Ami Rushes

By Richard Cox

Ami Rushes is a praise warrior for God; an inspiring artist and gifted songwriter committed to her music ministry. She is a former singer of the legendary Rev. James Cleveland’s Cornerstone Institutional Baptist Church choir. Her traditional gospel style is full of energy and joyful praise. Ami is on fire for the Lord and is determined to make a difference in the lives of others through her ministry.

GospelCity.com: Ami, how did you start singing gospel music?

Ami Rushes: I got into gospel music through Rev. James Cleveland … through a revival in Los Angeles. I had a boyfriend at that time that took me to this revival and unbeknownst to me at the end of the service my boyfriend pushed me up to meet Rev. Cleveland and said, “you got room for one more, don’t ya?” The Rev. said, “Sure, come on.” That’s how it started. I started singing with Rev. Cleveland and was with the choir for years.

GC: Tell us about your current CD project.

AR: The current CD is called Covering and was produced by Kurt Carr. There are songs on there for everybody… songs you know but Kurt has put a little twist to it. One of the best parts about this record is 30% of the proceeds of every copy that’s sold will go to Save Africa’s Children. For those who don’t know what Save Africa’s Children is about my pastor, Bishop Charles E. Blake, had a vision to help children of Africa and be responsible … because we are our brother’s keeper. Bishop wanted to minister love to Africa - not just in words but in deed. He has built so many orphanages, sent medicine, Bibles and helped the children to find homes. It’s a great, great organization. He’s my Bishop and I wanted to get on board with his vision. So Ami Rushes Ministries contribute to it.

GC: What are some of your favorite songs on the Covering project?

AR: Probably my two favorites are Holy Ghost and Through It All.

GC: When was the Covering project released?

AR: It was released about a year and a half ago. We have a new project coming out this summer that Kurt Carr will also produce. So look for it! I can’t give you the title yet; it’s in the works. We have a new video for the Covering project called Battlefield and we dedicate this video to our troops oversees. It will air on BET in March 2007.