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Gerald Scott & Co. fuses disparate musical styles on “Incredible” CD

 
For the last five years, Gerald Scott & Co. has been one of the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia area) metroplex’s top local acts. Now, the dynamic ensemble is poised to become one of the nation’s leading gospel acts. Although, the group has released two successful indie projects in the past, they are stepping up their game with their third CD release, “Incredible” (Habakkuk Music) – in stores now.
 
The bouncy radio single, “Alright,” is reminiscent of a new wave Earth Wind & Fire ’70s jam. 

“We’ve been getting amazing feedback from it,” says Scott in a news release. “It’s very uplifting and encouraging. I like to call it a great song you can roll your windows down and ride to, so people are loving it and I’m just glad about that.” 


Many people are glad, and Scott and company are picking up fans in high places. 
 
“Gerald Scott is a phenomenal songwriter,” says Habakkuk CEO, April Washington Essex. “It’s like he writes from the heart of God. What’s more, he’s got the whole package: anointed ministry, great vocals & arrangements, exciting performance and he’s still young!”  


Scott composed and produced all of the ten songs on the “Incredible” CD that ranges from lush, congregational worship tunes such as “Higher” to the ferocious rock vibe of “No Condemnation.”  In between there are down-home church songs like “God Is Good,” the pop-styled ballad “Back with You” and the exhilarating rhythm of the title tune. Each track shows off not only Scott’s warmly earnest tenor but also the rich harmonies of the company.
 
“We’re going up and down the east coast promoting this CD,” says Scott. “We’re going to be everywhere each weekend – from New York to Orlando, Fla.” 


Follow the group on Twitter @gscottco or go online to http://www.habakkukmusic.com/ .




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Gospel artist Stephen Hurd releases “O That Men Would Worship”

Over the past decade, Stephen Hurd has distinguished himself as one of the leading voices in urban praise and worship music and his songs “Undignified” and “Lead Me to the Rock” are sung at faith gatherings around the globe.


Now, he’s preparing to release his most ambitious project yet, O That Men Would Worship, his sixth CD and the first on his own Hurd The Word recording label. He’s designed the new CD as a tool to inspire men to take on a greater leadership role in church worship services. Recorded live at The First Baptist Church of Glenarden in Upper Marlboro, MD, where Hurd is the minister of music, the collection is available in retail stores this week via a distribution deal with Central South Distribution Inc.


“My goal is to get men and especially men of color to realize that worship is not a feminine sport,” Hurd says in a news release. “In this season, I feel we should come together and lift up a sound that has the power to change families and strengthen communities and help brothers to get a glimpse of what real worship is. I think when men see other men worship it gives them freedom to worship without feeling emasculated.”
 
Joining Hurd for this manly worship experience are Verity Records artist Jason Nelson, Christian pop artist Anthony Evans and Minister Deonte Gray who is a member of the 7 Sons of Soul vocal group. Hurd created an all-male sextet of singers to back certain songs and a coed group called Extol to back the CD as a whole. Aside from co-writing most of the songs, Hurd produced the 15-track set alongside up-and-coming producers Kenny Shelton and Anthony Brown. Celebrated producer Steve Ford, who’s worked with acts ranging from Phyllis Hyman to Richard Smallwood, created the lush string arrangements while the in-demand Phil Lassiter (John P. Kee, Marvin Sapp) delivered the horn arrangements.


“It was the easiest thing I’ve ever done,” Hurd says of the recording. “There was no drama. Everybody was excited to be there and came with the attitude of ‘What can I do to make this impact?’”


Although, Hurd began recording albums in the late 1990s, his first national CD release was 2004’s A Call to Worship (Integrity Music) that featured the Caribbean-styled radio smash, “Undignified.”  The 2006 My Destiny (Integrity Music) CD featured the hit singles “Great Praise (The War Cry)” and “Destiny,” while his 2008 Top 10 Stellar Award winning CD, Times of Refreshing (Integrity Music), featured the radio single, “Amazing.” For more information, visit www.hurdthewordmusic.com. 


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Shirley Murdock to sing at two Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Dedication events this weekend

Shirley Murdock

Legendary soul singer Shirley Murdock (best known for her 1986 gold-selling classic, “As We Lay”), is coming to the nation’s capitol to sing her new radio hit “Dream” (from her forthcoming CD “Live: The Journey”) on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011, at two official Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Dedication events.
The powerhouse vocalist will be backed by The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Dedication Choir at the Pre-Dedication Concert Ceremony (also featuring Patti LaBelle, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Jennifer Holliday, Donnie McClurkin and Mary Mary) taking place 9-11 a.m. EST on the National Mall. Later that day, Murdock will be backed by the “Sing for a King” Community Choir as she performs “Dream” at the Lift Every Voice Gospel Extravaganza taking place 4-6 p.m. EST at the Washington Convention Center. That event features The Sounds of Blackness, Bryan Wilson, Earnest Pugh and the Duke Ellington High School of the Arts Students and Orchestra. The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Dedication Choir was birthed through a partnership of Desho Productions and NEWorks Productions. The Rev. Nolan Williams Jr., music director, assembled a multi-generational, multi-racial group of vocalists that will sing Williams’ composition “I Am The Dream” during the pre-service and “We Shall Overcome” at the unveiling program where President Obama will speak.
Coming to Washington to celebrate Dr. King’s legacy is important to Murdock who vividly recalls the day he was assassinated. “I was almost 11 yrs old,” she said in a news release. “I remember all the adults being absolutely grief stricken, as if a family member had died.  There was a lot of hurt, disbelief and anger after Dr. King died. My Mother was a praying woman, so as she placed her worries into God’s hands, I drew my peace from her peace. I heard him being referred to, as the ‘Moses’ of our time.  Like Moses, he didn’t make it to the promised land, but he let us know he’d been to the mountaintop and that his eyes had seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.” 
Murdock and her husband, Dale DeGroat, wrote her new radio hit “Dream” (#33 on BDS) with Bishop T.D. Jakes. 
“My song is a reminder that God is the giver and the fulfiller of all the dreams He places in our hearts,” she said. “The dream is a glimpse of our future selves being more and doing more. It’s us at our BEST… fulfilling our PURPOSE … to loving one another, serving one another …celebrating and embracing our diversity and uniqueness.”
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Beans-n-Frank creators elevate academic enrichment through catchy hip-hop beats

Teaching with hip-hop isn’t a new idea, but it has never been done as cool as Beans-N-Frank. They are the cartoon kids who rap lessons over hard-hitting hip-hop beats. The lyrics are as catchy and memorable as Sesame Street songs, but the music sounds like tracks from your favorite radio jam. We make music that the entire family can enjoy.
Our creators, Mark Davis and David Washington are veteran teachers with over 22 years of classroom experience between them, and even more experience as hip-hop artists. Davis and Washington are the hosts who join the mascot characters on stage for live performances that involve a lot of rapping, dancing, fact reviews, and “edutainment” at its finest. The combination makes for products and performances that are much more relevant and exciting than what can usually be found amongst children’s entertainers, yet the content reinforces skills that are critical for academic enrichment.
We offer the following services: 
– Live Performances 
– Curriculum Supplements 
– Remediation (for Groups of All Sizes) 
– Song Personalization 
– Gang/Bully Prevention Training 
– Birthday Parties/Special Events 
– Fundraisers
Our recorded music and live presentations reinforce the skills that align with the following Common Core State Standards recognized and adopted by most educational systems in the U.S.:
(Elementary Grades)
•Print concepts 
•Phonological awareness 
•Know number names and the count sequence 
•Count to tell number of objects 
•Compare numbers 
•Understand addition as putting together and adding to, and understand subtraction as taking apart and taking from. 
•Identify and describe shapes 
•Phonics and word recognition 
•Add and subtract within 20 
•Tell and write time 
•Work with time and money 
•Comprehension and collaboration

For more information on Beans-n-Frank, go to  http://www.reverbnation.com/beansnfrank.