Interview: Israel Houghton – Singer, Songwriter and Producer - Page 5

On the Power of One, you step away from New Breed momentarily. Did it feel awkward performing without your fellow group members?

New Breed is not that on-call group of people that I call upon from time to time. They're my family so there's no way I could or would do a record without some semblance of what I'm used to doing with them. Even though it's a solo record, the truth is it's a New Breed studio record. Even in the branding of how we approached this. Again, I've been able to use people outside of New Breed, too on the record so it takes away the entitlement of the idea of, "Well, I'm a part of New Breed and I'm not playing drums on this record," or "I'm not singing on this record." Everybody's excited about it. I really did it – from a branding perspective – I really did it this way to give greater platform to New Breed as a whole. New Breed was never designed to just be my backup group. It was always put together to form a group out of it and give platform to them. They've done a record that I executively produced that I'm not singing on and I'm not producing. They're producing it internally. It's a live recording called Generation Love. For them to take what they've learned and bring their own expression to it, to do a record on their own is amazing, just amazing.

The Power of One rests upon the belief that worshipers need to have a heart for social justice. What led you to shift the message of your music to social and global concerns?

From my own life, from my own connection, I began to realize that worship doesn't end when the last song is played. If anything, a life of worship – a lifestyle of worship – begins when we leave the church building. So for me, worship and justice go hand in hand. A life of worship and being that close to God should inspire and challenge us to pursue what is in God's heart and that is a heart for the least of these. Jesus Christ said, "Whatever you've done toward the least of these, you've done to Me." There are passages of Scripture that said, "Those that give to the poor lend to the Lord." I sit there going, "God doesn't need anything." Yet, He's saying when you give to these people, you're doing that to my very, very heartbeat. I'm after the widow, I'm there with them. Bono said one of the coolest phrases I ever heard. He said, "God is with us when we are with them." For me, it means God is not just with us when we are in comfortable buildings with the nice carpet and the VIP seating. God is with us when we get out and get our fingernails dirty. Changing the world and being where God is doesn't mean we get on a plane and get a passport and cross the ocean and end up in India somewhere. There are a lot of hurting people outside the walls of the church and frankly, there are a lot of hurting people inside the walls of the church as well. So I think it is just about pursuing a life where God's heart is a heart that's drawn to the broken, whether they are believers, unbelievers, inside the church or outside the church. God's heart is drawn to them.

Article Author: Clayton Perry

Clayton Perry's mission parallels that of John Hope Franklin, Marcus Garvey and Carter G. Woodson. As the founder of the NUBIANO Project, Perry facilitates the design of projects that give voice to the Black diaspora, empower the Black community, …

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