DEITRICK HADDON
"I'm sitting here thinking to myself / People all over the world are in need of help / From the shores of India back to the hood / People everywhere are misunderstood / But I believe love is the answer / I believe that we still can come together / Holding on to what I know is true / I'm pouring my heart out to you / You and I are one the same / Red blood flowing through one vein / I hear your crying for a change / I feel your pain..." - from "One Blood"
Things can never be too big when it comes to the dreams of contemporary gospel visionary Deitrick Haddon. You can feel it in the epic reach of his dizzyingly diverse and masterful music tracks. You can hear it in the ache and urgency of his amazing lyrics. And you can see it in the photo on his album cover – one man, one microphone addressing one world with the dawn of a new day at his back. On his 10th album, REVEALED, Deitrick Haddon summons the totality of his artistic vision and gifts to take statements of spirituality beyond church walls in hopes of impacting the universe on a major level. The essential message: we are one
"I have this vision of everybody with their lighters in their hands singing that chorus," he says of the powerful album highlight "One Blood" - all races, everybody. I believe that gospel music can be just as big as rock - filling stadiums. But our music has to reach beyond our religious beliefs to connect on a greater level. I wanted to speak to everybody about how we all need each other. We're all one big family. If Adam and Eve are the mother and father of humanity, then we are all family - 'red blood flowing through one vein.' It's funny how when tragedy happens, everybody is able to come together. From the rise of a tsunami to the fall of the Twin Towers, everybody prides themselves on helping each other. That influenced my approach to the songs of REVEALED. They are not 'religious' songs so much as spiritual songs that can appeal to everybody."
Connecting to hearts, minds and spirits is nothing new to Haddon - a Grammy nominee, a 2008 BET Best Gospel Artist nominee and 2 time Stellar and Gospel Music Workshop of America Excellence Award winner. Starting in 1997 from his first four albums leading the group Voices of Unity, to his 2002 solo debut Lost & Found that featured his crossover breakthrough single "Sinner's Prayer", to his Crossroads album (for which he performed the single "God is Good" on the iconic black music TV show "Soul Train") all the way to his 2006 concept album, 7 Days (primarily produced by his old friends from his hometown of Detroit - R&B hit-makers Tim & Bob) and the single "Don't Go Changin'" from the soundtrack to the movie "A Good Man is Hard to Find," Haddon has a talent for marrying the immediate power of pop music with the infinite majesty of God's ability to save your soul.
Haddon took that to another level with the funk of his most recent single "Love Him Like I Do," a Warryn "Baby Dubb" Campbell production featuring special guests Ruben Studdard and gospel duo Mary Mary. In the lyrics he witnesses, "If you wanna know why I love Him like I do / `Cuz when my enemy said I was through / He took me from the bottom and put me on the top / He laid His hands on me and now I can't be stopped!" The song has been a radio, video and YouTube sensation (with over 1 million views). "It's just what our generation has been looking for," says Haddon. "something hot and fly that doesn't compromise the message."
Also slammin' with similar R&B fervor is "Go With Me." "I did that one with Warryn and Eric Dawkins (another major hit maker who's worked with artists like Christina Aguilera and Chris Brown). We've wanted to work together for a while. I was watching James Brown on TV and realized that this generation doesn't groove hard enough. I want to be a pied piper leading the people to a new era of gospel possibilities."
Of course, with Deitrick and his co-producer brother Gerald Haddon, those possibilities encompass a cornucopia of musical sounds and styles. On REVEALED, those moods move from the beautiful strings-kissed meditation "The Word" (produced by the incomparable Percy Bady with a lovely arrangement by Lloyd Barry); to the bouncy pop of "Don't Take Your Spirit" and the hand-clappin' "Where U Are" (one of four produced by Andre Harris and Vidal Davis; to the spacey and atmospheric environs of "Running to You" and "It's Raining" (both produced by up-and-comer Blaze) and the techno pop pulse of "Let Me Go" (another reunion with Tim Kelley and Bob Robinson). "All of my collaborators are super talented people," Deitrick acknowledges – "pop music producers who are also clearly in touch with their spirituality." These songs and more on the 16 tracks of Deitrick Haddon's REVEALED are purposed with the intent of showing a more honest and vulnerable perspective - what it really means to be a musical messenger for others while dealing with your own spiritual challenges.
