz that features Oba Reengy, the EP sets the stage for what’s the come with Murphy. Branan shares his heart behind his new EP.
“To be honest, this EP kind of snuck up on us. I was writing songs in the middle of a pandemic, trying to respond to all that was happening in the world and all that was happening in me, and these songs just feel like they fit together. If anything, I think the times we’ve been living in have been a revealer. I have been able to see what’s true about myself in ways that I wouldn’t have otherwise. I see how much being dependent on God is what I was made for, how much joy there is in that dependence, how control is a mirage, how life is best when I just let Jesus be king instead of myself. This whole EP is me remembering who I am and who he is, and how that allows me to have the most freedom and the most joy in this really crazy and challenging world we find ourselves in right now.” – Branan Murphy
Dreamers releases their new EP, Land Of The Living (DREAM Records). A mixture of pop and worship, the sound of Dreamers is fresh, inviting and hopeful. The group have been dropping singles from their new EP since June when their first song “Count On” was released. Produced by Lawrence Davies and Mark Griffiths, the EP was recorded in a live night of worship at Influencers Church in Adelaide, South Australia.
Worship Leader and Youth Pastor Dan Menelaou shares the story behind the title track. “Land of the Living is based on Psalm 27. David was someone who understood depression, anxiety, rejection, abandonment, and disappointment. But in verse 13 he says, “Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living.” This is our prayer for the teenagers in our ministry and for anyone who listens to this EP – that no matter what they are facing they can take courage and know that God is good and His goodness is here during our time on earth, even in the midst of trouble.”
Lakewood Music recently performed their song “Land Of The Living” at their Lakewood Church service in Houston, TX. You can check that out here.
After releasing three successful Christian hip-hop summer playlists, Reach Records, has now released of its fourth, Summer ’21 Playlist. The playlist features 16 new tracks from Reach Records artists: Lecrae, Trip Lee, Tedashii, Wande, Hulvey alongside extended fam Jidenna, BigBreeze, Indie Tribe, Porsha Love, Funky and more.
The Summer ’21 Playlist features new music from Lecrae with“Holupwait” featuring production by Cardec Drums, Wande‘s “Don’t Worry Bout It” (ft Porscha Love), Indie Tribe‘s “Team” (ft. Nobigdyl., Jon Keith, Mogli the IceBerg, and DJ Mykael V), Jude Barclay‘s “High School Never Really Ends”and 116‘s “Moshpit” (ft Jaye Newton, Wande, and Not Klyde). Trip Leemakes his long-anticipate return on “You Got It,” and Tedashii brings “Lights In The City” to the party! “La Fiesta,” a song from the Blue Miracle movie soundtrack featuring Lecrae and Funky reappears on the Summer ’21 mix tape with additional vocals from Redimi2 and Alex Zurdo.
While you’re immersed in Latin rhythms from the “La Fiesta Remix,” the afro-beat rhythm on Lecrae’s “Everyday” featuring Limoblaze and Wondaland artist/Nigerian American singer, Jidenna (“Classic Man”) keeps the party lit! “What Reach Records is aiming to do with the Summer ’21 Playlist, is take music that typically gets overlooked from marginalized ethnic communities so the Hispanic Community, the Black community, the African community. By taking that music and elevating it, we are allowing God to penetrate different spaces and places,” shares Reach Records president and co-founder, Lecrae.
Rising Ghanaian gospel singer and worshipper Jacquelyn Oforiwaa-Amanfo (JOA) has released her much anticipated maiden gospel album “The Love Story”, available now on all digital music platforms.
Jacquelyn in a build-up to the release of this masterpiece held a very successful and well-organized album listening session on August 2, two days before the official release. The listening session was attended by media personalities, bloggers, gospel industry players, ministers of the Gospel, and more.
The Love Story album is a perfect depiction of Spirit-breathed songs carefully written, a project that speaks about the unfailing love of God in its entirety, an unrelenting love of God that is manifested through all and in any circumstance of life.
The 13-track new album is definitely an experience of different sub-genres of gospel music ranging from Afrobeat, contemporary worship, gospel Pop/R&B, Reggae, and Highlife.
Speaking about this project, JOA mentioned the importance of talking about the composite love of God in a way that people can relate to, as each song on the project adds up to the whole journey of the love with God that is still being discovered day by day.
She mentioned that in a quest to follow Christ and be found in him as an individual, she had been through a lot of many challenging moments that clearly revealed other sides of God she wouldn’t have known existed if not for those low moments. Adding that watching the love of God unfold gradually in these times was amazing.
Jacquelyn has already released five solid and beautiful singles from the album, songs we have already enjoyed. Miracle God, Dear God, Aseda ft Nana Amoah, This Love, and the very latest song “Faithful God” ft MOG. As we have tasted of this great gift of God revealed through the songs already released, there is no doubt the expectation for this project is very high.
The Letter Black has released their fourth full-length studio album in The Letter Black, a confident self-titled offering confirming that the band has fully come into their own. This is the band’s first release in partnership with Rockfest Records.
“It’s about confidence, not arrogance,” lead singer Sarah Anthony reflects. “We’re finally comfortable and know who we are. We’ve become better songwriters, we’re settled in the band, and in life in general.”
That confidence became a crucial asset for Sarah and Mark Anthony, the couple who leads The Letter Black. As they found themselves unexpectedly at home throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, they used it as an opportunity to launch into the most collaborative creative process they’ve ever attempted. “I think that’s what makes this the best record, because it was truly Mark and Sarah, in a room, figuring out what’s fun and not trying to worry about what we have to do to appease anyone else,” Mark Anthony remembers.
The result is a blistering set of rock anthems ranging from the empowering “Rise,” to the gut-wrenching suicide prevention centered “Kiss of Death,” to scorching Trevor McNevan collaboration “Born for This.” The band shows off their always riff-ready musical chops through cuts like “Throwing Darts,” the album also showcases experimental moments with an electronic flavor like “Let You Go.” Throughout all of it, confidence is at the core.
“Be strong, and confident,” Sarah concludes as she thinks about the album’s core message. “Put your shoulders up, lift your head up high, take a deep breath and go. Whatever that looks like in your personal life, I hope you have renewed strength, and maybe even a smile on your face.”
