Testimony: DeLeon Richards Sheffield

Most people first heard of DeLeon Richards Sheffield when she and her husband's names were splashed all over tabloids in a 2004 extortion attempt involving an alleged ten-year-old video tape with R. Kelly.

Yet DeLeon, who has been married to baseball player Gary Sheffield for almost eight years, has always been in the spotlight, though it was the under the shine of the church as a gospel phenom.

Now, the 30-year-old PK, who has been singing gospel music since she was three, is ready to present her latest album in early 2007, a breathy, modern, R&B-influenced message of uplift. She notes her favorite scripture as: "I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me." [Philippians 4:13]."

When I was getting out of high school going into college, it was a hard time for me. I'm an only child, and I was trying to make sense of [my parents separation.] At the same time, I'm a gospel artist. I've been going out in front of everybody singing and ministering and talking to people. And at that moment, I was dealing with my issues. I was dealing with just having two different lives basically. And still trying to figure out, okay, Lord, what is this all about? I don't understand.

There was no shame [in the relationship with R. Kelly.] I had a relationship with someone. Now as far as all the other stuff; the stuff that they were trying to extort me for, I've never seen anything. So I don't even know if a tape exists. At that time, when you're telling people about God but actually living a different life, that part, where it's like, Okay Lord, maybe I shouldn't have done that.

But I was young, I was in a situation that's no different than anybody else out there that could've made the same mistake. And so for that, I've asked God to forgive me and having [sex] outside of being married. You wish you could have completely walked the line perfectly straight. But, what do you do? You ask God to forgive you, you pick up your broken pieces and you keep moving. And if you do mess up, you can always go back and correct things. It's never too late.

When you go through things like that, it only makes you stronger. It's either gonna break you or it's going to make you stronger. And I think for me and my family, I was really able to exercise my faith. Really. And trust God. I didn't really know why it was happening, I didn't know what the purpose was. Now, I know that the purpose was to definitely use that part of my life as ministry. And to be able to tell people, no matter how dark things get, or how you think, Oh my God, I'm never going to see the light of day, you can get through things. It comes to the highest of highest people and it comes to the lowest of lowest.

You don't have to ride the same road again. Like if there's a big hole in the road and you fell in it, you don't have to go down that same road again. Take a different route. I try to tell young people, especially. Okay, we've made mistakes. You make mistakes. But don't keep making the same mistake over and over and over. Because you see it's not getting you anywhere.