What You Need To Know About Your Pregnancy

Kirk Franklin

Biography

Early years

A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Franklin was raised by his great 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 4. Kirk excelled in music, able to read and write music by ear. He received his first contract offer at the age of 7, 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 eleven. Despite his strict religious upbringing, Franklin rebelled in his teenage years, and in an attempt to keep him out of trouble, his great aunt 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.

After the shooting death of a friend, Franklin returned to the church, where he began to direct the choir once again. He also co-founded a gospel group, The Humble Hearts, which recorded one of Franklin’s compositions and got the attention of gospel music legend Milton Bigham. Impressed, Bigham enlisted him to lead the DFW Mass Choir in a recording of Franklin’s song “Every Day with Jesus.” This led to Bigham hiring Franklin, just 20 years old at the time, to lead the choir at the 1990 Gospel Music Workshop of America Convention, a major industry gathering.

Musical career

Kirk Franklin & The Family (early 90′s – 2000)

In 1992, he organized “The Family”, a seventeen-voice choir, formed from neighborhood friends and associates. In 1992, Vicki Mack-Lataillade, the co-founder of fledgling record label GospoCentric, heard one of their demo tapes and was so impressed she immediately signed up Kirk & The Family to a recording contract.

In 1993, the group, now known as “Kirk Franklin & The Family,” released their debut album, Kirk Franklin & The Family. It spent almost two years on the Gospel music charts and charted on the R&B charts, eventually earning platinum sales status. It remained at #1 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart for 42 weeks. It was the first gospel music album to sell over a million units.

Two years later, after releasing a 1994 Christmas album entitled Kirk Franklin & the Family Christmas, the group released Whatcha Lookin’ 4 in 1995. The album was certified 2x platinum and earned Franklin his first Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album.

1997 brought another album, a collaboration with the vocal ensemble God’s Property, aptly named God’s Property from Kirk Franklin’s Nu Nation. The lead single, “Stomp”, featuring Cheryl “Salt” James (of Salt-N-Pepa), was a huge hit, enjoying heavy rotation on MTV and other music channels, and charting at #1 on the R&B Singles Airplay chart for 2 weeks, even making it in to the Top 40. God’s Property from Kirk Franklin’s Nu Nation was #1 on the R&B Albums chart for 5 weeks, #3 on the Pop charts, and would go on to be certified 3x platinum. It also brought Franklin another Grammy for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album, as well as three Grammy nominations.

On November 2, 1998, God’s Property sued Franklin. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that Franklin induced God’s Property founder Linda Searight into signing an “onerous and one-sided” contract with B-Rite Music.

The Nu Nation Project was released in 1998. The first single, an interpretation of the Bill Withers song “Lean on Me” and produced by Franklin and pop producer Dan Shea, controversially featured several mainstream artists, including R. Kelly, Mary J. Blige and Bono of U2. Together with Crystal Lewis, and the Family, “Lean On Me” and the second single “Revolution” (featuring Rodney Jerkins) were considerable hits, and the album contained a version of another Withers song “Gonna Be a Lovely Day”. The Nu Nation Project went on to top the Billboard Contemporary Christian Albums chart for 23 weeks and the Billboard Gospel Albums chart for 49 weeks, and brought Franklin his third Grammy.

In, 2000, The Family filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit for royalties for their work on The Nu Nation Project against Franklin and GospoCentric Records. This saw the end of the “Kirk Franklin & The Family” records, as Kirk went on to become a solo artist, except for his CD Kirk Franklin presents 1NC, which he did in collaboration with 1NC, and was released that same year.

On January 16, 2010 at the 25th Annual Stellar Awards show taping, in Nashville TN, Kirk Franklin & The Family reunited briefly on stage to perform songs made popular by them in the 90s.

As a solo artist (2000 – present)

In 2001, Franklin ventured into new territory, scoring and producing the soundtrack for the film Kingdom Come. The soundtrack featured gospel artists Mary Mary, Crystal Lewis, and 1NC, as well as secular artists Az Yet, Jill Scott, Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men and others. A notable song from the soundtrack was “Thank You” (Kirk Franklin feat Mary Mary).

2002′s The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin topped the Gospel Albums chart for 29 weeks, was #1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and was certified Platinum. The album featured collaborations with Bishop T.D. Jakes, Shirley Caesar, Tobymac, Crystal Lewis, Jaci Velasquez, Papa San, Alvin Slaughter, and Yolanda Adams. This was Kirk’s first major release not to garner him a Grammy Award.

On October 4, 2005 Hero was released in the United States. The album was certified Gold on December 2, 2005 (2005-12-02) and Platinum on December 14, 2006 (2006-12-14) by the Recording Industry Association of America. It made #1 on both the Billboard Top Christian and Top Gospel albums. The first single, “Looking for You”, was a hit, as was the follow-up “Imagine Me”, which made it onto the R&B Charts. In December 2006, Kirk Franklin won two 2007 Grammy Awards for Hero. Additionally, Hero was the 2007 Stellar Awards CD of the Year.

Kirk Franklin’s 10th album, The Fight of My Life, was released in the United States on December 18, 2007 (2007-12-18). The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at #33 with 74,000 copies sold in the first week. It reached #1 on both the Billboard Top Gospel and Top Christian albums charts, and also peaked at #7 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart. The first single, “Declaration (This is It),” was released on October 23, 2007 (2007-10-23) and peaked at #35 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart. The album features guest appearances from Rance Allen, Isaac Carree, tobyMac, Da’ T.R.U.T.H., Doug Williams, and Melvin Williams. The song “Jesus” was released as the album’s second single in 2008 and was sent to Urban AC radio on July 15 2008. In January of 2010 after Haiti had a devastating earthquake Kirk Franklin got lots of gospel artists together to sing the song he wrote,”Are you listening”.

Personal life

On 20 January 1996, Franklin married long-time friend Tammy Collins. When they wed, they each had one child from previous relationships: Kirk’s son Kerrion, born in 1988, and Tammy’s daughter Carrington, born in 1989. As a couple, they have two children: Kennedy, born in 1997, and Caziah, born in 2000. In 2006, Franklin appeared with his wife on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” on the subject of pornography. During the show, entitled “Famous Gospel Singer Admits His Addiction to Porn,” he admitted to struggling with a porn addiction for many years. Kirk stated in the interview that he sought help through Christian counseling and finally became free of the addiction. As of the interview, he had been clean for over seven years.

Discography

Main article: Kirk Franklin discography

Awards

Main article: Kirk Franklin awards

Billboard chart history

Albums

Year

Album

Chart

Peak

1993

Kirk Franklin & the Family

Top Gospel Albums

1

1994

Top Contemporary Christian

1

Top Heatseekers

2

Top R&B Albums

6

Billboard 200

58

1995

Kirk Franklin & the Family Christmas

Top Gospel Albums

1

Top Contemporary Christian

2

Billboard 200

60

1996

Whatcha Lookin’ 4

Top Gospel Albums

1

Top Contemporary Christian

1

Top R&B Albums

3

Billboard 200

23

1997

God’s Property from Kirk Franklin’s Nu Nation

Top Gospel Albums

1

Top R&B Albums

1

Billboard 200

3

1998

The Nu Nation Project

Top Gospel Albums

1

Top Contemporary Christian

1

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums

4

Billboard 200

7

2002

The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin

Top Gospel Albums

1

Top Contemporary Christian

1

Billboard 200

4

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums

4

2005

Hero

Top Gospel Albums

1

Top Contemporary Christian

1

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums

4

Billboard 200

13

2006

Songs For the Storm, Volume I

Top Gospel Albums

1

2007

The Fight of My Life

Top Gospel Albums

1

Top Christian Albums

1

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums

7

Billboard 200

33

Singles

Year

Single

Chart

Peak

1998

“Lean on Me”

Billboard Hot 100

79

1999

“Lean on Me”

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks

26

“Revolution”

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks

59

2005

“Looking for You”

Billboard Hot 100

61

“Looking for You”

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs

5

2006

“Imagine Me”

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs

52

2007

“Declaration (This is It)”

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs

35

2008

“Declaration (This is It)”

Hot Adult R&B Airplay

13

References

^ Kirk Franklin at the Internet Movie Database

^ a b c d “Exodus news”. http://www.exodusnews.com/entertainment/Entertain008.htm. 

^ “Rocknet”. http://www.rockonthenet.com/artists-g/godsproperty_main.htm. 

^ “God’s Property sues Kirk Franklin”. Jet Magazine. 1998-11-02. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_n23_v94/ai_21256447. Retrieved 2007-11-08. 

^ “Free Music: The Nu Nation Project by Kirk Franklin – Rhapsody Online”. http://www.rhapsody.com/kirkfranklin/6807337_thenunationproject. 

^ “God’s Property”. http://www.rockonthenet.com/artists-g/godsproperty_main.htm. 

^ “RIAA”. http://www.riaa.org. 

^ “22nd Annual Stellar Award Winners”. GospelFlava.com. http://www.gospelflava.com/stellar/stellarresults-2007.html. 

^ Walsh, Chris M. (2007-12-27). “Groban, Blige Enjoy Huge Weeks On Album Chart”. Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003689227. 

^ a b c “allmusic (Kirk Frankling – Charts & Awards – Billboard Albums”. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=KIRK. 

^ a b c d “Billboard.com – Artist Chart History – Kirk Franklin”. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=61891&model.vnuAlbumId=1093925. Retrieved 2008-01-14. 

^ “The Secret of His Success”. http://www.christianitytoday.com/mp/9m1/9m1026.html. Retrieved 2008-05-24. 

^ a b “Kirk Franklin won’t hide his past, including the porn”. 2005-12-21. http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/stories/DN-franklin_1221gl.ART0.State.Edition1.b0352a1.html. Retrieved 2008-05-24. 

^ “Porn Epidemic: Kirk’s Recovery”. 2007-11-30. http://www2.oprah.com/tows/slide/200511/20051130/slide_20051130_284_106.jhtml. Retrieved 2007-12-13. 

Additional reading

Franklin, Kirk (1998). Church Boy. Thomas Nelson. ISBN 0849940508. 

Waldron, Clarence (2007-10-29), “Kirk Franklin’s new mission: finding gospel’s next superstar and boosting the music’s appeal”, Jet (Magazine/Journal) 112 (17): 60(5) 

Slagle, Dana (2005-12-26), “Kirk Franklin healed from 20-year addiction; filled with Christmas joy”, Jet (Magazine/Journal) 108 (26): 52(6) 

“Kirk Franklin’s Joyful Noise”, Guideposts, 1997 

External links

Official website

Kirk Franklin music videos on Yahoo! Music

Kirk Franklin at the Internet Movie Database

Kirk Franklin at Allmusic

One Nation Crew at Allmusic

Kirk Franklin at MySpace

Kirk Franklin Channel

v  d  e

Kirk Franklin

Articles and categories

Discography   Awards

North American albums

Kirk Franklin & the Family   Kirk Franklin & the Family Christmas   Whatcha Lookin’ 4   God’s Property from Kirk Franklin’s Nu Nation   The Nu Nation Project   Kirk Franklin presents 1NC   The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin   Season of Remixes   Hero   Songs for the Storm   The Fight of My Life

Notable singles

“Why We Sing”   “Now Behold the Lamb”   “Melodies From Heaven”   “Stomp”   “Lean on Me”   “Gonna Be A Lovely Day”   “Nobody”   “Brighter Day”   “Looking for You”   “Imagine Me”   “Look At Me Now”   “Declaration (This is It)”   “Jesus”   “Help Me Believe”

Other projects

Kingdom Come   The Passion of the Christ: Songs   The Gospel   Portable Sounds

Associated acts

The Family   The Nu Nation   God’s Property   1NC (One Nation Crew)   Myron Butler

Categories: 1970 births | Living people | African American musicians | American Christians | Musicians from Texas | People from Fort Worth, Texas | Interscope Records artists | American gospel singers | Grammy Award winners | Performers of Christian hip hop music | GospoCentric artists
About the Author

I am China Quality Lighting writer, reports some information about hand woven baskets , led flickering candle.

TYT Hour – August 9th, 2010

There are so many beautiful games you can play with your cat. Some tips before you begin: If your cat accidentally hurts you, let them know you disagree with saying, "oh!" or "no!" and stop playing with them for half an hour or more. If done regularly, they learn to be more gentle with you. Do not touch the point at which they are very afraid of an object or you. Choose a couple of sounds for use in some games, and learn that sound means it's time to play This allows you to make false reports threatening and they know they are safe. Choose a word or a sound to let you know when you've finished playing, too, for not calling her hands while you do something else or try to sleep.

A classic game of cat is that they have "mouse hunting lodges." Just run your hand under a blanket and allowed to dissolve at the top.

Most cats do not seem to support a brown paper bag left on shop floor, but if yours needs a little seductive, try scratching your fingers on the back pocket when they are near the opening.

fishing rods to the big toys. All you need is a stick, chain, and some little bauble, sweet in the end, like a knotted handkerchief or a stuffed toy mouse.

Showdown is a game for a chat confrontation, once they know they can trust you. He played better once they know the signal to stop and how to be polite. When they stick to the legs or otherwise in a hunting environment, wave your arms up and down in front of them and control sounds good fun. Do not frighten them and make sure they are not too serious and can be a fun game for both.

Similarly, you can play, "Attention!" Find an object like a ruler or pencil or brush hair. As your legs are the leaves of his sword.

If you want to get fancy, find a small laser pointer and watch your cat go crazy trying to reach the point of light. Do not let them look directly at the laser source, but may mark the point on a wall, or is especially fun if you can sit in a position where you can point the laser from one end of the house to another and from front to back. I am tired, but they will get plenty of exercise!

Cats I love being in the same room with you, and may be expected to return just the other side of closed doors. If a gap under the door, trying to get a pencil or other object and see if the legs are shown at retirement.

Social network users, click for myspace comments such as compliments, cool comments, love, flirty, birthday, holidays, religion, funny, cute, etc. You can also use myspace graphics. If you love Halloween, click Myspace Halloween Graphics to send to your friends and add to your profile.

Happy New Year – ABBA

Looking for a pregnancy calendar or countdown software.. please read??

I am looking for a pregnancy calendar or pregnancy countdown software online that is really detailed on the development of the baby from week to week. I also would like it to give other information like what should I be feeling, etc. I have looked up pregnancy calendars, etc on google, but I haven’t come across anything really good. I want something that will be fun for me to look at each day or each week during my pregnancy! Any ideas???

thanks.

go to whattoexpect.com thats were i registered and they give a week by week of your body, feelings and the babys development it also has a weight gain tracker and journal you can print off and shopping check lists for things like clothes,crib, diapers that kind of thing its great the book is good too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Advent, The Christmas Countdown

Countdown Clock – Pregnancy $22.95 Count down the days, hours, minutes, and seconds to parenthood! The Pregnancy Countdown Clock stands 3″ x 5″ tall, and comes in a beautiful gift box with a long-lasting lithium battery. Once you have reached the exciting day, the clock can also be used to display the current date and time, so it serves as a wonderful memento, as well as a practical gift to be remembered for years to come!…

Baby Countdown Clock $14.95 Count down to any of your special dates, weeks, months or even years! Displays the current time and the time-to-go! Easy to rest to any date…

Russ Baby – PREGNANCY CALENDAR $9.99 This popular best-selling calender lets Mothers-to-be know what to expect when they’re expecting. Each features a 40-week guide to prenatal care and follows baby’s development month-by-month with useful information pertaining to pregnancy….

Help! – It's a struggle every night for my child to bed. This is what we do about it

Life is pretty amazing in the early years. There is a sense of discovery and wonder, and there is the pleasure of playing, watching TV, eating, etc is not surprising that young people do not want to end it. We adults can not wait to sleep, their children, not so much.

So sometimes you have a fight on their hands when you're probably already tired from a long day of work and parenthood. Here are some tips to help their children to go to bed willingly

First, do not drop suddenly. In other words, start preparing for the "termination" your child an hour before bedtime. That means turning off electronics (computers, TV, games, music, etc) and focus only their time together.

In addition, you can even give your child regular updates or "warnings" throughout the course. For example, 45 minutes, 30 minutes and 15 minutes before bedtime, let your son is to come. To reinforce his verbal countdown, you can even use a timer with an audible alarm.

Two, establish a pattern or rhythm for your child tends to tire the same time every night. By following the same schedule in the afternoon and evening, the body of his son will eventually be adapted to this cycle, so that the dream more attractive.

Three things to do every night before bed, which are not negotiable (brush teeth, for example) and certain things that give your child some control (the reading of a story, a drink of water, etc.).

Four, be ready for the inevitable demand. Very often, children ask "more" something to prevent the bed (a story again, even a hug). While there is nothing wrong with giving to demand more, make sure you and your child know that one way over another.

Finally, remember that setting a routine and a change of pace and behavior can take time, so be patient and finally found the battle a thing of the past.

About the Author

Gareth Williams has been an expert in the field of parenting for well over 25 years and is the author of the highly acclaimed ebook ‘Harmony at Home – A Parent’s Companion’. If you’re interested in learning the close guarded secrets of the ‘Whole Child Approach’ which will sky rocket your parenting skills to unparalled success in record time then please visit-http://www.instantparentsuccess.com

Countdown Clock – Pregnancy $22.95 Count down the days, hours, minutes, and seconds to parenthood! The Pregnancy Countdown Clock stands 3″ x 5″ tall, and comes in a beautiful gift box with a long-lasting lithium battery. Once you have reached the exciting day, the clock can also be used to display the current date and time, so it serves as a wonderful memento, as well as a practical gift to be remembered for years to come!…

Baby Countdown Clock $14.95 Count down to any of your special dates, weeks, months or even years! Displays the current time and the time-to-go! Easy to rest to any date…

Mini Baby Countdown Clock (Countdown Clock Mega Mini Kits) $4.62 Here’s just the thing for an excited expectant couple: a miniature digital clock that will count down the time from the moment of conception (if it’s programmed just right!) to the baby’s birth, plus a book of advice for expectant parents on things to do to prepare for the baby’s arrival. The battery-operated clock can be reprogrammed for many uses….

Babysode 6. PREGNANT 32 weeks! Evil Jeff and the Extremely Preggo lady!!

Need a pregnancy count down clock for my boyfriends myspace.?

I wanted to find a small countdown clock or pregnancy calendar for my boyfriends myspace. every one i seen so far is for females. does anybody know any

try google and type pregnancy countdown,
o try this web

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/pregnancy.php

Where I can get one of these followers nice pregnancy?

My family lives thousands of miles away so I have one on my profile MySpace would be great for my family and friends to watch. Perhaps one of those shows to what extent the development of our baby is a week until the date of maturity? Or posters with countdown clock?

Lilypie http://lilypie.com/ picked mine have all kinds of timers for children pregnancy Birthday trying to conceive. They are also super cute, and easy to put on your profile page! Congratulations for your child: D