Kirk Franklin

Background

Kirk Dewayne Franklin was born on January 26, 1970, in Fort Worth, Texas, and was raised by his aunt after his mother abandoned him as a baby. He joined the church choir and eventually became the music director of the Mt. Rose Baptist Church adult choir. Franklin studied music at Oscar Dean Wyatt High School and became the choir’s pianist. He co-founded The Humble Hearts, a gospel group that released one of his tunes and drew the notice of gospel music veteran Milton Biggham. The veteran reached out and allowed Franklin to conduct the Dallas-Fort Worth Mass Choir at the prestigious Gospel Music Workshop of America Convention in 1990.

In 1992, Franklin formed The Family — a 17-member choir made up of old friends and allies. A year later, the group debuted the “Kirk Franklin and the Family” album, which topped Billboard’s gospel chart for 42 weeks before crossing over to the R&B and mainstream charts. It eventually turned platinum. Franklin’s second album, “Kirk Franklin and the Family Christmas,” followed in 1995, but it was his 1996 album, “Whatcha Lookin’ 4,” that cemented his stardom. The album peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard 200 and earned Franklin his first Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album. The following year, Franklin partnered with the Dallas-based choir, God’s Property, on the album “God’s Property from Kirk Franklin’s Nu Nation,” which was even more successful, receiving a Grammy for Best Gospel Choir or Chorus Album. Over the next several years, Franklin worked on the soundtrack of the 2001 film “Kingdom Come” and returned in 2002 with “The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin,” his debut album as a solo artist.

Following the devastating earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Franklin gathered an even larger group of gospel all-stars in Nashville’s Quad Studios to record the benefit track ‘Are You Listening?’ Following several years of traveling, he co-produced Tori Kelly’s 2018 album “Hiding Place” and organized the Dallas Exodus Music and Arts Festival. He also hosted and co-produced the B.E.T. original series “Sunday Best” and was the musical co-host of G.S.N.’s “The American Bible Challenge” with Jeff Foxworthy. Franklin launched his label, Fo Yo Soul Recordings, in 2013. He married long-time friend Tammy Collins on January 20, 1996. They each had one child from prior relationships when they married. They have two children together as a couple.