RAPPER KJ-52’S BOOK RELEASE COINCIDES WITH 44TH BIRTHDAY
Jun 30, 2019 Artist Updates
| Dove Award Winner Debuts as Author with ‘What Happened Was…’ |
| June 26, 2019 (Springdale, Ark.) – Happy Birthday today to rapper KJ-52! The Dove Award winner is celebrating his 44th birthday by making his debut as an author with the release of “What Happened Was….,” a compilation of stories from his life, or, as KJ-52 puts it, “a testament to what God can do with a misfit.” “Over the 20 years of doing music full time, I’ve accumulated a lot of unique experiences,” KJ-52 says. “My hope and desire with my new book and new album is to share a conversation with you, the audience, about some of my greatest triumphs, joys and failures. ‘What Happened Was…’ is a compilation of true stories from my childhood, music, songs, touring and more. And each story comes with its own soundtrack to help you experience exactly what I was feeling when I was going through that moment.” The book is available in ebook, audiobook and physical format at Amazon and KJ52.com, with a musical companion piece of the same name available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other digital formats. The audiobook version also is available on audible and iTunes and is streaming as a special edition on Spotify and Apple Music. As an exclusive treat, KJ-52’s is offering his original 1994-97 demos to fans on Spotify and Apple Music. For one-stop shopping, all items can be purchased at KJ52.com. Writing and publishing this book has been KJ-52’s dream for many years, he says, a dream that finally took off when KJ-52 asked his longtime friend to share some memories, with one conversation turning into another. “They all seemed to start with the phrase, ‘What happened was….’ I started compiling all of those stories into a journal, every time I’d come up with one, I’d jot it down until I had pages and pages of ‘what happened was…’ type stories,” he says. “This book should feel like a conversation between me and you because that’s literally what it is,” says KJ-52. “It’s not a tell all/gossip book. My only two requirements of any story that I included was: is it positive and does it have a resolution? This book is a testament to what God can do with a misfit.” The music companion piece, an eight-song Christian hip hop/rap musical collaboration, produced by Poetics, features appearances by Xay Hill, Dre Murray, V. Rose and others. KJ-52, who is based in Cape Coral, Florida, is a Guinness world record holder in freestyling and has garnered six Dove Award wins to-date, including taking home honors for song of the year for “Do Yo Thang” and “Never Look Away” and multiple album of the year wins for “Five-Two Television,” “KJ-52 Remixed,” and “It’s Pronounced Five Two.” To learn more about KJ-52, visit KJ52.com, like KJ-52 on Facebook and follow him on Twitter and Instagram. |
HILLSONG UNITED RELEASES “PEOPLE (DELUXE)”
Jun 30, 2019 Artist Updates
Album Featuring Reworked Offerings of Fan Favorites Available Today,
Group Announces New Dates for Widely Popular “People Tour”
LOS ANGELES (June 28, 2019) — Hillsong UNITED announces the release of “People (Deluxe).” Available today, the compilation is an extension of the group’s record-breaking “People” live album and features seven brand new acousticofferings and reworked versions of fan favorites such as “Good Grace,” “Whole Heart (Hold Me Now),” “Another In The Fire,” “Highlands,” “Holy Ground” and “Here’s To The One,” as well as an exclusive radio edit of “Good Grace.”
“As the name suggests, this whole album is for people and we wanted you to be encouraged that these songs can be played in all different forms, not limited to the album setting or arrangements,” says UNITED’s Taya. “So whether it’s for church services or small gatherings, or playing these songs with just an acoustic guitar in your bedroom – wherever you find yourself, we pray these songs would put joy in your heart, courage in your belly, and a big ol’ smile on your face.”
In support of their new music, Hillsong UNITED returned to the United States in April 2019 for the first time in nearly three years for their People Tour. With multiple sold-out shows including LA’s Staples Center, NYC’s Madison Square Garden and D.C.’s The Anthem, the group just announced that it will be expanding their tour with six new dates in September. Presented by Premier Productions, cities added include Jacksonville, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Louisville, Oklahoma City and Bossier City. Tickets for the newly added dates are available now at hillsongunited.com.
“We couldn’t be more excited to be announcing new dates for the People Tour,” shares Hillsong UNITED’s JD. “We have been making music and touring for a while now but something feels different about this tour…it’s hard to put into words what God is doing each night as we have been traveling around this great nation, but it’s clear He is moving in the most powerful way we’ve experienced and we don’t want anyone missing out. Hope you can come and join us!”
Undisputedly one of the genre’s most influential artists in the history of contemporary Christian music, Hillsong UNITED has sold more than 4.7 million albums globally and garnered over 3.1 billion worldwide career streams to date. Their most recent album “People” garnered the group its largest career street week sales to date debuting at No. 1 on HITS Top 50 Chart, No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album, Top Christian/ Gospel Album and Top Current Album charts, and No. 2 on Billboard’s Top 200. The monumental project generated over 8 million streams and over 100K in albums sold within its first week. The group also remains the No. 1 Christian artist on all social media platforms with over 10.8 million fans combined.
For more information, visit www.hillsongunited.com or @hillsongunited on all social platforms.
Newly added Hillsong UNITED People Tour dates:
September 7 – Jacksonville, FL
September 9 – Indianapolis, IN
September 10 – Milwaukee, WI
September 11 – Louisville, KY
September 13— Oklahoma City, OK
September 14— Bossier City, LA
About Hillsong UNITED:
Hillsong UNITED is a multi-award-winning, platinum-selling artist whose chart successes (repeatedly No. 1 on Billboard’s Christian charts and up to No. 2 on Billboard 200) are only bested by the millions of lives they’ve impacted across the globe. Reporting over 50 million people singing from the Hillsong catalogue songs every Sunday, the modest band born from a youth ministry out of Hillsong Church in Australia, touts a reach of over 10.8 million across all major social network platforms to date, including over 2.1 billion minutes garnered from YouTube viewers. Comprised of an evolving, eclectic mix of musicians and songwriters, the band is led by Joel Houston and Taya, names that have become synonymous with Christian radio, dominating airwaves with every new release. Their last four studio albums have each topped the USA Christian chart, with “Zion” and “Empires” charting no. 1 (“Zion” recently also went Gold in the U.S.); “Oceans,” written by Houston and band member Matt Crocker recently went triple platinum in the States, counting 200+ million streams and reigning on top of the Christian songs chart for a record 54 weeks. In studio, on tour or at home, Hillsong UNITED is committed to writing songs that speak truth, create a unique sound and connect people everywhere with God, evident by the success they’ve seen globally. With over 50 countries and six continents visited, Hillsong UNITED continues to sell out arenas and stadiums around the world, including sold-out nights at the Forum, STAPLES Center and The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, The Toyota Center, Oracle Arena, Air Canada Arena, American Airlines Arena (Miami and Dallas), and Red Rocks to scratch the surface. Hillsong UNITED functions from the deep understanding that everything they do is an expression of a really extraordinary God doing what only He can do, through really ordinary people.
INFLUENCE MUSIC REVEALS “RIGHT HERE (HALLELUJAH)”, 4TH SINGLE OFF FORTHCOMING ALBUM REBELS
Jun 30, 2019 Artist Updates
| Watch the music video for “Right Here (Hallelujah)” |
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June 28, 2019 (Los Angeles, CA)– Influence Music has revealed their fourth single off their upcoming record Rebels titled “Right Here (Hallelujah)”. Sung by Whitney Medina, the single is available across all digital platforms with an accompanying music video on YouTube. Rebels is slated to release worldwide on July 19, 2019. ” ‘Right Here (Hallelujah)’ was such a fun song to co-write,” shares Medina. “When we tell God who He is, it activates OUR spirit. ‘Ever-present’ is one of my favorite attributes of God’s and so we wrote about it! He’s never left me, that’s why I sing Hallelujah! His presence is never contingent on circumstance or feelings. It does, however, require us, it requires all of ourselves. Hallelujah is a powerful utterance, it’s more than praise, it is our entirety boasting in God. My hope is that this song brings people to their knees because their only response is boasting in the Lord. And when they sing these words, there’s no question of God’s goodness, because He’s been powerfully present all along. “ “Right Here (Hallelujah)” marks an artist shift for Medina. Expanding on her pop sensibilities “Right Here (Hallelujah)” is a soulful slow jam that evokes pensive reflection on the goodness of God accented by a sprinkling of celestial vocoder effects. |
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Thus far, Influence Music has released four out of ten tracks from the
upcoming album: “Redeemed”, “Honest”, “Over and Over” and now “Right
Here (Hallelujah)”. Rebels is the follow up to worship collective Influence Music’s debut live album Touching Heaven. As a studio concept album with a cinematic companion film, Rebels breaks new ground for Influence Music narratively, sonically and visually while staying true to the core elements that made Touching Heaven
a breakout success: radio-friendly ballads from Melody Noel, Sunday
morning anthems from Matt Gilman, the raw, soulful vocals of Michael
Ketterer and the pop sensibilities of Medina. For more information on Influence Music and Rebels, please visit www.influencemusicofficial.com. |
Best-selling Documentary THE LONG GOODBYE: THE KARA TIPPETTS STORY Launches on Netflix June 23rd
Jun 22, 2019 Artist Updates
| “The impact of her life was huge. I’m blessed to know her.” – Joanna Gaines |
| Los Angeles, CA – THE LONG GOODBYE: The Kara Tippetts Story, a heartfelt story a woman thrust into the national spotlight through a terminal cancer diagnosis, will be available on Netflix Sunday, June 23. The film spent time at the #1 spot on the Amazon Documentaries chart, and remained in the Top 10 for over 6 weeks after it’s release. Kara Tippetts was a pastor’s wife, mother of four young children, and creator of a popular mommy-blog focused on parenting with kindness. Kara already had a loyal following when, at just 38 years old, she began facing and processing a cancer diagnosis on the site. Her blog and subsequent best-selling books became hallowed ground as people around the world were touched by her faith, honesty, and candor. With this incredibly raw documentary, Kara allowed the world to walk with her as she chronicled first what it meant to be a young wife and mother battling a disease, and then ultimately what it meant to live and die with love and dignity. Shot in real-time and featuring Kara’s own vlogs and cell phone videos, this film offers an intimate, vulnerable look into a dying woman’s last days. The film also features Kara’s friends-including Ann Voskamp, Joanna Gaines, Ellie Holcomb, President of Focus on the Family Jim Daly, Dianne Derby from KKTV, and bonus features with Joni Eareckson Tada. During her journey with cancer, Kara wrote and published three books, includin g Just Show Up: The Dance of Walking Through Suffering Together, And It was Beautiful: Celebrating Life in the Midst of the Long Good-Bye and The Hardest Peace: Expecting Grace in the Midst of Life’s Hard, which won the 2015 ECPA Inspirational Book of the Year award. Additionally, Kara was thrust into the spotlight when a letter she penned to Brittany Maynard went viral. In the letter, Kara asked Brittany to reconsider her choice to move to Oregon to participate in an assisted suicide. Kara’s was a gentle, hope-filled message that could only be shared between two young women whose lives would end too soon. Kara’s vulnerability had an incredible impact on tens of thousands of people and grew that community of support in surprising ways. Faith influencers from around the globe began to find ways to assist Kara by sharing her posts, sending personal messages, serving the family’s needs, as well as just becoming her friend. This included filmmakers Jay and Sofia Lyons, who discovered Kara’s story through a facebook note from a friend. The couple simply felt led to do something for her. Sofia states how God led them down a path to create the film by a series of ‘breadcrumbs’, “First, we just wanted to do something special for Kara and her family. This evolved into creating a 7-minute video about her life, which ultimately opened up a conversation about fully documenting her last few months on earth.” THE LONG GOODBYE also showcases footage from a house concert performed by Ellie Holcomb, a new arrangement of one of Kara’s favorite hymns by Selah, and an original song by Travis Cottrell. Additionally, one of the filmmakers, Sofia J., contributes 2 original songs written for the film including “I’ll See You Again.” In association with Freely, THE LONG GOODBYE: The Kara Tippetts Story was created by Jay Lyons Productions and is distributed through Ocean Avenue Entertainment. THE LONG GOODBYE will be available June 23 on Netflix. http://karatippettsdocumentary.com/ About Ocean Avenue Entertainment: Ocean Avenue Entertainment, Inc. is the destination for productions that offer hope to audiences looking for inspiration in entertainment. Ocean Avenue is committed to releasing inspiring and redemptive films and television programming. Its distribution strategy optimizes each release platform to find the widest possible audience theatrically on VOD, DVD and ultimately on streaming sites like Netflix and Amazon Prime. For more information, please visit www.oceanave.tv. About Freely: Freely specializes in projects that touch the human spirit. Freely is building content across all platforms including film, TV, live events, digital media, and has recently launched a talent management division. www.freely.com About Jay Lyons Productions: Jay Lyons Productions is a boutique production company specializing in creating soul-stirring content for television, film, and digital media. JLP has produced for most major networks, including MTV, CBS, TLC, NBC, Spotify, and Discovery. www.jaylyonsproductions.com |
New Devotional Book Inspires Readers to Live Beyond Their Health Issues
Jun 19, 2019 Artist Updates
| A SPOONFUL OF COURAGE FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING: Transforming your Greatest Challenges Into Your Biggest Blessings – Available July 16, 2019 |
| Nacogdoches, TX – Often a medical diagnosis can be life-changing. The unknown can become overwhelming and all consuming. Fear can take over our thinking and rob us of our joy. However, the new book, A SPOONFUL OF COURAGE FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING: Transforming your Greatest Challenges Into Your Biggest Blessings, challenges these concepts by sharing true stories of patients who chose to not be defined by their diagnosis. Written by Dr. Charles Page, A SPOONFUL OF COURAGE will be available July 16, published by Morgan James Faith. Known as “the best guy to know on the worst day of your life,” Dr. Page is a Texas-based surgeon, author, and storyteller. For the past twenty years he has served as a healer for thousands of patients and a confidant for their loved ones. With A SPOONFUL OF COURAGE, Dr. Page has compiled some of the most inspiring stories of his career. As he walked with each extraordinary patient through their medical journey, Dr. Page experienced firsthand their life lessons that made them better, not bitter. Their lives are filled with joy, peace, and fulfillment during life’s most difficult seasons. A SPOONFUL OF COURAGE was written to help those who are in the throes of health issues to know that they are not alone, to respond with faith, to focus on helping others, to experience freedom from worry, and to find courage by hearing the stories of others. “I wanted to write a book that would encourage those who may be facing the biggest challenge of their lives,” explains Dr. Page. “Often people feel alone in their health struggles, so by sharing these true stories of some of my patients over the years, I hope that readers can re-frame their mindset. These patients had a depth of character, determination of spirit, and passion for life that defies human explanation. Their lives can help others realize that their challenges can become their biggest blessings.” A SPOONFUL OF COURAGE FOR THE SICK AND SUFFERING: Transforming your Greatest Challenges Into Your Biggest Blessings by Dr. Charles Page, available now in e-book format, and July 16, 2019 in print. A SPOONFUL OF COURAGE is published by Morgan James Faith. http://charleswpage.com/ |
AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR RANKIN WILBOURNE, COAUTHOR BRIAN GREGOR RELEASE THE CROSS BEFORE ME: REIMAGINING THE WAY TO THE GOOD LIFE
Jun 13, 2019 Artist Updates
AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR RANKIN WILBOURNE, COAUTHOR BRIAN GREGOR RELEASE THE CROSS BEFORE ME: REIMAGINING THE WAY TO THE GOOD LIFE
SEPT. 1 FROM DAVID C COOK
Pastor and award-winning author Rankin Wilbourne and Christian philosopher Brian Gregor, Ph.D. release The Cross Before Me: Reimagining the Way to the Good Life Sept. 1, 2019 from David C Cook. This unique book offers a provocative perspective on God’s design for the cross and explores how the way of the cross is the path to life, happiness and being human.
Drawing on biblical truths, historical writings and modern examples, Wilbourne and Gregor challenge readers to think of the cross not only as the instrument of their eternal salvation, but as the way to a good and beautiful life here and now.
Written for anyone who wonders what the shape of Jesus’ life has to teach about finding the life he promises, The Cross Before Me is meant to help readers reimagine the good life as they learn to embrace the life-giving weakness of the cross as the only path to true fullness and abundance in Christ.
“Finding strength in weakness and victory in surrender is not something that comes naturally to us,” says Wilbourne. “Instead, we’ve come to believe that the path to joy is hard work, success in our endeavors and the favor of God. The call of discipleship, to take up one’s cross and follow the suffering Savior, feels out of date and vague.
“We believe the cross has something to teach us, all of us, about what it means to live a fully human life here and now,” continues Wilbourne. “The cross is God’s wisdom for human flourishing. Not only is the cross an instrument for our salvation, it also sets a pattern for the art of living.”
Gregor adds, “In the ancient world, the cross of Christ was a scandal to Roman, Greek and Jewish minds. It was foolishness to believe that almighty God would reveal himself in such a humble fashion. Part of our burden in this project is to recover this scandal for an audience that has domesticated the cross or reduced it to merely the private place where Jesus died for your personal sins.”
The goal of the book is to make the theology of the cross accessible and practical for a broad audience. Wilbourne and Gregor provide perspective on how the call to Christ’s cross is in fact a call to joy, not just for eternity, but for life today. Filled with useful ideas for how to integrate life and work, reinterpret life’s goals through Jesus’ example and embrace the only outlook on life that will satisfy, The Cross Before Me focuses on the cruciform way, giving readers the opportunity to experience God’s way to the good and beautiful life based on Isaiah 30:21, which says, “This is the way, walk in it.”
About Rankin Wilbourne:
Rankin Wilbourne is senior pastor of Pacific Crossroads Church in Los Angeles, a growing church with multiple locations, which has planted and is planting churches around the city of Los Angeles. With a passion for bringing together great historical theology with modern cultural concerns, he is the author of Union With Christ, winner of the 2017 Christian Book Award for New Author and named one of the top books of 2016 by John Piper’s Desiring God ministry. As a former commercial banker, Wilbourne understands the “gap” between the gospel preached on Sunday and the world people face on Monday, and he’s concerned with drawing connections between what we believe and how we live. Growing up near New Orleans, training at Princeton Theological Seminary and spending time as the Minister of Teaching and Missions at First Presbyterian Church of Chattanooga, Wilbourne now resides with his wife, Morgen, and their three children in Los Angeles.
About Brian Gregor:
Brian Gregor (Ph.D., Boston College) is associate professor of Philosophy and teaches courses in philosophy, philosophy of religion and religious studies at California State University, Dominguez Hills. He is the author of numerous articles and books, including A Philosophical Anthropology of the Cross: the Cruciform Self and just finished a book on Paul Ricoeur’s philosophy of religion, Ricoeur’s Hermeneutics of Religion: Rebirth of the Capable Self. His research concerns the relation between religious faith and human subjectivity. Originally from Canada, Gregor lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Meg, and their two children.
About David C Cook:
David C Cook is a leading nonprofit resource provider serving the global Church with life-transforming, Christ-centered materials. Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with offices in Illinois, Canada and the United Kingdom, David C Cook’s resources are published in over 150 languages and distributed in more than 170 countries. Originally founded in 1875 as a curriculum publisher, today David C Cook publishes numerous bestselling fiction and non-fiction books from a variety of award-winning authors. It is also a leading provider of worship music through its Integrity Music label, which produces over one-third of the top 500 praise and worship songs sung around the world. Additional information can be found at www.davidccook.com.
