Feature

Tye Tribbett Ushers in New Era of Radical Praise

Dance like David Danced

By Indya Warren How do you interview pure energy? Very carefully, I planned. But, it didnt matter. His dynamism reached across the miles, through the phone lines and grabbed me, totally bypassing all reservations and taking me on the most animated, kick-off-your-shoescomfortable, laugh-out-loud, shout hallelujah, rollercoaster-fast 45 minutes of my life. My only consolation was that I am not alone in that experience. Since Tye Tribbett burst onto the gospel music scene with his choir, Greater Anointing in 2004, he has become the ultimate hype man of gospel, a musical super nova that has captured the attention of fans worldwide. Its something I never dreamed of, says Neicy Tribbett, Tyes mom and manager before she brought her son to the phone. Im honored God chose me to birth such a gift to this generation. hes a visionary. On stage he is a dynamo, channeling electricity from the tips of his flying locks to the soles of his Chuck Taylored feet; running, jumping, praising like hes fittin to dance right out of his clothes like David did. And no, its not meds hes trippin off of, he says, its all about the God thang. I will never be caught giving God

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half or a portion; I want to give him all including my energy. What does the scripture say? Bless the Lord oh my soul and ALL that is within me rejoice. Our conversation is liberally spiced with such references to Bible scripture, delivered in booming tones; spit off his tongue like a rappers rhymeor a preachers persuasion. He does the same on stage, interspersing high-octane singing with equally fervent sermonizing so youre not sure whether its Saturday night or Sunday morning. He comes by it honestlyas with his musicgrowing up the son of the pastor and choir director of El Bethel Church of Christ in Camden, New Jersey. Proclaiming the word of God by any means necessary, especially to this generation, is his primary aim, says Tribbett, whose time is spent equally divided between singing and preaching. In every area I feel like the enemy is attempting to pervert the sanctity of this generation, he says. I see this generation as Ezekiel didas dry bones in the valley, he adds. [But] where many would look at the situation and say its hopeless, from Gods point of view, theyre just Wordless. Most of the young people are walking around spiritually dead, morally dead, desensitized but yet, theyre just one Word away from becoming a soldier in the army of the Lord. Tribbett is emphatic, impassioned, convincing. The same way he is as a singer, he is as a preacher, said Andre Taylor, the youth minister and fellow musician at Tribbetts church, Restoring Life International Church in Pikesville, Maryland. He loves the Word of God, Taylor added. Hell sit down and talk about the Word for hours. He is honestly someone who is a great depiction of on fire for God. Listening to a Tye Tribbett & G.A. album is like experiencing the genius of a quirky-mad scientist. Born to a musical familyhis mother was a choir director, his father and uncles played several instruments Tribbett was a music prodigy, sounding out notes on the piano before he could lisp his ABCs. Now he plays five instruments and August/September 2008

has churned out three albums, Life (2004), Victory Live! (2006) and Stand OUT (2008)experiments in pushing the boundaries of the art form that should be Frankenstein-like horrors but manage to be brilliant. Not only have the albums scored big on the music charts, but they have racked in several Stellar

On stage he is a dynamo, channeling electricity from the tips of his flying locks to the soles of his Chuck Taylored feet; running, jumping, praising like hes fittin to dance right out of his clothes like David did.
Awards and Grammy Awards nominations for the New Jerseybased group. Less poet than musician, Tribbett says, his creative process is always driven by the music. For me, its always the music first and if Im feeling that and its touching my soul then the words come kinda easy. The results are albums that are forays into a mishmash of musical genres; along complex syncopations that defy the expected, driving beats that demand a response and nuanced vocals that can get you dancing or usher you into the heavenly sanctuary. Hes worked with all the big names in the industryKirk Franklin, Mary Mary, Donnie McClurkin, Kim Burrell, Hezekiah Walker, Israel Houghton and others. And the aspiring actor said hes working on a musical and plans to do all-classical and all-rock albums. The biggest effect Tye has had is he opened the door to creativity in gospel music, to again say it doesnt all have to look the same, says Taylor, the youth minister and musician. Tribbett says his music defies categorization. I call it kingdom music, because it can have a certain style or lean towards a certain genre but our albums are always so eclectic, Continued on page 22 Mustard Seed 21

Tye Tribbett Ushers in New Era of Radical Praise

Continued from page 21 you dont know what youre going to find on there and thats intentional so we will never be put into a category or disappoint anybody. I want peoples expectations to be, We dont know what to expect. Paradoxically, while Tribbetts music is avant garde and trendy, those head-bopping beats are but vehicles for messages that hail back to an old time gospel that is simple, stark and unequivocal. I try to make it my business to bring exposure, awareness and substance in my songs and I kinda deliberately do it in, quote unquote, hit songs, those songs that people like, he says. Were being wise as serpents in this regardsgive it a hot beat, high energy, but, oh my Lord, you dont even know youre being delivered, youre being healed. Cases in point are Victory, the go-go-inspired anthem from Victory Live! in which he calls Christians out of lesbianism and homosexuality. Or, Stand Out, the militant title track from his latest release, in which he challenges Christians: No time for mixing light, with the darkness/ Be black or be white, no more shades of grey/ Be separated be holy, no matter what you do dont bow/ And if you stand alone, then stand anyhow. They are tough messages to digest, he says, but they are biblical. Theres no in between, theres no not that bad, those three words are not in the Bible, its either black or white, hot or cold and I think because the world is so overwhelmingly chaotic nowI thought it important to draw the line and challenge leaders as well as sheep to draw the line. That challenge, and the songs that embody those messages, were not meant to condemn but to offer encouragement and to be soundtracks to a lifestyle of faith, he says. But some people have not taken it that way, and the rigid stance has not left them unscathed. Anytime you stand, those that are not willing to are exposed. The three Hebrew boys stood so that showed that hey, everybody [else] is bowing, he said. We suffer persecution from the mouth murderersand we suffered loss from within the camp--one musician who was not fully submitted fully to playing kingdom music. He wanted to play for Kanye West and for us as well. Hes not sinning at all but I just feel he is assisting others with a message that will encourage that, adds Tribbett, who does not listen to secular music and believes that people should not mix Christian and secular music. The interview staggers at that point. No Alicia Keys? No Jay-Z, Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, no Michael Jackson? Its too much to fathom. Thats not my IV; that does not sustain me, he laughs at my incredulity then challenges, If Jesus was here, would he be listening to secular music? I dont think so. All music is

Tribbett says his group, Greater Anointing, which is comprised of family and friends, has been a lifesaver in many ways. 22 Mustard Seed August/September 2008

seed so when it goes in the ground because we dont see the results today, we think we arent affected or even if we see a little spurt come out the ground we say, Hey, thats just a little thing, its nothing big. But, the more you water it, the more it grows and the stronger it gets. Tye Tribbett says he grew up in a traditional Pentecostal church and strict home where his faith was watered by gospel music only and the scriptures. My advice to him growing up was stay in your Word and stay on your facewe kept him praying, his mom said. The lessons sank deeply, so that even when he was grown and was drawn away to test the waters of indulgence like all of us are, he couldnt get into it. I was never able to indulge in sin; never able to enjoy sin, he says in joke reluctance. I know Paul said when he would do good evil is always present, but when I would do wrong good is always with me. Now, Neicy Tribbett said, Tye has become the priest of their family and of G.A., leading them in Bible study before rehearsals. Our motto is the way of the Lord is not just right, its better, Tribbett, now 31, says. The way of the Lord and gospel and worship and praise is better than clubbing, drinking, sleeping around, smoking and we are witnesses. His music has helped sustain that witness, Tribbett said. When his mother and father divorced and his father re-married and when a band member passed away, it was G.A. that got him through the pain and confusion of it all. When tragedy hit my life it was G.A. that kept me connected to God. I had to still sing, we still had engagements so it became a leash to me, he says. Tribbett strung the choir together in 1996 from a group of friends and family members, including his wife, Shant. Theres a break in the conversation when Shant and their daughters Austyn Tayler, who will turn six in October and Lyncoln Victoria, two, stop by on their way out the door. He excuses himself and kisses them goodbye (the smooches are audible even over the phone). They run my life, he says in mock fatigue, but his love for them is clear. Its a softer, more poignant side of the gospel star, but friends say its common of the guy, who despite stardom has remained very down-to-earth and loving, especially when hes around young people. Says friend Andre Taylor of Tribbetts interaction with the youth at Restoring Life: They love him. Even in gospel music there is a lot of distance between stars and their fans. So when he comes in, [the young people] run up to him expecting Tye Tribbett but he comes as himself; hes just Tye. August/September 2008

Faith at the Polls

reformers in American historywere not only motivated by faith but repeatedly used religious language to argue for their cause. So to say that men and women should not inject their personal morality into public policy debates is a practical absurdity. But, Obama added, while citizens should be free to address religious issues in the public sphere, they had to find a way of reconciling their faith with our modern, pluralistic democracy. Evangelical Jim Wallis picks up the theme in a June 25, 2008, posting on his Gods Politics blog in which he berates Focus on the Familys James Dobson (a leader of the Religious Right) for his criticism of Obamas understanding of Christian faith. The United States is not the Christian theocracy that people like James Dobson seem to think it should be. Political appeals, even if rooted in religious convictions, must be argued on moral grounds which must win the political debate if they are to be implemented. Religious people dont get to win just because they are religious. They, like any other citizens, have to convince their fellow citizens that what they propose is best for the common goodfor all of us, not just for the religious. Wallis, who is among a new breed of progressive evangelicals changing the face of the denomination, also said Dobson and others have been morally irresponsible in their myopic focus on singular issues like abortion in the face of so many glaring social ills like human trafficking, HIV/AIDS, environmental degradation and more. What about the horrible bloody war in Iraq that Dobson apparently supports, or the 30,000 children who die each day globally from poverty and disease that Dobson never mentions, or the genocides in Darfur and other places? Heavenly Agents in an Earthly Kingdom So how do people act on the various questions of faith in a secular, pluralistic society; in a system of government that offers few options? The sad thing about America is that we only have two choices, Trulear said. The two-party system forces you to make compromising choices and to [prioritize among] a plethora of issues because no one candidate is going to be consistent with everything you believe in. One place to start, the theologian said, is to take self out of the equation. Dont just vote your own self-interest; ask the question, To what extent does this policy or this candidate represent the common good? Or like the organizations B.U.I.L.D. (Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development) in Baltimore or WIN (Washington Interfaith Network) in Washington, D.C., religious folk could engage in community-based advocacy around sociopolitical issues. However, because Gods mandates and mans laws are inherently different, there are some heavenly directives that will never translate, Trulear acceded. But that doesnt mean Christians should abdicate their responsibility as voters. I dont avoid marriage simply because my marriage is not going to [be perfect]. I get into it and struggle with it. The same is true of politics. So the government is never going to look like the heavenly government; its never going to be perfectbut I hold it up to a standard and I work at pushing it towards that standard while I have breath.

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