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All Music Guide:
With his soulful tenor vocals and an unerring ability to fuse contemporary gospel with hip-hop sensibilities, Smokie Norful is one of the brightest lights on the current gospel scene. The son of an African Methodist Episcopal minister, Norful spent his first 14 years in Muskogee, OK, where he absorbed music ranging from sacred gospel to the secular soul that was popular at the time, and both strains would serve him well when he began his professional singing career. By the age of two he was picking out melodies on piano, by four he was actively playing and singing in his father's church, and by ten he was a featured artist on a custom album assembled by a regional music director. Although music was his enduring passion, Norful instead opted to study history at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, eventually working as a history instructor for four years before relocating to Chicago in 1998 in order to earn a Masters of Divinity degree from Garrett Theological Seminary.
After his graduation, Norful remained in Chicago as an assistant pastor at the Rock of Ages Baptist Church and stayed active in various church choirs, eventually catching the ear of Joe Anne Brunson, leader of the Thompson Community Choir, who asked him to sing one of his original songs for the choir's Real album, which essentially launched Norful's professional singing career. His debut solo album, I Need You Now, was released by Chordant in 2002, followed by a live album called Limited Edition from EMI Gospel in 2003. Norful has characterized his music as "urban inspirational," an apt term that allows him to stretch the boundaries of traditional gospel while still remaining true to its purpose. EMI Gospel also released Norful's second solo album, Nothing Without You, in 2004. Life Changing appeared in 2006, and in 2009, EMI Gospel released Smokie Norful Live.
Wikipedia:
Rev. W.R. "Smokie" Norful, Jr. is an American gospel singer and pianist, best known for his 2002 album, I Need You Now and his 2004 release, Nothing Without You, which won a Grammy at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album in 2004.
Early life
Norful, a minister who is also the son of an African Methodist Episcopal Church minister, was born in Little Rock, Arkansas but grew up in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, deeply involved in his father's church. He was interested in music from a very young age, reportedly picking out one-finger piano melodies from the age of four. His parents supported him with music lessons, and, unusual for his background, allowed him to experiment with and listen to the current R&B and soul music of the day as well as gospel music. Norful attended Pine Bluff High School, where he occasionally performed in school assemblies and programs. Norful graduated from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff as a History major and spent four years teaching high school at Jack Robey in Pine Bluff,AR . In 1998 he felt a calling to the ministry of the gospel, and pursued a Master of Divinity degree at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. While working toward ordination in the A.M.E. (African Methodist Episcopal) church, he took a position as assistant pastor at a church in Chicago. He currently pastors Victory Cathedral Worship Center in Romeoville, IL, which he founded on September 20, 2005.
Recording career
He participated in an album release by the Thompson Community Choir, a well-known gospel group, and contributed a song as well as solo vocals. He was then offered the opportunity to make a solo album for EMI Gospel, I Need You Now. The album was a slow starter but eventually went gold, spending two years in the upper reaches of the Billboard Gospel Charts.
He was nominated for and won a Grammy in 2005 for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album. He is also signed to EMI-CMG Publishing and his own Norful Music Publishing as a songwriter. He performed on June 6, 2005, for President George W. Bush in a concert honoring Black Music Month.
Norful's music is best described as a fusion of gospel, 70's soul, and contemporary R&B; the influences of Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway and other male soul/R&B vocalists of the 70's and 80's are clear.
On October 3, 2006, Norful released his 3rd album, Life Changing.
He is a featured guest artist along with Fred Hammond and J Moss on the ballad 'Cover Me' by the Gospel R&B trio 21:03. The song appears on Total Attention, the second album of 21:03, which was released July 22, 2008.
Smokie released his first live album on April 7, 2009. It is entitled Smokie Norful Live and features the singles "Justified," "Jesus is Love" featuring Heather Headley, and "God's Gonna Come Through" featuring Tye Tribbett. The Smokie Norful Live DVD was released in September of the same year on his newly formed label Tre'Myles Music. This is a collaborative effort between Tre'Myles Music and EMI Gospel.
Personal life
Norful describes his first single, "I Need You Now"...
"I wrote that at a time when my wife [who was told she may have cancer and wouldn't be able to conceive], my father [who had just had emergency heart-surgery] and my grandmother were all dealing with some serious medical issues, and I was seriously reaching out to God for comfort and guidance and healing. I was crying out to God and realizing my total dependence on Him, and ultimate victory through Him."
Norful and his wife, Carla, are the parents to two boys, Tre' and Ashton, and a daughter named Ashley.
