A New Notion of What Gospel Can Be

This is probably not your mother’s gospel music. Not unless she’s a closet hip-hop fan whoalso likes to follow up her church music with a little George Clinton chaser. There are shades of Clinton on “Stomp,” the album’s best track, and Salt-N-Pepa’s Cheryl James puts in a rousing appearance.

Dallas-born Franklin has an approach to gospel that’s hardly steeped in tradition, but it’s just the ticket for attracting a generation more familiar with MTV than Mahalia Jackson. While Franklin’s approach might seem too radical to those raised on more customary fare, it’s hard to imagine anyone doubting his passion or sincerity.

Nu Nation is composed of young, “at-risk” singers culled from the inner city, and it is their great voices that lift this record above the ordinary. Even on a classic such as “Up Above My Head,” the choir sings with such a modern flair that it’s like hearng this old standard for the first

time.

This is the kind of group it takes to reinvent the field of gospel music and make it palatable--and irresistible--to a whole new generation of fans. And Franklin has the goods to be this genre’s new leader.