Hezekiah Walker

GC: The thing about your ministry is that your songs are truly “church” And even though the industry has moved towards an urban sound, you’ve been able to incorporate that urban sound and still keep it church...

HW: Yes, that was my biggest prayer I didn’t want to be dated or looked upon as “old school”….although I am old school I prayed to the Lord to show me how to bring this new music in yet to also keep my base; my base is church The Lord has proven Himself to do that So I’ve been able to keep the music fresh so that the young people can be attracted to it, but at the same time, they know it’s church.

GC: That seems like a difficult line to walk…

HW: It’s a very difficult line to walk That’s because in the gospel industry most of the gospel artists have been robbed and raped No one has more talent than the gospel acts; we have extraordinary talent but we haven’t been paid for it We haven’t reaped the benefits of our talents our and labor So when we get there, we have difficulty walking that line People are constantly coming at our gospel artists with temptations I’m afraid for artists like Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams and Donnie McClurkin I pray for them all the time because of their status I know the way I’m being pulled at and I can’t imagine the way they are being pulled at But thank God, they have been able to maintain and represent Jesus Christ They keep the music fresh and hot and they keep the world looking at what we’re doing But at the same time, they’ve been able to keep it clear that they’re out there for Jesus That’s what I appreciate about them.

GC: So you believe that a spiritual foundation is important to have before entering the industry?

HW: Oh, yes I was just talking about this the other day There needs to be some type of forum for those coming into the industry so they know they’ve got to have some type of biblical foundation There needs to be a spiritual foundation because if artists aren’t careful, the music industry will swallow them up So it’s important to have a spiritual base and a biblical base so when artists get out there, they’ll know what to do