A Personal Invitation from Kirk Whalum for The Gospel Music Cruise
Fred Hammond
The Gospel Music Cruise is honored to welcome Fred Hammond, a 35-year veteran of the industry, to its inaugural lineup. Undeniably the father of the gospel music subset, urban praise & worship, Fred’s songwriting, voice and skills on the bass guitar have garnered him immeasurable success as both a solo artist and member of the groups Commissioned and Radical for Christ. In those capacities, he’s accrued 8 million in album sales along with Grammy®, BET, N.A.A.C.P. Image, Stellar, Dove and GMWA Excellence awards. Among other chart-topping projects, his “{Pages of Life} Chapters I & II” album held at No. 1 on Billboard’s gospel charts for over 15 weeks. Fred performs 30 weeks a year in concerts averaging 5,000 attendees and also has appeared in the Stellar Awards, Lou Rawls Parade of Stars, BET’s Celebration of Gospel, BET’s Walk of Fame, N.A.A.C.P.’s A Tribute to Stevie Wonder, 106 & Park, The Pat Boone Show, Praise The Lord and The 700 Club. He headlined the 2014 Festival of Praise Tour and serves as CEO of Face to Face Productions and the FHammond Music Label.
Kirk Franklin
Gospel music icon Kirk Franklin has surmounted the toughest odds in both life and song, and Guests of The Gospel Music Cruise have the fortunate opportunity to hear his inspirational message when he takes to our stage. Overcoming abandonment by his parents, humble beginnings under the auspices of his grandmother and traditionally stubborn musical boundaries, the artist has achieved nine Grammy® Awards, 39 Stellar Awards, 16 Dove Awards, eight NAACP Image Awards, two BET Awards, an American Music Award and a Soul Train Award. With music that melds gospel, hip hop, pop and R&B stylings, his 12 albums continually reach the top of Billboard’s gospel and Christian charts while also ranking in the Top 10 for R&B/Hip Hop. His most recent musical endeavor, “Hello Fear,” was RIAA-certified gold, giving him a total of eight RIAA-certified gold, platinum and multi-platinum selling releases thus far in his career. When not recording or performing his music, Kirk serves as host and executive producer of BET’s highly successful gospel talent show, “Sunday Best;” is Chairman/CEO of Fo Yo Soul Entertainment, Inc., a full-service entertainment enterprise; and heads up Kirk Franklin’s Praise, a gospel music channel at SiriusXM radio.