Chapter 5

On June 23, 2001, Affiliation Entertainment, an Atlanta based multimedia company, launched its music division. Among the 10 simultaneous releases shot out to the public that day, was a project from 5 young men from Huntsville, Alabama. Emerging on the scene, they come, inspired by the sounds of their mentors Take 6, Virtue, Brian McKnight and Chris Willis (all Oakwood College alumni) and sporting a bold appearance.

Christian young men they may be, albeit their music delivers an inspirational message with a Universal appeal that challenges and rivals their mainstream counterparts (Boyz II Men, R. Kelly, Dru Hill among others) on the same level, except these men are professing their Christianity loud and clear. Whereas in mainstream media, Christianity is not often portrayed in a favorable light (9-11 notwithstanding), these gentlemen have emerged to let the world know that it’s “cool to be a Christian”.

Chapter 5 is comprised of Nygel Turman, Calvin Manley, LaMont Martin, Sean Simmonds, and David Caldwell III, who combine their voices in razor-sharp harmony. Their vocal blend is unique in the diverse qualities brought by each member, creating a sonority that is somehow familiar, yet quite new to the eargate.

Jumping off the top is track two, Make a Change, featuring tight rhythms, switching vocal textures and alternating harmonic layers of vocals; showcasing right away why these guys sound so great together. Along the same lines is Creep-n, pointing out the error of youthful ways and the potential consequences of dangerous behavior.

Personal Festival begins with Spanish praise dialogue in the vein of Kirk Franklin & INC’s Unconditional. Followed by radio-friendly R. Kelly-ish Sometimes Love Is Not Enough a beautiful ballad that will certainly attract fans of the aforementioned as well as devotees of our current plethora of boy-bands (Boyz, N-Sync, CCM’s Plus One).

Other notable tracks include the Spanish-guitar infused In My Heart Rings a Melody, an updated version of the traditional Sunday-School chorus; the Jamaican-patois-intro Tempted and Believe In Love relish in urban flava. The group makes a bold attempt to address their gospel roots at the tail end of 15 tracks with Other Side; the Commissioned styled Over Again, Calvary and falsetto-driven Create in Me.

Generally all these tracks derive from the same Urban Soul/R&B point of view and vary in shades and hues with splashes of Pop, Latino and Reggae sounds that blend together in a more contemporary format. Not since Men of Standard has a multi-male group offered to fill the void that has been missing in Gospel music since Commissioned and The Winans emerged in the ‘80s.

Building on their gospel foundation, church upbringing, post-secondary schooling, their gospel mentors and contemporaries in mainstream, Chapter 5 apply a broad range of influences from childhood to current day icons like Kirk Franklin to produce an enjoyable youthful project; one they trust will deliver a ministry of hope to the everyday person.