Gospel artist, songwriter and producer Fred Hammond performs at the 11th annual Jazz in the Gardens Music Festival at Sunlife Stadium in Miami, Florida. (Photo: Jazz in the Gardens)
The days of artists looking to ink a record deal and sign with a label are pretty much "a wrap", according to the man referred to as the "Babyface" of gospel. Fred Hammond encourages aspiring gospel artists to make use of the tools available to them in these times -- social media.
Singer, songwriter and producer Hammond, who has served the gospel music industry for more than three decades (his first contract started in 1985) says the whole game has changed.
Hammond, who brought the gospel to Sunlife Stadium at the 11th annual Jazz in the Gardens Music Festival in Miami Gardens, said he himself is wrapping up his last album and making ready to become an independent artist.
"I'm going to sit around, and if one day I get inspired and just want to go make a song with some spoons and some cans, I'm going to do that, and sing about the Lord and put it on iTunes. Social media is king," said Hammond.
"Use social media. The whole game has changed. Don't look for [any] deal. Get on Facebook, sing; YouTube sing; get out there. You know how many people have been discovered singing on social media? The game has changed."
He encourages aspiring artists to use all the social media platforms from Facebook to Snapchat to Instagram. And through their online branding, he said, they should give fans a little of themselves and not just try to sell their music.
"Give them who you are as a person -- laugh and joke -- because there are millions of people trying to do the same thing. If you come to my page, I don't always talk about music, I don't always talk about singing. I talk about current events... I talk about my son who is getting ready to graduate and go to college, [because] people can relate," he said.
In one of his most recent Facebook posts Hammond ruminated on marriage vows, and wrote that in today's culture, people aren't serious or strong enough to honor and take their vows seriously.
"My opinion is the real breakdown in marriage comes when there are two visions. Meaning di-vision... vision meaning the mission for the family. People respect cellphone contracts better [than] marriage vows. Question: Can/should the vows be changed so that they can be taken more seriously or just leave them as they are?"
The talented songwriter, bassist and vocalist who is known throughout the music as a gifted musical arranger and producer and whose work with Face to Face Productions Corporation, the company which he founded and is CEO of, has earned him the title of the "Babyface" of gospel. It was this "Babyface" of gospel that brought the gospel to JITG.
Hammond, 55, started in the industry at age 19, playing bass behind The Winans. Then a college student, he said he bugged The Winans about him getting an audition and they gave him one. He toured with them from 1980 to 1982.
"God blessed me to be with them for three years, and I was just happy being in the background," he reminisced. "I never was the guy saying 'Hey Marvin, can you do a record on me?' I never asked. I never wanted to be the guy out front, and the next thing you know the Lord kind of pushed me to the front."
With that in mind, he urges young aspiring gospel singers to start at the beginning and to sing wherever they can, and to not aim to necessarily start at the top.
"Sing at Sunday School... in nursing homes, sing wherever God is holding the door open. The Bible says if you're faithful over a few things he will make you a ruler over men," said Hammond "So if you're in a Sunday School and you're singing to some kids it may not seem like much -- if you're singing in a nursing home and the people can't hardly understand you but you're standing there giving your best to God, that's what promotes you. God sees how faithful we are in those things, and that's what promotes you."
After stepping out front, Hammond along with Mitchell Jones and four other friends (Karl Reid, Keith Staten, Michael Brooks and Michael Williams) formed the gospel-recording group Commissioned. Between Hammond and Commissioned he has released approximately 28 albums.
The industry veteran has also done it all from traditional gospel to contemporary gospel both of which her performed at JITG because he said God changes his methods even though he does not change himself.
"If he [God] didn't change with the times we would still be talking through burning bushes and Red Seas opening up. He changes as the time changes, but he stays the same. To reach the thousands of people out there [at JITG]... a lot of people responded when I did the old school stuff and there were some people that liked when I did the Anita Baker thing, and so since there's a different palate out there, we have to understand. Paul said it best, 'I've become all things to all men so that I may win a few of them.'"
And while Hammond has won Grammy, Stellar and Dove Awards and is thankful for them, the best reward he said he gets is when his fans download a song, and are able to say that song blesses them.
"When people are out there standing and singing, that's the best award. So I praise God I was able to receive the accolades, but it's so temporal... I love my job [singing gospel]; I love my boss [God]. So many times we don't get a chance to express that -- we look for something bigger, but I look for the fact that [my fans] like what I do -- that's the best award," he said.
"Years ago I had an experience that put me in a position... it was back in 1988 when I was with Commission and it felt like we were going off stray a little bit with needing validation... that we needed recognition from the Grammys or from other people. And a lot of people don't realize we got snubbed a lot, to the point where we were on the Soul Train Awards one time, and we were nominated, and were singing and Michael Jackson broke his leg, and they made an announcement that he was coming to the Soul Train Awards, and they cut our performance in the middle of the telecast. They took the gospel right off. That hurt really bad," he recalled. "We were up in the dressing room and literally were in tears. I said from that day on, I don't want to get lost in awards anymore -- the biggest reward is when you guys go out and you take your $0.99 and download a song and say this song blesses me," he said.
Shavaughn Moss
Guardian Lifestyles Editor
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