Gospel

A gospel is an account describing the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. The most widely known examples are the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John which are included in the New Testament, but the term is also used to refer to apocryphal gospels, non-canonical gospels, Jewish-Christian gospels, and gnostic gospels.

Christianity places a high value on the four canonical gospels, which it considers to be a revelation from God and central to its belief system. Christianity traditionally teaches that the four canonical gospels are an accurate and authoritative representation of the life of Jesus, but many scholars and historians, as well as liberal churches, note that much of that which is contained in the gospels is not historically reliable. This position however, requires a liberal view of Biblical inerrancy. For example, professor of religion Linda Woodhead notes some scholarship reinforces the claim that "the gospels' birth and resurrection narratives can be explained as attempts to fit Jesus’s life into the logic of Jewish expectation". However, New Testament scholar N. T. Wright holds firmly to the historical authenticity of the death and resurrection of Jesus, stating that of the whole Bible, this is the story with the most overwhelming historical evidence.

Mary Mary

Mary Mary is a Grammy Award-winning American contemporary gospel duo, consisting of sisters Erica Atkins-Campbell (born (1972-04-29)April 29, 1972) and Trecina "Tinkins-Campbell (born (1974-05-01)May 1, 1974). The duo are often credited along with Kirk Franklin for broadening the fan base of urban contemporary gospel in the 2000s by introducing elements of soul music, hip hop, funk and jazz. Mary Mary broke onto the music scene with their popular song "Shackles (Praise You)"—which is considered one of the pioneering songs of urban contemporary gospel music. The group's name, as stated in an interview is inspired by the two famous Marys from the Bible; Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, and Mary Magdalene.

Their debut album, Thankful (2000), was certified Platinum. In addition, the duo has released two Gold albums: Incredible (2002) and Mary Mary (2005), both of which have charted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums. They have also received four Grammys, among other awards. In 2011, they released their fifth studio album, Something Big.

Keith Ape

Dongheon Lee, better known by his stage name Keith Ape, is a South Korean trap artist.

His hit single 잊지마 (It G Ma) was released on January 1, 2015. and was picked by Billboard K-Town as #5 on the K-pop 2015 top list of songs.

Musical style and reception

He has been called the "Korean OG Maco", and noted for an exciting concert performance at 2015's SXSW rap showcase, among other performances which included J. Cole, Big Sean, Future, Migos, Rae Sremmurd, and more. His concert at SOB's in 2015 was listed as one of The New York Times top 40 picks, "unrestrained mayhem", and "a clear inheritor of Southern rap rowdiness".

References

Kirk Franklin

Kirk Dewayne Franklin (born January 26, 1970) is an American gospel musician, choir director, and author. He is known for leading urban contemporary gospel choirs such as The Family, God's Property and One Nation Crew (1NC), and has won multiple awards, including seven Grammy Awards.

Early years

A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Franklin was raised by his aunt, Gertrude, having been abandoned as a baby by his mother. Gertrude collected and resold aluminum cans to raise money for Kirk to take piano lessons from the age of four. Kirk excelled in music, being able to read and write music, while also playing by ear.

He received his first contract offer at the age of seven, which his aunt turned down. He joined the church choir and became music director of the Mt. Rose Baptist Church adult choir at the age of twelve.

Despite his strict religious upbringing, Franklin rebelled in his teenage years, 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. He was accepted and, while his life seemed to be on track for a while, the announcement of a girlfriend's pregnancy and his eventual expulsion from school for behavioral problems proved otherwise.

Cristina Mel

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Maria Cristina Mel de Almeida Costa (born March 10, 1964) is a Brazilian devotional/gospel/pop singer-songwriter, Christian minister, teacher and missionary. She made her recording debut in 1990 under the guidance of Bompastor executive Isaias Costa, and performed in gospel and secular media.

Biography

She was born primogenitus from Elmiro Nunes de Almeida and Marli Asmar de Almeida.

At age 16, after her parents' divorce, she was invited by a friend Gopel to attend a church in Rio de Janeiro, an American Christian group, The Continental Singers and Orchestra, under the pretext of practicing English. Mel became a Christian and "saw the bitterness of her life to become a honey". New heart, new life, with forgiveness, restoration, joy and peace. Cristina Mel had born just at that moment – as reported by herself.

After a 20-year career singing gospel and secular music, with national and international performances she has sold over five million copies, with gold in all the burned CDs without the awards have achieved with simple platinum and double platinum. Her musical career has reached both the gospel market in Portuguese (in Brazil and abroad), as the Latin market. Cristina Mel has also produced, with special focus on whole albums, dedicated exclusively to children.