Charles and Taylor

By Richard Picart

Charles and Taylor are newcomers who want the gospel industry, and the world, to know that they are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Even though they are only teenagers, this duo is determined to lift up the name of Jesus. Their self-titled Integrity project, set to drop in July, combines a fusion of contemporary Christian music, R&B, pop and worship - with a splash of fun.

GC: We’re chilling with some new artists and one of the things we do at GospelCity is introduce new artists. We've got Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin, Dorinda Clark - all the artists we admire. But now’s the time to get introduced to new Integrity artists named Charles and Taylor! How are you guys doing?

Charles and Taylor: Man, we’re doing good.

GC: Doing good, ok! You've got a new record coming out under the Integrity camp, the worship capital of the world. Tell me about this new project - what is it called and what we can expect?

Charles: It is a self-titled album and a mixture of different things. We've got urban praise, Christian contemporary.

Taylor : and some praise and worship.

GC: I just heard a couple of cuts off of this and it sounds kind of urban pop to me. R&B soul kind of meets urban pop; is that your favorite style or are there areas on the record.

Charles: There are other areas on the record that show what we like. We've got the Christian contemporary as well as praise and worship.

GC: So when I come to a Charles and Taylor concert, what is that experience like? What can someone who attends a concert expect when they see you onstage?

Charles: Heartfelt praise, it is going to be fun. We’re going to laugh and have a good time in the Lord.

GC: Now tell me about the producer who worked on the project for you?

Charles and Taylor: Trevon Potts!

GC: You say that with a whole lot of energy!

Taylor : Oh yeah, he’s the man!

GC: He’s the man?

Charles and Taylor: He really is!

GC: Where’s he from?

Charles: He’s originally from California; he’s now in Atlanta with us.

GC: O.K., it was fun working with him on the record?

Taylor : Oh yes!

GC: Are there any guest appearances on the project that we should know about?

Charles: We have Darwin Hobbs on backgrounds.

GC: O.K. cool!

Charles: On a couple of the songs.

GC: On a couple of the songs; now he’s the man!

Charles: Yes, he can sing, he can sang!!

GC: He was just here the other day, he said he’s gonna come by and see us. It’s good that you're getting some love from the industry and that’s great! Tell me about your ministry, what makes your ministry different. I’ve heard the songs, I hear that you have the talent. But tell me about your ministry and about what God has given you to say to the people even now.

Taylor : We’re trying to do something different, trying to bring up a new generation. It’s like something new, we don’t want the old same old Baptist stuff. We’re trying to say something different.

GC: What are you saying?

Charles: We’re saying 'Don’t be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.' You can be young, you can be cool. To the adults, we’re letting them know even though we’re young, we're kids, we don’t come off like children, we’re not babies. We’re serious about what we do and about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

GC: These young people are 15 and 13 - on the battlefield already. That’s amazing, we definitely need that, we need to show the Body of Christ that our young people are not out there doing the wrong thing. Some of them are actually in a position to tell us what the right thing is.

Charles and Taylor : Right!

GC: Cool, cool, cool. Who are some of the people that you listen to, some of the artists you got in your car?

Taylor : I listen to Yolanda Adams, Cece Winans, Kim Burrell, Lisa McClendon.

GC: Tell me what you like about Lisa?

Taylor : Her unique style, she does soul music, really, with a jazzy feel.

Taylor : I like Israel and New Breed…

GC: Oh, you're not just saying that because they're on your label, right?

Charles: Oh no, I like Israel for real, he’s the man! Alvin Slaughter, Martha Munizzi, Michael Gungor …

GC: If there was an artist that you really wanted to work with but perhaps didn’t get a chance to, who would it be?

Charles: it would be Don Moen...

GC: These are real worship leaders!

Charles and Taylor: Oh yes!

GC: That’s good, I would love to see you guys in concert; you know it’s not very often that I get to see teenagers lead worship or do that type of thing. Usually there’s a prejudice saying, "Oh you've got to be of a certain age or of a certain maturity to be able to take someone into worship."

Charles:Proverbs 2:11 says that even a child is known by what he does whether they be pure or whether they be right. So it really doesn’t matter how old you are, God has called us with willing vessels. We’re ready to go out there, step out there and give it all we've got.

Taylor : That’ why we have a song called “Not Ashamed” because it is saying don’t be ashamed of who you serve because you serve the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

GC : Now you guys are in the industry. This is you first record correct or have you had other releases previously.

Charles: We had a record that we did on our own. We worked with Trevon and it really wasn’t really a worldwide big thing, we weren’t hooked up with the label at that time. We were in the process, came out with the album and were selling it locally.

GC: So how are you feeling about the industry so far? I ask artists all the time, sometimes I got a good taste or a bad taste in their mouth, but it’s all a process. Tell me what you think.

Charles : Integrity is wonderful, we just got out of a launching; we had fun with Martha Munizzi, Israel, Don Moen and Alvin Slaughter. We were just laughing in there and having fun; it’s a family.

GC: Are you getting used to waking up early in the morning yet?

Charles: Yeah, ‘cause we go to Cab School of the Arts so we wake up at 5:30am every morning.

GC: Tell about that what the name of the school?

Charles: The Cab school of the arts.

GC: And what are you specializing in?

Charles and Taylor: Drama and vocal music.

GC: So you’re an actor?

Charles : Yes.

GC: And you’re an actress?

Taylor : Yes.

GC : Have you had a chance to do film or T.V. sitcoms?

Charles : A while back, I did 23 stage plays with the Georgia Ensemble Theater and we did the Helen Keller story.

GC: Oh yeah.

Charles: So I played [the character] Percy so that was fun!

GC: So are you good or are you O.K.?

Charles : I’m good

GC: So it won’t be long before I see the gospel career merge with something kind of out of California. You know there’s a new film coming out that Donnie McClurkin is in called The Gospel…

Charles: Actually I’m in that also!

GC: So why didn’t you tell me that?

Charles: I’m doing one of the songs, a voiceover.

GC: I haven’t seen it so you’re gonna have to tell me.

Charles: I don’t really know what it’s all about. They just called our manager and he let him know, “Man I got somebody who can play that part, who can sing it.” So i went to the studioand it went up...downhill from there.

GC: That’s cool, uphill!

GC: Uphill!

GC: Now, How would you classify your music? For someone who hasn’t heard it, what are some of the words you would you to describe it?

Charles: Powerful

Taylor: Anointed!

GC: But if I’m not a Christian what does anointed sound like?

Charles: The anointing, it grabs you. It makes you feel what we feel.

GC: Which is?

Charles: We feel the anointing and we’re feeling God’s power, just His whole presence!

GC: O.K.! Someone who’s not a part of the Body of Christ and hears a Charles and Taylor record , they’re going to get a sense of what it’s like to be with God?

Taylor : Welcomed!

GC: Welcome, I like that. It’s important for people to feel welcomed when they listen to music. A lot of times what they see in the Body of Christ is not welcoming. So that’s good that when they get your record they’re going to want to see more of what’s going on in the Body of Christ just because it’s represented so well. Is there anything else you need to let us know, or what’s going on, when’s the record dropping?

Charles and Taylor: In July!!!

GC: You need to say it with pride. The records dropping July, go get it!

Charles and Taylor: Go get it; cop that!!!

GC: And the title of the record is Charles and Taylor. Cool. We look forward to good thing from you guys, thanks for coming by GospelCity.com.

Charles and Taylor: Thank you!!