‘…experiencing and commenting on her new decade of life…’
Briana
Bri Babineaux
Tyscot
From its eponymous title and fist-raising opening track “Confident” to the nine inspirational selections that follow, Bri Babineaux’s latest album finds the gospel singer and songwriter experiencing and commenting on her new decade of life. She mixes personal affirmations of spiritual freedom and moments of vulnerability—a sort of musical therapy—with melodic flourishes of contemporary worship and prayerful declarations of discipleship.
Much has happened in Babineaux’s life in the ten years since her debut album Keys to My Heart (also for Tyscot) brought her to national attention. She got married, had a child, went through a divorce, and experienced other trials that, in one way or another, have influenced her conversational lyrics (she wrote or co-wrote most of the songs on Briana). In other words, the new album gives a glimpse of the artist not as a twenty-something, as Keys to My Heart did, but as a thirty-something, with the new decade’s messy and gritty coating of life. Hence the title Briana vs. Bri.
‘Faithful,’ Bri Babineaux, from Briana
‘Stay Here,’ Bri Babineaux, from Briana
The single “I Will Wait” is the album’s top track. Bri sings this incisive declaration of faith in her most self-assured and high-spirited manner. At the same time, listeners seeking churchier fare will find “Stay Here” and “Faithful”—the album’s second finest selection—falling more naturally into the Sunday morning-style gospel category than some others on the album that favor a Top 40 R&B crossover sensibility in their production and hooky melodies.
‘I Will Wait,’ Bri Babineaux, from Briana
My only quibble is that the brief spoken word section that introduces “Grace” should have been given its own separate track on the album. Otherwise, the radio-sized songs on Briana will resonate most strongly with those in the young adult demographic who, like Bri herself, are searching for their place in a confusing, complex society. –-Robert M. Marovich
Picks: “I Will Wait,” “Faithful”
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‘…representing 40 years of music ministry by the eight-time GRAMMY nominee…’
Throwback: An Evening with John P. Kee, Part 1
John P. Kee Kee Music Group/Tyscot (released October 3, 2025)
“This is old school,” Pastor John P. Kee emphasizes to his audience as he launches into “Colorblind,” the title track of his 1994 album that invites everyone to consider the content of one’s character over the color of one’s skin.
“Colorblind” comes near the midway point of Throwback: An Evening with John P. Kee, Part 1, a vibrant live gospel program filled with favorites representing 40 years of music ministry by the eight-time GRAMMY nominee. Kee puts his heart and soul into the program and appears to relish every minute of the hour-long walk down memory lane.
‘Lily in the Valley’ (Throwback Concert), John P. Kee. The iconic gospel music legend John P. Kee is celebrating over four decades as the undisputed Prince of Gospel with new concert versions of some of his biggest hits, ‘Throwback: An Evening With John P Kee, Pt. 1,’ which includes an earnest remake of his 1993 VIP Mass Choir classic, ‘Lily in the Valley.’ The raw, soul-stirring cut is a feel-good throwback to Kee’s early days. This live video performance (from one of his 2025 concert tour stops) injects the track with fresh vibrancy and firm backing from his New Life church choir.
‘We Made It,’ John P. Kee (written by John P. Kee), featuring Tallie Rogers, from Throwback: An Evening with John P. See Pt. 1
The program opens with a few high energy selections featuring characteristic muscular singing from Kee and his choir and assistance from a robust rhythm section. The set list soon moves to soulful gospel ballads like “We Made It,” featuring Tallie Rogers, and “Lord Help Me to Hold Out,” with Zacardi Cortez. Both appeared originally on the 1997 album Strength, with the New Life Community Choir, and both pay homage to Rev. James Cleveland. They stand among the album’s highlights, which include “Lily in the Valley” from Kee’s 1993 album of the same title with the Victory In Praise (VIP) Music and Arts Seminar Mass Choir. The song’s stomp-clap beat evokes old-time congregational singing. In the fashion of today’s country-soul mashup, a banjo appears briefly in the midst of Kee’s current hit, “Play Yo Tambourine!”
‘Colorblind,’ John P. Kee (written by John P. See), from Throwback: An Evening with John P. See Pt. 1
Other fine features include Crystal Smith and Lejeune Thompson on “Grateful.” “Bless Your Name,” featuring LaDonna Hairston Mole, possesses the New Jack Swing that defined Kee’s choir-based gospel music back in the day.
Throwback will no doubt bring smiles of nostalgia to faces of John P. Kee fans, but it is also an excellent survey of Kee’s catalog for those unfamiliar with his oeuvre—though who exactly that is and calls themselves a gospel fan, I can’t imagine. –-Robert M. Marovich
Picks: “We Made It,” “Lily in the Valley,” “Colorblind”
Chicago-based Bob Marovich launched The Journal of Gospel Music on the tenth anniversary of its predecessor website, The Black Gospel Blog, which he founded July 28, 2004, as the first blog to cover African American gospel music. He is a gospel music historian, author and radio host. Since 2001 he has produced “Gospel Memories,” a show featuring classic gospel, spiritual and jubilee music, as well as interviews with gospel legends. It airs Saturday mornings on Chicago’s WLUW-FM and throughout the week on several Internet and low-power FM radio stations throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Bob’s work has been published in the Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music (Routledge 2005), Encyclopedia of African American Music (Greenwood Publishing 2010), and in the ARSC Journal of the Association of Recorded Sound Collections. Bob recently interviewed gospel giant CeCe Winans for the July 10, 2026 edition of the New York Times.
