Encore Gospel Entertainment Magazine

The INTRO

This is the first issue of 2016 and we are so proud to present an exclusive interview with Gospel music legend Kirk Franklin. But, we just don’t stop there, this issue of Encore has some very insightful and inspiring features with Anthony Brown, Jonathan McReynolds, Christon Gray, James Hall, Jonathan Nelson and Micah Stampley. We also have a special Spotlight Artist feature dedicated to our Encore: UnderGround Series. Encore is excited to showcase Jenise La Vonne, Restine Jackson, Anthony Faulkner, Brea Miles and Raquel Roqué Herring.

It is always my desire that someone is blessed by this magazine, it truly is a labor of love. Those who are familiar with Encore might be used to my introductions and if you go back you’ll notice some patterns. One of the most prominent is that every time a issue is ready to come out, something happens to try to hinder or discourage me. If I could be honest I hope this does not always continue to be the case. But, if you are reading this, then you know I’m an overcomer. I thank God for his grace and mercy.

Starting with this issue, Encore and Total Prayze have some big plans this year. What started out as a mere magazine is so much more now, because God has supplied the vision and equipped me to finish the race. I introduce to some and present to others, Encore Gospel Entertainment Magazine.

Under the direction of Founder and President David M. Wallace, Total Prayze Entertainment Group is creating a new path in the Gospel entertainment world through marketing and advertising, multimedia production, event promotion, clothing, etc...

This cutting edge company consists of 3 other divisions:Creative Dimension Studio - Our Multimedia & Graphic Design Studio. For more infovisit http://www.totalprayze.com/creativedimensionTotal Eclipse Productions - Concert/TV/Film Development & Production Studio.For more info visit http://www.totalprayze.com/totaleclipseKingdom Works Software - Christian Software & Application Development.For more info visit http://www.totalprayze.com/kingdomworks

STAFFCreator/Designer: David M. Wallace

Interviewers: Bryan Wallace/David M. Wallace

SPECIAL THANKSWe would like to give special recognition to those who contributed to this issue:

Cover photos credit: Christian Lantry - RCA Inspiration, Jacinda Chen - W&W Public Relations, Grace Tobia - W&W Public Relations, Christine Anderson - RCA Inspiration,

Gwendolyn Quinn - Gwendolyn Quinn Public Relations, Deanna Wallace (my daughter), Jojo Pada - Ignition PR

David M. Wallace

Scripture But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33

Reading

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come (2 Timothy 3:1). Aren’t they here? The same is said to be ever present within the music industry.

With a dire thirst for ministry and evangelism in music, Jenise La Vonne sets the tone for a new era. Blending the sounds of contemporary gospel, and contemporary Christian all while being rooted in the traditional gospel message, Jenise LaVonne’s sound and mission for her music is undeniably EVANGELISTIC, for it seeks to minister to the soul.

Hailing from Norcross, GA by way of East Elmhurst, NY, Jenise was born and raised in church under the Apostolic doctrine and the Pentecostal experience. With parents active in ministry, her father a bishop, and mother a missionary and teacher, the word of God was planted in her soul at an early age. Jenise began singing on the children’s choir at the age of 2 and at the age of 11 she began writing her own songs. From the wise advice of her father, Jenise continued in writing music and included a vocal coach, which helped develop her craft of singing and opened several doors for her to minister through song.

In December of 2010, Jenise toured Europe with J. David Bratton, and the New York State Mass Choir. Given the opportunity to see the world and its desire to be ministered to, the fire burned in Jenise’s heart to produce music that will do just that, minister. Mid 2011, Jenise met and began working with Tarence Farrell of Levite Music, and on June 5, 2015 she released her debut EP The Call, scoring two Rhythm of Gospel Awards and five Radio Alliance Award nominations.

With musical influences ranging from Dorothy Dandridge, and Tina Turner, to Vickie Winans, and John P. Kee, Jenise’s music inspires, uplifts, influences, and most of all ministers to the soul. With powerful vocals and enlightening lyrics there is no doubt that Jenise La Vonne is and will continue to be a trail blazer in the music industry.

Jenise La Vonne is an accomplished blogger who’s writing has been published on several platforms, and is now set to release her first book of poetry entitled Pages/Poems, Reflections, and Lyrics February 2016, and continues to sing, write, and teach the Word of God to the masses.

Vis i t ht tp: / /www.lovejeniselavonne.com

7th Chapter Music is proud to present the highly anticipated sophomore project by Anthony Faulkner titled “Guardian Angel” to 1st quarter 2015. The international artist is a writer, arranger, producer, contemporary singer, director, and actor from Houston, Texas, USA. Anthony has had successful tours on 4 continents. While in East Africa he worked with G-Way, Kambua, Juliani and Cooper Ssali, and was the first American to grace the stage for East Africa’s “GROOVE AWARDS”. The success of his “FAITH TOUR” earned him four top 10 singles. The singles “Faith Remix”, “CLOSER”, “ONE VOICE” and “CONNECTION” are currently blazing on all E. Africa major radio and Television networks. Anthony recorded a live DVD for Uganda’s “Night To Remember” concert series. His experience includes gospel greats Andrae Crouch, OSC of Norway, The Hawkins, and his voice can be heard on projects by Steve Cole, James Fortune, Kambua, and Juliani to name a few.

His first single “Stop Searching” from freshman project “FAITH” reached #1 on Yahoo Launch internet radio worldwide. The new cd includes hits,” One Voice”, “Closer”, “Connection” f/Juliani, “It Starts With you” f/Kambua, and “I Trust You.” Faulkner has toured S. Africa with the prestigious gospel choir “Joyous Celebration” with 5 sold out shows at the Durban Playhouse Theater.

Anthony combines his personal life experiences in his writings to uplift and promote change to the nations. The soulful songbird A’ngela Winbush introduced Anthony to music. Anthony went on to study voice and musical theater at Alexander Hamilton Academy of Music (Los Angeles, CA). His journey brought him to minister on TBN where he received a life changing prophecy given by Prophet Gary Zamora causing an immediate transformation.

Faulkner has consistent credits to his name. Anthony’s voice can be heard on projects by MTV, Radio Disney, American Dream, Yolanda Adams, and Clifton Davis to name a few. Anthony’s international ministry includes Norway, Arhaus, Denmark, Johannesburg and Durban, S. Africa, Stockholm, Sweden, Ghana, Africa, Lagos, Nigeria, Abuja, Nigeria, Wellingborough, England, London England, and Uganda and Kenya, Africa.

Vis i t ht tp: / /www.afaulkner.com

As it has been for many musical artists - music has been a creative outlet for Brea. “Music was always an escape for me…I was into Hip-Hop and R&B…TLC and Aaliyah were some of my favorite artists” Brea began writing songs around 14 years old, and recalls writing her own soundtracks to movies. Music taught her how to express all the feelings she kept guarded inside.At 16 years old, Brea started getting curious about God, and wrote a poem called “Blood of Christ”. The song talked about the things she had seen Christians doing that weren’t so “Godly”. “A few weeks later, my family got invited to a talent show and I rapped the poem”. Coming in 2nd place in the competition - the judges clearly saw that Brea had talent but were in awe of her lyrical content, noting that her song was mature beyond her years.

Yet God’s purpose for her life becomes evident when her song caught the ear of another talented dancer who invited her to church. Brea responded to the invite and in January of 2007 received Christ as her personal Lord and Savior. “I watched my whole life change…I spent hours reading the bible and I became a better person from the inside out”

With her new-found faith in God, and a hope-filled heart, Brea was on fire and ready to impact her world. No longer rapping for herself or with a hopeless message, she now wrote songs about the one who had transformed her life. “There’s nothing worse than living a hopeless life and believe me I know…my songs are about trying to show people a way out and a different way of living”

Brea has since released her debut album He Reigns and has been hitting stages all over the country offering uninhibited energetic worship and a fresh perspective on the scriptures - all while remaining relevant to today’s culture.

Vis i t ht tp: / /www.alwaysbrea.com

Interv iew by Br yan Wal lace

Encore: "The Glory Album" is your debut on Kirk Franklin’s Fo Yo Soul Recordings/RCA label, what is one thing that you learned from him that stands out?

Christon: It’s funny, the LP is called "The Glory Album" and one of the first things that stuck out with my first conversation with Kirk was the phrase he used, "Glory is fleeting." He said it a couple of times and it stuck with me. I don’t know if it subconsciously led me to title the album, but that has been a big influence on my career. It’s not about me, but about what I represent.

Encore: Talk to us about your transition from anindependent label to a major one?

Christon: About a year ago, I left my last label and started putting out new music independently on SoundCloud. I would tell fans that the first one thousand to download the song can have it. That created a nice buzz effect among my fans and we started getting some offers. Ron Hill, the president of Fo Yo Soul and Kirk Franklin were interested in me, so they flew me down to Atlanta and we had a great time. The conversation was authentic, it felt genuine. Kirk Franklin is an icon, he has done a lot for Christian music and expanded its boundaries. His roots in musicality have gone past the church, but he has still been able to reach the church, so it made perfect sense to sign with him. One thing about working with a major label is that you’re working with a system that’s designed to properly showcase your music. Having the power of RCA and influence of Fo Yo Soul is something I needed for my career. I appreciate record labels and what they do for artists like me.

Encore: You mentioned before that you feel music is changing, how does "The Glory Album" fit into that?

Christon: I’m still trying to figure out how to describe that statement, it’s much more of a feeling than it is an analysis. I just feel people want something that hasn’t been given to them and I feel "The Glory Album" introduces people to an expression that they may not

have been able to experience mainly in the church and music is vulnerable. Aside from that, when is the last time you picked up a Gospel album that had an element of creativity in it. There’s a lot of albums that will come out this year, I don’t want "The Glory Album" to be the greatest album of all time, I want to be a spokesman for people who have no voice. I do things because I believe in them, not to cause controversy. I don’t want to debate, that’s not my personality, but I’m open to questions. I understand music is an expression and I don’t expect everyone to get it. To me glory is a place, it’s the destination of a journey.

Encore: You come from a musical family, how has that shaped your career?

Christon: I have pictures of me playing with my 'Fisher Price Drum Set' when I was a baby. My 3 year old daughter does the same thing and my father is a songwriter. He’s had a choir for 10-15 years and was a choir director for 24 years in a large church in Columbus, Ohio. My mother toured Europe singing for the Queen of England and my little sister has an amazing voice. My brother is the dopest rapper I know. My grandmother is classically trained and her brothers had a jazz band in the 50’s. I’m the middle child who’s a hybrid of everything.

Encore: You have the experience of going from an independent label to a major one. Can you just give some advice to other artists trying to pave their way in this industry?

Christon: I would say be patient, I’ve been doing music for 15 years and I’m just now putting out an album. It takes time, you should collaborate and work with people who aren’t afraid to tell you something is garbage. Be welcoming of criticism, be honest inyour music and what you like. I think everyone’s different but not everyone’s original.

Encore: You are known for redefining contemporary Gospel music, do you feel a responsibility to make sure the message doesn’t get lost behind all the beats and hype?

Kirk: I believe I have that responsibility. I want my music to lead us to be vertical as well as horizontal, but I’m just trying to be pure to me. What I’m doing is pure and original to me and it’s music I enjoy.

Encore: Do you have to craft the message in a way that the younger generation can relate to?

Kirk: The challenge is, “How do you take a message and change it to be relevant to the times?” Do we say Jesus in a way we haven’t said it before to keep people’s attention? Unlike other art forms, Christian music is basically the same message, we’re trying to find different ways to say the same message and that isn’t always easy.

Encore: Excited about the "20 Years In One Night Tour"?

Kirk: I’m really excited, this will be my first solo tour. I’ve never done one before, I don’t believe in wasting people’s money. I’m really trying to share with the people and give them what they came for.

Encore: Many aspiring artists look up to you, can you share some knowledge that could help in their development?

Kirk: I really think it’s important for a Gospel artist to stay pure to themselves. I feel many try to hard to be something they're not, they should pray as much as

they prepare. What is preparing without praying, we can find ourselves with different motives but never really accomplishing the goal.

Encore: You are known for being cutting-edge and having hit contemporary songs, tell us something about your style we may not know?

Kirk: People may not know this, but I like slow songs. All my albums would be slow, sad songs. Slow songs flow more natural for me like my song, "Miracles." That song is very important to me, because I had a lot of fear writing this album and "Miracles" came at a very insecure moment. I arranged the piano and the whole song came, it was a very special moment.

Encore: You work with some of the best artists and singers in the world. If an artist and singer came to you and said "I want to work with Kirk Franklin," what would you tell them you’re looking for?

Kirk: For singers, I want to be able to hear some truth, a little sprinkle of pain and I love a voice that has a little crack in it. I like artists who stay true to themselves. I think that an artists being has to stay full of "ink," meaning the artist has to stay full based on his walk and his relationship with Christ. I would advise artists that you can only put out what’s inside of you, so if it’s not there then your music will reflect it.

Interv iew by David M. Wal lace

KingdomFirst Publications presents

Interview by David M. Wallace

Take a "Praise Break" every day for the latest news in Gospel music entertainment. Based on our magazine, Encore: PraiseBreak is a premier entertainment blog and your daily source for Gospel & Christian music news, movies, TV and much more!

PraiseBreak offers a rich multiplatform experience. Take the Gospel with you everywhere with our iPad editionVisit https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/praisebreak/id605911774

Marrige is tough for everybody and it can be challenging. Even though we are married and one, we have different personalities and desires. Sometimes, I have to die to myself to fulfill my wife's needs and vice versa. Women like to do a "debriefing" after hours when you’re ready to go to

bed. They want to debrief for the day or week and you’re like, "I want to go to bed." But, marriage is a compromise, you never get everything you want all the time and you have to be open to being a blessing to your spouse.

Another thing that helps us is that I don’t overwork. I’m a minister of the Gospel and a worship leader, but that’s not why I was created. When God created Adam, he didn’t create him to preach, there was no sin. We preach today because man sinned. So my first responsibility is not ministry to other people, my first ministry is to my family. Aside from what everybody sees me do on stage, I’m involved in my children’s lives, they go through different changes and emotions. You just can’t leave it to themselves to figure it out, that’s my job. That’s how you keep your family and marriage together. My wife is my help meet, 'help to meet the goals', the desires and vision I have for my family.

God has made me the head of my household, it’s my responsibility to not throw that on my wife to be a single mother even though she’s married. Also I don’t accept every engagement that comes my way, I usually don’t work more than 3 days out of the week. I travel during the weekends, but during the week I’m home. I try to be consistent with that, the only time I’m not consistent is when I’m traveling internationally. But, I try not to do to much of that in one month, so I’m very hands on.

Pictures tell a story and behind every praise there's a story. Moments of hope, healing, and celebration can be captured with the simple press of a button. In going to events my vision is to tell a story with a series of photos that document an event’s experience.

One such event was R.A.W. 2K16, hosted by Dr. Aretha Wilson at the Hilton Hotel in Melville, NY from February 11-14. This extraordinary event featured Pastor Benny Hinn, Prophet Brian Carn, Bishop Jackie McCullough, Bishop George Bloomer, Bishop Rudolph Mckissick, Bishop John Guns & more.

Photos by David M. Wallace

Every Praise has A Story

Every Praise has A Story

Every Praise has A Story

It was an amazing experience and Encore was proud to capture moments that represented R.A.W. 2K16's theme, "Fresh Anointing For The Global Impact."For more info on Dr. Aretha Wilson and the next R.A.W. conference visit www.drarethawilson.com

For more info on our "Authentic Worship Moments: Every Praise Has a Story," series follow me on instagram and share with a friend. https://www.instagram.com/totalprayzemedia

One of things I take away from my time with group therAPy that I want to share with

people, is that I spend as much time working through relationships as I do working through rehearsals. I think it’s important that you cultivate and care about people, not just their voices and what they offer you in ministry. If you invest in people they will follow you, that’s what is important and you can hear it.

Interview by David M. Wallace

I work very hard to make sure group therAPy and I stay on the same page. We don’t always agree on everything, but we’re family. We work through it like family more so than singing together, because I think you can hear it in the harmonies, you can hear it in how we deliver the songs. When you love each other and you’re on one accord it makes a huge difference in your sound.

In our new feature called, "Lyrics & Revelations" we want artists to reveal something unique or an interesting fact that Gospel music fans may not know about them. "Lyrics & Revelations" goal is to dive a little deeper into the artist's style.

Interview by David M. Wallace

I’m more of a songwriter that has a guitar, so the people who inspire me are other songwriters who have guitars, like John Mayer, India Arie and James Taylor. I appreciate the way they make music, compose lyrics and send forth a message even while holding a guitar. I’m not Jonathan Butler, I can’t play like him, he’s amazing, but I like writing music with a guitar.

Jonathan McReynods truly has an unique acoustically driven style. He’s very adept when it comes to balancing vocals with a guitar. What musicians is he inspired by? Does he emulate other guitarists?

Encore: MusiQBoxA premier Gospel & Christian music video platform featuring music videos, interviews, concert performances and more.

Donald Lawrence, taught me less is more. A lot of times you try to add these extra parts to make your song a hit, but what should happen is that the song should evolve but be organic. You should never force anything to be a hit, whatever God has given to you in your heart it should be whatever it is. Don’t try to force it, remember less is more.

http://www.totalprayze.com/musiqbox

Next Issue:Summer 2016

Want More?

For adver t is ing and sponsorship oppor tuni t ies contact us at

[email protected]

The OUTRO

A lot of time and sacrifice was put into this issue. If you were inspired and encouraged by this magazine share it with someone. We are dedicated to spreading the Gospel and helping emerging artists to turn their visions into reality. We will continue to expand and provide an engaging platform for Gospel music fans in this digital age. Gospel music doesn’t have to take a back seat to any other genre, we can use our creativity and innovation to continue to spread our music.

Encore is a lot more than just a magazine. I’m believing God for great things as we continue to expand the magazine into a global brand. We’re developing more multi-media content that will make the Total Prayze and Encore brand a significant Gospel & Christian music production entity.

I want to encourage all our readers take the opportunities they have to connect with like-minded people, there has never been a greater time to celebrate and showcase Gospel music. Till we meet again.

You can stay connected with me onfacebook: https://www.facebook.com/totalprayzeTwitter: @totalprayzeLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/david-m-wallace/17/785/b00 Under the direction of Founder and President David M. Wallace, Total Prayze Entertainment Group is creating a new path in the Gospel entertainment world through marketing and advertising, multimedia production, event promotion, clothing, etc...

This cutting edge company consists of 3 other divisions:Creative Dimension Studio - Our Multimedia & Graphic Design Studio. For more infovisit http://www.totalprayze.com/creativedimensionTotal Eclipse Productions - Concert/TV/Film Development & Production Studio.For more info visit http://www.totalprayze.com/totaleclipseKingdom Works Software - Christian Software & Application Development.For more info visit http://www.totalprayze.com/kingdomworks

David M. Wallace