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The Urban Gospel Alliance (UGAI) is a Gospel music industry organization with a focus on the urban market. It is a forum and platform for all facets of urban gospel music. Including Contemporary Gospel, Hip Hop, R&B, Inspirational, Jazz, Neo-Soul, Reggae, Reggaeton, Spoken Word, and Comedy we have become an outlet for all of these styles of music. Because we realize that independent artists and labels have more limitations than major label artists and a greater necessity for a forum of this nature, our focus is on empowering independents. However, we will by no means exclude or alienate our major label brothers and sisters as well as mainstream artists that are putting it down for Christ. UGAI provides opportunities for non-traditional artists, while also offering a breeding ground for discussion and dialogue to gain mutual understanding and respect for the urban artists' ministries. Our mission is to bridge the gap between non-traditional artists and the church; to be a catalyst for acceptance of the urban artists' ministries. UGAI is also a forum for all urban gospel artists to unify. We incorporate education, entertainment, social programs, conferences, retreats, and more to help unify and open doors that are not readily opened for performers of urban gospel music and entertainment. Why UGAI? Do you need exposure? Join UGAI. We utilize a combined mailing list of over 35,000 gospel music lovers, industry professionals and media. Do you want more performance opportunities? Join UGAI. We offer our members a FREE booking referral service. Do you want affordable street promotion throughout the globe? Join UGAI. Our local and international chapters are forming street teams all over the world that can be used to get your information and your news out to the masses. Do you need help creating a professional image from marketing, promotion, distribution, CD packaging, radio servicing to media presentations, publicity, photography, video production, and press kits? Join UGAI. Membership entitles discounts to services from web & graphic design to online promotion, and from press release and media kit creation to magazine ad discounts. Urban Gospel Alliance International, INC. (UGAI), endeavors to empower ministers of the Gospel by developing and creating opportunities, bringing awareness, and strengthening relationships with those in the industry who are movers and shakers. UGAI MISSION STATEMENT: Urban Gospel Alliance International, INC. bridges the gap between the church and the ministers who bring light to the streets. UGAI VISION STATEMENT: Urban Gospel Alliance International, INC. exists to proliferate the liberating, life-saving Good News of God to the Millennium Generation. UGAI empowers all individuals throughout the world whose purpose it is to minister the Gospel through music and entertainment. Our goal is to establish the industry, gain new consumers (souls), and create an environment of camaraderie utilizing Internet, radio, TV, print, publication, conferences, tours, and other media.

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many may wonder what type of content U-ZONE Magazine carries.

U-ZONE is an industry Trade Mag For The Urban Gospel Community and the street voice of the Urban Gospel Alliance.
Targeting radio, ministry heads, promoters and fans, U-ZONE focuses on hip hop, jazz, reggae, urban contemporary and comedy news and events.

Industry Commentary From Jan/Feb/Mar Issue
by Attorney James Walker
(un edited version)

Gospo Centric, Verity, EMI, etc…: A PLEA FOR OUR EXECUTIVES TO SAVE THE ARTISTS AND FOR OUR ARTISTS TO SAVE THE EXECUTIVES

NEW YORK – Over the years, I have written many articles, essays and commentaries on the music industry, legal issues and general entertainment matters.

However, this article, by far, has been one of the toughest articles in recent times for me to write as I see the state of our gospel industry.

As a former news reporter, I covered over 100 homicides and murders, but the recent slayings of many of the jobs of our black executives in the gospel community and overall black music community, leads me to feel like I am witnessing career assassinations of many of my brothers and sisters who helped build this gospel industry the past 15 years.

For those who do not know or have not followed, let's take a look at the last few years at "our" Gospel Industry" and the changes in the leadership as we become a billion-dollar industry and corporate America now wants to come to the fellowship and profit on it.

EMI's Shawn Tate, one of the classiest guys and brilliant marketing minds in the industry, single-handely, helps build the EMI Gospel company to its current success, including great marketing work on Tri-City Singers & Donald Lawrence, Smokey Norful and Darwin Hobbs to name a few.  Tate is gone, shown the door.

Jerry Mannery:  helps build Malaco and a slew of great gospel artists in that family, including Mississippi Mass, Dorothy Norwood, Men of Standard and The Caravans to mention just a tidy few.  Mannery is no longer with the company and reportedly working in Chicago (reportedly he resigned, but after what he built how could a company not offer the house to keep him?)

Vicki Mack-Lataillade, a creative genius, builds arguably the most successful gospel label ever in Gospo Centric bringing us the likes of Kirk Franklin, Tri-ni-tee 3:5:7 and Kurt Carr, to name just a few.  She merges or sells her company to Zomba a year or two ago and today, she is no longer with Gospo Centric (reportedly her contract was not renewed and she has until end of the year to leave the company).

Mickey Carter, a talented lawyer, who worked in the business affairs and publishing offices of Zomba prior to the BMG-Zomba merger.  He's no longer with the company, for whatever reasons.

Alvin Williams, powerful young brother working for Music World/Sony and building their gospel presence.  He's no longer even working on the music label side anymore, but moved on to Gospel Music Channel.  Indeed, a promotion, but the corporate gatekeepers should have kept him in the music industry for his vision and thinking outside of the box.
Monica Coates:  a young, rising star at Verity, who worked on various great albums including Richard Smallwood, Twinkie Clark and Donnie McClurkin's, to name a few, while at Verity, is strangely no longer with the company and no one knows the whole story?

Jackie Patillo introduces us to Israel, Lisa McClendon and Stephen Hurd while heading up A&R at Integrity, but she's now with Zomba.  How could Integrity not create an environment that keeps this diamond in the rough and beautiful Godly being?

Tara Griggs-Magee: aside from Demetrus Stewart, Griggs-Magee is arguably, the most talented of several female executives to be terminated.  There are widespread allegations and rumors that not only was she let go by Sony Urban, but she was escorted out of the building with security and no one has heard anything from her in recent weeks or in terms of her future career steps.

Lastly, Max Siegel:  after helping the label, by any means necessary, build Verity to a gospel powerhouse, he shockingly announces his retirement to go work with the Dale Earnhart race car companies.   Very strange and unexplainable to many.

And, even further, while one of the respected and most talented Gospel Industry execs, Jazzy Jordan leaves then returns to Verity, we are told in a press release, "there will be no President" at this time of Verity?

 And, let's not overlook Ms. Brenda J. Culpepper and her pioneering to bring us the East Coast Mass Choir and early works of Kirk Franklin, John P. Kee and Lucresia Campbell and how the industry has overlooked her talents for years.  She should be running Verity right now. 

Or even Telisa Stinson, who created Men of Standard.

The list goes on-and-on.

All and all, these firings, resignations, terminations, departures or whatever you want to call them, really pain me first as a gospel music lover, but then scare me as it appears our black gospel music may be controlled by corporate giants now who have no connection to the very people who developed the music.

According to Nielsen SoundScan, gospel music album sales experienced a double-digit percent increase in sales.  Even as of July of 2006, nearly 18 million gospel music albums, including those sold on the internet, were purchased by consumers.  The WOW Gospel Projects, Yolanda Adams, Kirk Franklin, Juanita Bynum and Mary Mary, among others put millions of dollars in the corporate bank accounts of these major companies.

So we must wake up and realize that in 5 years, the Gospel music industry could be as big as other genres and make even more billions for the corporations.
It's not 1992 anymore, around the time when Verity first arrived or Gospo Centric was a small garage-like building in Inglewood, California, with a small staff and a few volunteers and PepperCo was a similar operation on the East Coast, both cranking out hits with limited budgets, but unlimited creative talent.

It's the new millennium and "our" industry, that we built with finger-snapping, foot-pounding, hand-clapping and head-bopping grooves is about to slip right out of our hands, if we don't wake up and mobilize ourselves.

In otherwords, like hip-hop, the Gospel Music Industry will become big business and controlled by bean counters and corporate titans who have no idea of The Reason Why We Sing.

Sony will control Verity, Gospo Centric, Sony Urban (if still there), and all of the Zomba gospel companies, a total of nearly 60%-65% of the market share and billboard charts.   In a billion dollar industry, this is very scary for one company to have this much dominance and control and a loss of black executives.

Given all of the moves, first I pray for all of the executives I use above solely for examples of the state of our industry.  But, I secondly challenge the executives who are still able to release the debt of the gospel artists, turn over their masters and do whatever you can to empower the artists before your departure. 

Let the artist move on and get out of this corporate circle that they never planned for when signing with a small Verity Records or Gospo Centric.  None of these artists could have seen these mergers, etc. and the corporate gorilla they now work for and our signed to for 5-7 plus LONG years.

Thirdly, and almost as most importantly, I urge the gospel music community, from Black Gospel Promo, to the leaders of Gospel Industry Roundup, to Gospel Flava to Gospel City, The Stellar Awards, The GMWA, Gospel Today and even the Bobby Jones Retreat staff to organize and call a Summit or meeting to discuss the serious plight of our industry and get a game plan to preserve our jobs, our music and our future.

Our talented executives are being shown the door, or resigning or simply put: no longer in the house to shape, drive and control our music.

It is critical that we unite now and call a private, close-door meeting to discuss the state of our industry and how we can maintain control of our music, the direction of our industry and the overall ministry of gospel music as it goes forth.

In the meantime, me and my team at Walker & Associates, will continue to pray for all of the executives who will spend this Christmas unemployed or in transition as well as pray that our industry unites for the longterm survival of our music. 

Admittingly, as one of the most active lawfirms in the gospel industry, we have had our battles with these labels and executives over the decades, but at the end of the day, most of us were pushing for the preservation, integrity of our music, our artists and our gospel industry and community. 

Look very carefully at what happened in hip-hop: it was a music from the street with DJs and rap artists selling music out of their trunk and maintaining its authenticity and integrity.  Now, it's controlled by corporate honchos who will allow violence, drugs and material glamorization to permeate our black music radio stations and communities.

As a result, our children, instead of hearing Al Greene and Marvin Gaye are given messages of "Get Rich or Die Trying", "I'm A Playa", "It's All About the Benjamins" and "F*** The Police".

If we do not do something now, the risk is that all consciousness could be lost in our Gospel Music and it will merely be controlled by big corporate businesses with no intention of saving souls and Changing Lives or employing people that truly live and believe in The Gospel.

James L. Walker, Jr. is the founder of the Urban Impact Summit and an attorney with the law firm of Walker & Associates, L.L.P.  He has worked with or represented the likes of Bobby Jones, Twinkie Clark, Tramaine Hawkins, James Hall, Donald Lawrence, Hezekiah Walker, Ricky Dillard, Yolanda Adams, Jackie McCullough, Albertina Walker and The Gospel Stellar Awards, among dozens of authors in black music.  He is an author, tv commentator and college professor.  If you have any comments you can email Attorney Walker at: JJWALKER@WALKERANDASSOC.COM or visit www.walkerandassoc.com

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ok.

i really had no intention of doing a blog today (altho ive deprived yall for far too long) but going through my daily deluge of emails today i came across the stellar nominations.

my interest ofcourse went directly to hip hop which is as follows:

Category #23 - Rap/Hip Hop Gospel CD of the Year

·  Da' T.R.U.T.H.; Cross Movement Records Presents... Da' T.R.U.T.H. ; Cross Movement Records

·  Lecrae; Real Talk ; Cross Movement Records

·  DaCapo (Emmanuel O. Edili); Simply DaCapo II:II ; True Life Jazz

·  Various; Future Leaders Outreach Network Presents... Pursue Your Dreams; True Life

Interesting- As the stellars i believe do try to do a better job, its unfortunate that the category only allows for 4 finalist, this listing shows that there are some labels doing they job in gettin they folk nominated. (refer to an older blog on gospel music award shows and nomination processes to see what im talkin bout)

do i agree with this listing? nooooo.
Da T.R.U.TH. is always deserving.
Lecrae while hot, im not sure released during the so called time period for consideration.
Who is DaCappo? ok i have this cd and heard plenty of hype from his guy who really talks tooo much slick hype. (be careful how you brag in your presentations. humbleness can take you far). in other words, i havent bothered to listen yet.
and the other group i havent heard or seen but im willing to bet its not a complete compilation of hip hop, (if any)

anyway now imma have to go listen to decappo and see what he about. maybe ill be surprised.
regardless, as ive said in earlier blogs, yall in that genre need to join sagma and take part in the voting process. dont sit back and complain about this years, or previous years results. its kinda old anyway.

ok. thats my 1 cent. (less a penny cause im not givin yall all of what i really feel)

STAY FOCUSED-STAY BLESSED