Who Is Kirk Franklin?

Written by Duncan Friday, 11 December 2009

Kirk Franklin is one of the brightest stars in the gospel music scene. His first album, Kirk Franklin and Family, was released in 1993 and it reportedly sold more than one million copies.

Kirk Franklin, as he is fondly called by his admirers, spent about two years on the gospel charts before he crossed over to the R&B charts.

This acclaim was instrumental in infusing Godly messages into popular culture.

Kirk Franklin’s release into the contemporary gospel music sphere was a literal bolt out of the blue for a genre that was known for its adult following.

He arrested the attention of youths, injecting excitement and passion into a segment of the market that probably felt disillusioned about their religion and its lifestyle demands.

 He was abandoned by his mum and never knew his father. Kirk was raised by his aunt, Gertrude, who sent him to piano lessons when he was four years old.

 By 11, he was already directing the adult choir at Mount Rose Baptist Church. After a brief rebellious period in his teens that ended when he witnessed the accidental shooting of a friend, Kirk returned to his church family and threw himself into writing, arranging and conducting songs.

It was in 1991 that Kirk Franklin began working with a 17-man choir  called, The Family, because he considered the members of the choir his extended family.