Kirk Franklin and Erica Campbell
APRIL 28, 2015
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He ‘Luh’ Her Music: Kirk Franklin Defends Erica Campbell’s Edgy
Sound

Article By Rebecca Johnson/ Photo Credit: GETTY

GRAMMY® winner Erica Campbell’s new southern hip-hop style song, “I Luh God,” from her Help 2.0
album, has been met with mixed reviews.

Some say the "trap music” vibe is current and catchy. Others suggest it is inappropriate for gospel. Now
Kirk Franklin is weighing in.

“I just commend her efforts, man,” said the multiple GRAMMY® winner in an interview with NPR.

“I think that trying to make a message that’s old as many millennia and try to make it culturally relevant,
it’s always a tough job,” he said.

“I always try to remember the heart of the person doing it and I am very, very good friends with Erica.
She has a great heart for God. She has a great heart for ministry and I just believe that the heart always
wins,” he explained.

Franklin gets what she’s going through, likely better than most.

20 years ago, he took major heat for hits like the P-Funk inspired “Stomp” of the 90s, featuring Cheryl
“Salt” James of Salt-N-Pepa—a song that led him to crossover success. He was accused of making gospel
music too “worldly” or secular.

“It was a very hard time, because it's very hard when you hear churches talk about you," Franklin said.

"And some people start to question your heart and it could be very hard for you because you're in your
early 20s and you don't really understand what all the fuss is about, because you're doing just what's real
to you."

For Christians who attempt to regulate things like how Christians should sound or what they should wear,
Franklin said, “Boo to all of that!”

He continued, “Boo to what you can wear to church and what you can, and can’t say. Boo! It’s almost like,
who are we, man? We’re not referees. It’s almost like, if you don’t like it, pray for her.”

Franklin added, “We are losing people. The church is losing its power because we stink at how we talk. We
stink at how we communicate. Nobody hears love from our voices.”

Do you agree?

Listen to a portion of Franklin's NPR interview.