By Jawn Murray, BlackVoices.com

Kim Burrell is an artists' artist.

Known for her intricate vocal arrangements and her ability to do acrobatics with her voice, the Houston-bred gospel singer has become the vocalist that singers of various genres name as their favorite.

From Jessica Simpson to Chaka Khan, Justin Timberlake to Tyrese, and Harry Connick Jr. to Beyonce; Burrell's popularity among the mainstream is so significant that during a MTV special on the film 'The Fighting Temptations,' the network recognized her by showcasing countless artists reciting her name when asked who was their favorite singer.

By Jawn Murray, BlackVoices.com

R&B icon Stevie Wonder is gearing up for his first all-gospel CD.

The Grammy-winning music veteran, who has collaborated on gospel songs in the past with BeBe Winans ('Jesus Children of America'), The Williams Brothers ('Too Close') and Kirk Franklin ('Why'), is recording an album called 'The Gospel Inspired by Lula,' which is a tribute to his late mother Lula Mae Hardaway.

Wonder's mother passed in May 2006 and he originally hoped to have CD available to consumers on Jan. 11, 2008, which would have been her 77^th birthday, but he's yet to complete the recording process.

During a recent teleconference call to promote his "A Wonder's Summer Night Tour," Wonder detailed the gospel endeavor.

By Jawn Murray, BlackVoices.com

It may have been three years since gospel phenom Kurt Carr has released a CD of his own, but the Houston-based singer, songwriter and producer hasn't taken a moment off.

The multiple Stellar Award-winning talent has been busy behind the scenes crafting hits for the likes of Tramaine Hawkins, Bishop Paul S. Morton and Ami Rushes. "There's no joy like giving to others and I love giving to others," Carr told me via telephone from his home in Houston .

Carr's stock as a songwriter and producer soared after he produced Byron Cage's 'Live at New Birth Cathedral' in 2003. That set featured the smash hit 'The Presence of the Lord is Here,' which Carr wrote and earned numerous awards for.

In 2005, the self-contained talent released his critically acclaimed 'One Church' CD and established himself as an international superstar.

By Jawn Murray, BlackVoices.com

The who's who of the gospel music industry spent Memorial Day Weekend in Greater Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., for the International Gospel Industry Retreat hosted by longtime BET personality Dr. Bobby Jones.

The bi-annual conference is an informational and educational forum for gospel recording artists, teaching the fundamentals of artistry and offering a spiritual replenishment to help musicians maintain.

This retreat was extra special for the gospel industry because it included the historical groundbreaking ceremony for the Gospel Complex for Education & Preservation.

The project has been spearheaded by Albert Tucker, vice president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, in partnership with Dr. Jones.

Are you a fan of fatty foods, junk foods and pretty much most foods with no nutritional value? Well of course you are, who isn't?

Does your family have a history of stroke or heart disease?

If so than you may want to slow it down, because there's a good chance that you may be at risk and not even know it. Each year nearly 700,000 people are afflicted with some type of stroke. Of that number, 100,000 are African American. What's even more alarming though is that African Americans are twice as likely as other ethnic groups to have a stroke and that one half of all African American women will die from a stroke or heart disease.

Earlier this month, Grammy Award winner, Bebe Winans and "Hip Hop Doc" Dr. Rani Whitfield teamed up and have been actively campaigning for stroke awareness through the American Stroke Association's, Power to End Stroke Campaign

By Karu F. Daniels, BlackVoices.com

Gospel music balladeer Darwin Hobbs is making way for his fifth recording project, aptly titled 'Free,' set for release Aug. 26.

The title of the new opus, which will be released on his newly-formed production company, Liaison Records in partnership with Tyscot Records, is meant in the very figurative way.

As the centerpiece of 'Free,' the Cincinnati native addresses finally being able to come to terms with the sexual abuse he experienced as a child.

Now at the age of 40, he decided to share publicly his past of childhood sexual abuse with his newfound sense of freedom. The project puts an exclamation point on his personal statement of having been set free from the shackles of molestation.

"This album is to date, the absolute most accurate depiction of who I am as an artist, a worshipper and a human being," Hobbs said of the 12-track praise & worship collection. "It's the very first album I've recorded as a free man."

By Jawn Murray, BlackVoices.com

Oprah Winfrey giveth and she taketh away!

The talk show titan has canceled her own show, opting not to bring back her debut reality series, 'Oprah's Big Give' for a second season.

In a shocking move, Winfrey, 54, asked ABC executives not to renew her weekly primetime show about charitable giving.

"We loved that show and absolutely would have loved to bring it back," ABC entertainment president Steve McPherson said yesterday during an upfront press conference. "But it was something [Oprah] didn't want to do."

By Jawn Murray, BlackVoices.com

Rap star Common has always been lauded for his conscious lyrics. Last April, the Chicago-bred artist was the only rapper featured on the 'Oprah' show during a town hall meeting on hip-hop after the fallout from Don Imus calling the Rutgers women's basketball team 'nappy-headed hos.'

Now the rapper is on the front line again, this time defending his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright of the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.

Unless you've been under a rock, you know by now that Wright, pastor and spiritual advisor to presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama, has come under fire for some of his more "controversial" sermons.

Mainstream media outlets have deemed the messages "anti-American" and have overused words like "inflammatory" and "explosive" all while accusing Wright of being a "racist."

The 36-year old rapper, who has been a member of Trinity United Church of Christ since he was eight years old, said he wasn't shocked about the tone of Wright's sermons.

"I am a member of the Trinity United Church of Christ, which is the church of Pastor Reverend Wright who has now become a national figure and I'm very proud of that. As we can see, as Barack has spoken, he said he has learned a lot from Reverend Wright. I can say that I've learned a lot from Pastor Wright. A couple of weeks ago I was in Chicago and it was his retirement ceremony and I wanted to go up and speak, but I didn't. I have rapped in the church which shows how progressive this church is that they let me rap there. I wanted to go up and speak and say how well he had raised me. I grew up with my mom and my step-father, but I felt in many ways that I was raised by his sermons also. His sermons always endorsed God and promoted God and believing in God and spirituality and being proud of who you are as a person and dealing with the Black community," Common told me during our interview at the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills last week.

Common believes that Rev. Wright is preaching self-love and not hatred and his sermons were attempting to empower a disenfranchised race of people.

By Jawn Murray, BlackVoices.com

Looks like the media circus surrounding the soon-to-be divorced couple Prophetess Juanita Bynum and Bishop Thomas W. Weeks III could soon be over.

On Tuesday March 11, Weeks pled guilty to assaulting Bynum and was sentenced to three years of probation. The bishop, who initially pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated assault and making terroristic threats, had held numerous press conferences, conducted radio and television interviews, and disseminated web videos declaring he was innocent.

Weeks, who pastors the Atlanta-based Global Destiny Ministries, finally came clean and opted to tell the truth in order to avoid jail time.

He pled guilty to a single count of aggravated assault and was allowed to openly address Bynum, who sat in the second row of the Fulton County courtroom.

"I want to apologize to my wife for all she's had to go through," he said.