Channeling ancestor energy of Mother Africa, Minneapolis-St. Paul ensemble Sounds of Blackness performed a stellar, uplifting three-song set for The Current. Now more than 51 years old, the three-time Grammy-winning group directed by Gary Hines has influenced and inspired people all over the world, “led by the grace of God.”

The non-profit ensemble is not limited to any single genre, and incorporates jazz, R&B, gospel, blues, hymnals, rock ‘n’ roll, and soul. Hear lyrical themes of racial justice, optimism, hope, faith, and healing sung in this session by 12 of their usual 23-person chorus. Sounds of Blackness also includes an 11-piece band, which pre-recorded the backing tracks provided for the in-studio session.

In the interview hosted by Diane of The Local Show, hear Hines and ensemble members including lead vocalist Jamecia Bennett speak about Sounds of Blackness’ prestigious history, highlighting past performances for artists like Aretha Franklin, all-star collaborations with legends like Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and award show appearances at Soul Train, the NAACP Image Awards, and more. 

Transcript edited for clarity and length.

Diane here, host of The Local Show on The Current. And today in the studio we have Sounds of Blackness with us. It's an honor to have you all in the studio here. I want to say this is the first Current in-studio, is that correct? I think you've done one with MPR before, but this is the first time we've had you in for The Current, specifically. 

Gary Hines: First in-studio, yes, so thank you for having us. 

Oh, my gosh, and the performance was incredible. 

GH: Thank you. 

I was lit the whole time. (Laughs) I don't know why I like to use the word lit so much. Anyways, so I've been doing some studying on the Sounds of Blackness. And y'all have been around for 51 years, so there's a lot there. And there's so much I found, so much I could list off. For one, some of the members now are offspring of past members. 

GH: Correct. 

And you've performed in all major US cities, five continents. Started at Macalester College. Won three Grammys, NAACP Image Award, and much more. And here you are now today, and still making amazing music. And yeah, to start with how does it feel? 

GH: I would say it feels amazing, and to address the first point because we actually have at least two of our members right here who are offspring of original members. In fact, Lacie, and right behind you, Jamecia, daughter of the great Ann Nesby, and daughter of the great JoAnn Johnson. 

And I want to give you all a chance to introduce yourself at one point, and say your favorite memory. But first let's talk a little bit more about the Sounds of Blackness. I know you've been labeled as a gospel group, but you're so much more than that. You're jazz, classical, pop, R&B, hip-hop. It spans the sound of Blackness, which is so rich and important to our culture, to American culture, and beyond. And I would love to hear you talk more about that sound of Blackness that you all really embrace. 

GH: You did a very good job just a moment ago, Diane. 

Thank you. 

GH: We couldn't call ourselves the Sounds of Blackness, and you're correct, we're often mislabeled as a gospel group. It's not offensive. It's just not correct. And I tell our church brothers and sisters, you can't appreciate the glory hallelujah of the gospel without the pain of the blues, and the history of the spirituals, and the complexity of jazz. All of that is part of our testimony as a people from Africa to America. So none of our music, whether it's hip-hop, bebop, rock, rock ‘n’ roll — yes, it's Black music — none of it makes sense without Mother Africa, as Carlos Santana says. And so Sound of Blackness is seeing the music from Africa to America. 

It's so beautiful, and it's so rich. And I can tell though, that you all are definitely inspired and led by your faith, which also comes through. And tell me a little bit about how that really does inspire your music. 

GH: Absolutely, we are all children of God, and we don't attend the same houses of worship, but all believers, and that's at the heart of what we do. Music is about spirit. We always say what comes from the heart reaches the heart. And they can tell you better than I what their faith means to them. 

There's a lot of music fans that listen to The Local Show and The Current, and I kind of see you as a music historian, or just a historian in general — someone who knows a lot about the rich history and incorporates it into your practices. And one of your musical heroes is The Duke, Duke Ellington. 

GH: At the top of the list. 

I would love to hear you talk about the profound impact that Duke Ellington has on your legacy. 

GH: Absolutely. When people ask about Sounds of Blackness origin and mentors, they I'm sure expect us to say Edwin Hawkins or Andrae Crouch — great friends and contemporaries. But when I say that our musical mentor is Duke Ellington, a lot of people don't know — and I get it that they don't know. They hear Duke's name, and they think of jazz as we should. But what they don't know is that Duke wrote, recorded, and performed spirituals, gospel, anthems, hymns, African music — every sound of Blackness. So we can't claim ownership of that repertoire, that template doing the music of the culture. That goes back to the master Duke Ellington. 

Absolutely. And your knowledge of the way that you hear music and know it so instinctively — your leadership around music has led you to work with so many greats — Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Prince, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Tell me about how these legends have influenced your work, and what it's like being alongside some people that are such geniuses? 

GH: It is amazing. Prince was a 40-plus-years friend and brother, before any of us, the world, knew any of our names. Same for Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. And then some of the legends, getting the honor of working with them — the late great Luther Vandross. And again right behind you, Jamecia and Carrie were on that tour half a year. We did the whole country. And just their influence, their spirit is amazing. To have met and worked with them is just a great honor. 

And the late great queen Aretha — and I was going to throw this to Jamecia because I know that Aretha is at or near the top of her list along with Rosetta Tharpe, who she portrayed magnificently at Park Square Theater. So Mecia, do you want to talk about Aretha, Rosetta, just your favorite influences? 

Jamecia Bennett: Sure. Aretha was definitely played in our home. My mother grew up in the age where the parents weren't in a home, so music actually taught them how to love, taught them about relationships. So I don't know how many relationships lasted, but that was definitely a stone in our home. So I grew up understanding the roots of music when it comes to Aretha, with the blues as well as R&B. And then when I had the opportunity to perform Rosetta Tharpe, to channel that. It opened me up to a whole new world of really where it came from, with Rosetta Tharpe being the godmother of rock ‘n’ roll. And I didn't know that, but it was a blessing to be able to do that. She got inducted to the Hall of Fame. And people like Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway loved Rosetta Tharpe because she was the first one to play the steel guitar, and everyone thought it was a male, but it was actually her. So it has definitely brought me to a place of understanding, and loving the root of music more so than just music in itself. 

Leading an ensemble, it's ambitious because it requires precision and focus and dedication, and all these things, and working with different personalities. And seeing y'all perform, seeing it in action, it's so exciting. And it's so fun and amazing to listen to. And I want to know some of the practices and some of the leadership qualities that you instill to keep this group going and performing at such a high level. 

GH: Well, it's all only by the grace of God. I don't have a whole lot of sense, but I got enough to know that. And the other part of the equation is the people standing right behind you. And then the ones you don't see, our band who you heard on the track, that level of dedication and talent is just overwhelming. 

And speaking of leaders, one of our other veterans, Jamecia, who you just heard from, and Carrie is another veteran member. And she is the author and producer and featured vocalist on “Hold Up Your Light”. And, Carrie, talk to us about that. 

Carrie Harrington: Well, obviously, there are 100,000 different personalities when you have a group this large. So I think as far as my leadership, as far as doing choreography, I have to remember that everybody has their own individual personality just like in a family. And I think once you understand people, and you work with them, it's easy to get along, it's easy to give direction. And I think that's the bottom line is just understanding people, and then making sure that you show love and respect. And then the same is given back to you. So I think it's easy to function in this group even though we have a lot of personalities. And plus, we're kind of all crazy. So, well, that makes it fun. We have lots of stories, we should have our own reality show. 

But yeah, it's really, and just to be blessed to have this much talent. So there's not a whole lot of effort you have to put into because it's like prepackaged. It's already there. You just add the love and the patience and the teaching, and it's there. 

Beautifully put. Let's bring it to the entire group, and have each one of you introduce yourself. Say where you’re originally from, and highlight a memory of being in this ensemble. 

Hello, my name is Kadejsha Kibble. I'm a soprano in the Sounds of Blackness. I'm from St. Paul, Minnesota. I would have to say there's a lot of great moments that I've had in the group. But we recently had a trip to Columbus, Ohio. And I think that was one of my favorites when Gary was given the Lifetime Achievement Award. I'm sorry, we were given the Lifetime Achievement Award, it was very emotional, and it was a great experience for me. 

Hi, I am Layce Dreamz from Saint Paul, Minnesota. And I, as Gary spoke on earlier, am a second generation Sounds of Blackness member. So I think one of my favorite memories is actually before I was a member as a little girl going to Sounds of Blackness rehearsals with my mom, and just seeing the group seeing, hearing, and really wanting to emulate the things that I saw and heard, and just growing up with such a pure love for music and vocal arts, and just the whole encompass. And Sounds of Blackness is not just limited to vocal work we perform. But we also have our theatrical attributes. When we do our Soul of the '60s show, when we do our Night Before Christmas show, and many other shows that we have to encompass the arts and so that's one of the great things that are special to me about Sounds of Blackness. 

Hi, I'm Tasha Prince. I am from Coon Rapids, Minnesota, a.k.a. Killer T on stage. My favorite memory is when Gary Hines called me and told me that I made it into the Sounds of Blackness because I had been praying — not even really saying anything — but praying in my mind, like, “OK, God, I got this gift. What do you want me to do?” And a friend of mine had sent me a screenshot that there was a tryout. And I went and I was nervous as a cat at a dogfight. And all these great singers that have been around, and I was like, “Oh, I don't know,” and then he called me the next day, like, “Welcome to the Sounds of Blackness.” Oh, my God, I made it. And I've had such a good time with them, like anything else in life, there's ups and downs, but we're all here for each other in the end. So we're a family and I love them. 

Hi, again, it's Carrie. I told you it was crazy. No, I love Tasha. But anyway, I am originally from Jersey City, New Jersey. And I live in Minneapolis now. Love Minneapolis. But I would have to say my favorite memory — oh, my gosh, there's so many of them. It would have to be the Grammys because our first Grammy, I mean we were so — I can't even describe the feeling. It was just so overwhelming. So I think that was maybe my first extremely emotional experience with the Sounds so that's one that I probably will remember. I mean I'll remember all of them. But that's the one that I will really remember. 

Hello. I'm Melody Doyle. I was born in Blue Island, Illinois. And my favorite memory of the Sounds of Blackness — well, first of all, I met Gary in high school at North High when I was 17 … You used to come to my high school and do Black History Month choir. And I always wanted to be in it, but my mom would take me to Mexico at the same time every year … So anyways, shortly after that unfortunately, I did lose my mother when I turned 19. And someone had told me, hey, they're auditioning for reindeers for the Sounds of Blackness. And I was like really, like, everybody knows the Sounds of Blackness. You guys had “Optimistic” out when I was in high school so I was like this is huge. And I remember coming to audition at Macalester College. I was young. I was so scared. And there were all these people in the room. And I sang “Precious Lord” a cappella. 

And I remember everybody just standing up and singing with me, and they were stomping, and they were like, “You're in.” You know what I mean? Like that to me is something I'll never forget. This is my family. And I'm so happy and excited to be a part of this group. It helps me with self-esteem. It helps me to try even though I might be afraid of what the outcome will be, and to embarrass myself, and do it anyway —  courage and acceptance. Accepting that there's always going to be somebody with different qualities that maybe I don't have that deserves to be here as well. And so all that combined, I'm just really grateful and thanks, Gary Hines, for everything. 

Hello. Jamecia Bennett. I would have to say that one of my greatest experiences with Sounds of Blackness was Sounds of Blackness being chosen to sing for the Mothers of the Murdered. That experience for me having children. When I first joined Sounds of Blackness, I was 15 years old. I was the youngest one in the Sounds of Blackness. And I was what they call a parent too soon. I had a child in, Paris Bennett, American Idol, if you know her. But anyway, I have two sons. And during the time of the George Floyd and Daunte Wright, all of that, the biggest fear that you have is a mother that it may be your son, and to walk around and see all these mothers with their sons on their shirts, it gave us so much strength to be chosen to bring healing to these mothers that will never see their children again, and that they're fighting for justice. And that's what this group is about. We do have plays. We do have all of that. But our key center point is to sing for justice, and to allow people that all over the world to let us be the voice for them. So that's been one of my favorite ones. 

And I have another one. I just want to say that one. My second one — I know you only asked for one. But my second one was when we did the big, huge choir with Sing Hallelujah, which was our second Grammy. We did this choir. It was everyone in this choir from Quincy Jones to Diana Ross. Peabo Bryson. It was everybody — Chaka Khan. And I was like 17 years old, and I was looking at all these people like oh, my God, this is crazy. We were just as important as the ones that are around us. So Sounds of Blackness is important. And so that's mine. 

Hello. I'm Breann Star. I'm from Northside, Minneapolis to be exact. OK. That said, I have a lot of moments. I'm a newer member. I've only been here for about a year now. And it's awesome just being in the presence of Gary on so many different levels. The amount of knowledge that he holds, the wisdom that he gives us. I've learned a lot about myself vocally since I've come into Sounds, and a lot about my self-esteem since I've come into Sounds. Rehearsals do it for me. Those are my favorite moments because it's almost like therapy, sitting in a room full of beautiful singers and souls and people come in and they have good and bad days. But by the time we leave, one thing I will say we always do is pray. And that to me, I didn't grow up like that. So having a circle of loving souls with good and bad days around me twice a week is a beautiful thing. And I'm learning a lot about myself. So I love you, Sounds. Love you, God. 

Hello. Ayenna Davis, Minneapolis, Saint Paul. So I have to say that one of my memories goes way back to before I even really sang. And I've told Gary this before, but his mom was my inspiration for singing. I don't know how young I was, but I was still small enough to sit on my mom's lap. And I would hear her voice. And I was like, I want to sing like that, even though I was like I want to sing like that. I got older, I want to sing like that, and she's a fabulous contralto, and I'm a contralto. And then the other quick experience just growing up. I wasn't a child of someone in Sounds, but I had the opportunity to grow up in church with all of those singers … even though I wasn't raised in the home, just having that inspiration around me every week, going to rehearsal, and singing with them, that was a great experience for me. 

Hello. I'm Bridget Dawkins. And I'm originally from Kansas by way of Japan, the Philippines, Nebraska, and all those places that I lived when my dad was in the Air Force. I've been a member of Sounds since 1992. After my probation of about 15 years, I finally joined the group. So I'm with the group now. I love everything about the Sounds. Our mission — Sounds' mission, Gary didn't mention this, but to uplift those who — everyone through our music. That's my mission. And as the Sounds of Blackness member, I would say I've had so many memories. But I would say two, but I'll say one for the sake of time. 

It was in 2008 at the NAACP Image Awards, singing for the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, who we did — we were part of her tribute. And we sang and I just remember that as the camera was going, we were supposed to be focusing, and we did focus on the camera and where we were supposed to be looking and singing, but I could just feel her eyes just piercing and looking and listening to every single note. And she was just enthralled. And that was probably one of my best memories next to the Soul Train Awards that we recently performed at. 

But I want to say one more thing, and that is that what extends from this group is the joy — the joy that God has, the joy that he sees in each of us, the love that he sees in each of us. And that's really what our group, the music, emulates, and what it extends to give. And to give love and light and holding up our light and showing our joy and being thankful for who we are. And each one of us has something special, just like everyone in your audience does, and has something to give. So I appreciate and love that Gary Hines gives us the opportunity to do that on a daily basis. Thank you. 

Hi, my name is Reginald Haney. I am from Chicago, Illinois. I've been in the group for almost eight years. I'm going to kind of piggyback on what Breann was saying. My memories come from rehearsals. I know all of us have tough weeks. I work in nursing, and I'm still dead into the pandemic. And so coming to let my hair down — I don't have any — but let my hair down at rehearsal, that's like the highlight of my week because I get to laugh, I get to joke around. I get upset. I feel every feeling or every emotion in rehearsal. And I like that because it makes me feel like I am still living outside of work. And so it makes me feel alive. And so I really appreciate it. I appreciate all of you like everybody is going to say. Oh, and I love you. We're all dysfunctional, but I love you all. 

Hello. My name is Rodney Patrick Fair. I am from Chicago, Illinois. And I’ve also been in the group for eight years. I joined the group when I was working with Gary Hines in The Color Purple, the musical. And a few of us here were also part of that production as well. And that's when I heard that Sounds of Blackness was even here in Minnesota. From Chicago, growing up, a church boy, listened to all Sounds of Blackness music (that) was performed in our church. And as a second grader, my teacher — a lot of people don't know this, but when I was going to class, our teacher Miss Davis — shout out to Guggenheim Elementary on the South Side of Chicago — she used to play “I Believe” every time we walked into the classroom. And no one knows this. And my family, I just started telling my family about that. And I was like, how ironic for me to be hearing that — and I'm sorry, about to start crying — to hear that in second grade, and now I'm performing 30 years later, singing in this three-time Grammy-Award-winning group. And I just feel honored to be a part of this group … But I feel very honored to have been singing all this music I've listened to growing up. And just to be formed I'm like oh, my gosh, now I'm performing it now. 

And I just want to put out there that if you want to sing, just believe in yourself because that's the message that I have had my whole entire life. I believe in myself, and we sing that for you. And so just continue to believe. Thank you, Gary. Thank you, Sounds. I'm so excited for the new things that we have coming up. So stay tuned. 

Hi, I'm Len Jones, tenor. Been with the group for about seven years, a.k.a. Len The Cookie Man. One of my most memorable moments was the trip we took to Japan when I accidentally fell asleep when we were supposed to be — everybody was in the limo. But the hour change — there's a 10 to 12-hour change, we had just performed in Osaka, and we had maybe a half hour, and I still was set on my time from Minneapolis time. So I was like, let me take a few minutes, and all of a sudden I'm the last one to get on the bus. And everybody just gave me the stare. It was just like the walk of shame walking in the limo. But one of the things that happened in Japan that really touched my heart is how much they loved Sounds of Blackness. They sung every song that we sang. They performed it. They were doing our dance moves. And then even afterward it was like a long line waiting to just meet and greet us. That part meant the world to me, so thank you. 

I think one reason why this music is so profound is because life is filled with setbacks and adversity, loss, grief, all these things that are so human. And Sounds of Blackness takes on these really hard subjects with intention to lift people up in the face of these adversities. And I think it's powerful. I'd like to hear, Gary, you talk about this motivation that you have to keep to really lift people up in this way. 

GH: Well, as so many members have said, Diane, it's God-inspired, first and foremost, and ancestor-fueled. I like to call it ancestor energy going back to Kizzy and Kunta Kinte and others like them. Nothing that we do makes sense, as I said a moment ago, without Mother Africa. And so that ancestor energy to tell our testimonies through music — it's been our survival mechanism. We're heirs to a legacy that the whole world marvels at, and really the whole world tries to emulate. 

But it's something that God has blessed us with uniquely. And Sounds of Blackness seek to embody all of it. And as Bridget said, uplift all people through Black music. So our name might sound like, no, they're just for Black folks. No. I'm glad Bridget brought that out. So right in our number one goal is to glorify God by uplifting people of all backgrounds through all of Black music. And so like I said it's God-inspired, ancestor-energy-fueled, and then maintained by the magnificent group of young men and women standing behind you, and the ones that were on the track, our band, we can't forget them. 

Absolutely. And the last time we spoke I interviewed you about “Time For Reparations,” your single that you put out recently. And is it in conjunction with Juneteenth and as we know racial injustice is still a problem in our society. And with the murder of George Floyd, it really reawakened. Because it seems like we've progressed and progressed … and then at the same time, it feels like it's just as bad as it's ever been. What would you say are some of the things that our society needs to work on in the realm of racial justice? 

GH: The first step for me, Diane, is just like with AA, with any addiction, and the first thing is to acknowledge it. America in general seems to have a problem just taking that first step in acknowledging. So that's why reparations are such an issue when they've never been for other people, other wrong groups, but it is when it comes to us. When it comes to banning books about our history. When it comes to not wanting to teach our history. That already hasn't been taught. 

So it's imperative that we drive that music home through the magic and the spirit of music because music can reach the heart where nothing else can. 

Absolutely. I feel that so much. Anything else we can plug about upcoming performances, upcoming things. 

GH: We encourage everybody to come to our website, soundsofblackness.org. We're on all the different social sites from TikTok to Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, just Sounds of Blackness, our official name kind of thing. 

And if you go to our website — and in fact, speaking of George Floyd, we have our wonderful merchandise there as well as our singles. And when you purchase it from our website, know that you are also contributing — because we, Sounds of Blackness, donate a portion of our proceeds to George Floyd Scholarship Foundation. So we don't just talk the walk, we walk the talk. 

But we are not only in the midst of promoting, of course, “Hold Up Your Light,” which was featured today. In my carrier right behind you there, but right on its heels, we've got more coming. Our guests on our record, a beautiful song co-written by Jamecia and our dear brother, little buddy, we call him Andre Locke, called “So Thankful, So Grateful”. In fact, we'll be filming that video on October 26. And that will be coming as of Thanksgiving, obviously ties right into being so thankful. But as the TV commercial says, “But wait, there's more,” the trifecta, another great song. This one exclusively written by Jamecia, called “#You'reGonnaWin.” 

Mecia, you want to talk about — well, both of those, “Thankful” and “You're Gonna Win.” 

JB: I'm not sure – I'm sure everyone knows about what happened with Amir Locke. His father Buddy McClain used to be a big rapper here in the Twin Cities. He's worked with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and a couple of other people from here. It was his son. His son was shot and killed by the police. And so instead of turning to violence which they think that that's what happens in the Black community, his father turned to the pen to write about the situation. And instead of going into the dark, he came into the light — “Hold Up Your Light.” He came into the light to put reverence on his situation, and to give thanks for him still being alive so that he could render information to the youth that are out there now, like his son was a sacrificial lamb for other young boys so that this new thing could happen. Reaching out to them — our young people — the millennials now are suffering from PTSD and mental illness. 

And we have the opportunity as Sounds of Blackness to reach the millennials with the new generational sound that we have now with the new projects that we have coming out. So that song “So Thankful” is talking about just being grateful for just God loving on us and just being here and just being human. And the other song that we have that we wrote was “#You'reGonnaWin”. Basically, giving that encouragement like the new millennial optimism push that we gave 34 years ago now. “Optimistic” is 34 years old? … 32 years old. 32 years old, so now we want to rehash that feeling of optimism. We get that all the time every time we go somewhere, “Optimistic” changed my life. “Optimistic” changed our lives, and all of that. So we want to be able to give the new millennials that opportunity to say that this song from our new voices has changed the lives of the millennial. We are here for them being a vehicle to go pick them up, drop them off to the optimism, and keep going out and getting more and more and more too because we know that unreachable people are unteachable people. And unteachable people are unreachable people. So if we can just reach one, reach one, teach one. 

GH: Carrie, want to you talk about “Hold Up Your Light”? 

CH: Sure. I think it's been a couple of years of — I just want to say — just agony for a lot of people, angst, just sadness, sorrow. And it's easy to internalize all of that. And then there were times where I just wanted to crawl in a corner and just put my head, put a blanket over my head, and say just tap me when it's over because there's been and still continuously just things that are happening in the world. I mean just in Florida, the hurricanes and people are losing their lives, their houses, their belongings. So I thought within all of that I just wanted to put out a message of positivity and a message of hope, and a message of just saying keep holding on. 

I know everything right now seems like it's just not going to — there's not going to be any more light because there's so much darkness around us. There's so much death. There's so much hate. There's so much divisiveness – everything. And I wanted a way to reach people, to reach all people, and say, be encouraged, be strong because that strength — as human beings, we don't realize how much strength we have within us until we get to that breaking point. 

So I wanted to say that in a song. Just remember you are stronger than you think you are. We may break sometimes and we may stumble sometimes, but ultimately by the grace of God, and with other people's help, and with the strength in ourselves, we can overcome. So I think that's basically where “Hold Up Your Light” came from, just seeing everything that was happening. It was like swirling chaos. And it was never-ending, never-ending chaos. So I just wanted to put something out for everyone, for the world to say be encouraged, and use that strength inside. Don't forget it. Don't forget because as human beings, we are resilient. And we have lasted this long, and we can keep going forward. 

GH: I'll start this and then toss it to Rodney again, our social media director. In terms of upcoming for Sounds of Blackness, well, please look for us on Gospel Super Fest, and check our website. It's going to air in November. We don't have the exact dates, but we will soon. It'll be on soundsofblackness.org, as well as airing again in Black History Month, February. 

And then we will be in Atlanta, Georgia at the end of this month for the premiere of a great children's-cancer-themed film called It Ain't Over. And we'll be singing twice with the premiere for that. So shout out to ATL, almost a second home for Sounds of Blackness. But I'm sure they'll stream it and all that so everybody can see it. We want to invite everyone. 

We need to let everybody know unfortunately, the only bad news is we're not doing The Night Before Christmas this year. And we've already been hearing about that. Yes, we know. We feel the pain because it's hardest on us. But we are going to be performing on January 13, three shows, Music for Martin, Martin Luther King tribute concert, and about the Civil Rights era, the music from the era, and all that from that time, before that time, at the time, and to today. So January 13th for everybody to come to the Ordway and see Music for Martin. And we would invite you to the Soul Train Cruise, but it's sold out. But we're blessed to be a part of that. And Rodney, I'm sure I've forgotten something. 

RF: Once we get all of our dates and everything, we put on our website on soundsofblackness.org. And also on our social media, so we love to hear from you guys on all our social media accounts — Instagram and Facebook, Twitter, TikTok. We kind of been starting off TikTok, but we're getting there. Multiple videos. Our latest video of myself and Jamecia working out. And just to represent Sounds of Blackness, and saying we're walking around, walking for Jesus. Well, yeah, you pretty much hit everything that we all have coming up. 

We recently did do the NAACP Gala Fund, which was a couple of weekends ago. And that was very successful indeed. And then you also mentioned Gospel Super Fest. Our newest song, “Hold Up Your Light (Afrobeats).” So we have two versions out right now. So we have the original mix which you just heard earlier today. And then if you want to spice up your life with a little Caribbean Afrobeat, we have the new version out right now. You can stream it on all music outlets — Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, even our website as well. And all of this merchandise as you see here is also on our website. You can also make special requests, orders with our designer, Stevie with sassafras. Thank you. 

GH: Like I said, social media director. 

I love it, which is so important these days. 

GH: He'll be important. You know what, he'll be proud of me for remembering to say this. Grammys and all that notwithstanding, Sounds of Blackness is a non-profit corporation. And we appreciate your gifts to help us with our operation expenses, all that. And we have a donation spot on the page, don't we, Rodney? 

RH: Yes, we do. All of that is on our website. You can go straight to the donate button on the right hand side. And then there's a lot of ways you can donate. We have Cash App. We have Venmo. We also have PayPal. And then if you're old school, you want to write a check, we'll take that too. While all of that goes to us for wardrobe, as you see here. All the wardrobe that we perform, and also travel expenses, even having studio sessions to record these songs that we have coming up, and our music videos. So feel free. We are non-profit, 501(c)(3).