Mary Mary

A chance meeting with producer Warryn Campbell in 1996 led to collaboration between Campbell and the sisters. Campbell brought the new material as well as the sisters original recordings to EMI, landing them a publishing contract and song contributions to both the Dr. Doolittle and Prince of Egypt soundtracks. More and more songwriting efforts for artists such as Yolanda Adams and 702 brought offers of recording contracts from several labels. With a clear conception of how they wanted to be marketed to a broad audience, Mary Mary chose to sign with Columbia Records, the first Gospel act to be signed to the label. A major part of their self-concept is dictated by their devout religious beliefs. They define themselves as strictly Gospel—and not just inspirational – artists.

“Inspirational music makes me feel good, like I can go on, I can make it, and I can do whatever I put my mind to. But the Gospel tells you about what God can do. It tells you the good news of Jesus,” explains Erica. “Because our music is so Hip-Hop and has an Urban feel, a lot of people think ‘Oh its Inspirational, it’s Contemporary.’ It can be, but listen to what I’m saying [in the song]. The songs that we write tell the message of Christ specifically.”