kirk franklin

Beyoncé and Kirk Franklin: Two Performers on Opposite Ends of the Game who Know Something About Turning-up the Heat on their Dreams

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It’s been only a few days since Easter and the temperature is already turnt-up. Not so much the air outside but the buzz around town and on social media after Beyoncé pulled another surprise album drop. This time it’s a ‘live’ recording from her recent Coachella Festival concert set, with a remix on a classic.

Her version of the old Frankie Beverly & Maze track ‘Before I let go’ is setting records and exciting fans. She even caused another ‘breaking of the Internet’ with dance challenge videos to the track. Then as if to follow that with even more madness, her Lemonade album is now streaming worldwide on all platforms.

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That’s the story from the R&B/Pop side of the game. And then there’s Kirk Franklin who’s going from the studio to the road with his 13th album along with a U.S. concert tour. He’s already made waves and set records as a gospel artist. He’s even got Amazon’s ‘Alexa’ on the case to help bump his streams.

Beyoncé and Franklin are two performers on opposite ends of the game who know something about turning-up the heat on their dreams. Since Bey had to skip her previous Coachella performance the year before due to the ‘baby bump’ many were looking forward to her bringing a world-class stage show.

She’s the first black female artist to headline the event. Franklin’s the first gospel artist to have a music video on MTV. Their journeys have had bumps in the road where they reinvented themselves a time or two. Their performance side is lit, their biz side is legit, having taken their dreams through the phases of:

  1. Formation

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One takeway from the Homecoming show on Netflix is that Bey handles the details from the creative to the expressive sides of her performances. As an artist, she’s thinking about her craft in the band as much as she’s thinking about herself as a brand in taking her dream from conception to mass distribution.

  1. Resolution

There’re probably three key times in the year when people use the calendar to help propel their dreams or other social agenda. Whether it’s because the ‘new-year rush’ is over or the career thrill is gone, people will use Spring time or early Fall to make a kind of dream resolution for taking things up a notch.

  1. Correction

Most dreams go though an ‘up and up’ phase in building clout. Then something happens that becomes a setback or shift in strategy. Beyoncé and Franklin have had moments where the business caused them to make adjustments or life caused their dreams to make slight course corrections as planes do on autopilot.

  1. Appreciation

It took three years for Beyoncé’s decision on releasing the Lemonade album to all streaming platforms. This will give fans a greater appreciation for her work. Not as if the Beyhive wasn’t already on board with her music archive. But fan appreciation is sort of the best ‘tell’ of the impact of someone’s dream work.

Sometimes a dream takes a while to come into formation or full view. Other times it happens right before our eyes as we’ve seen with these two artists. To fans, Bey is like an angel and they show her major appreciation. While Franklin wants his dream to be like a gospel soldier for the ‘MHG – Most High God.’

Tip: Sometimes a dream takes a while to come into formation or full view. But when it takes off it goes from conception to fan appreciation.

Talkback: What’s the difference between a fan club and the Beyhive?

Tracks: Shaggy ft Rayvon – Angel – https://youtu.be/XWJrPzAUzAs

Destiny’s Child  – Soldier – https://youtu.be/qFJ3VKnwmJw

Ciara, Oprah, Their First-Name Status and The Big Rollout to Leave a Mark on the Marketplace with a Big Payback

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Seems like the Spring season kicked-off with so many events for us to go all out. The March Madness frenzy is in full effect where fans get to raise the noise as teams raise their level of play. There was also a Michelle Obama sighting as she returned to her book tour to an arena fill with 18,000 guests.

Recording artist Ciara was in the house along with a few other big-time players in sports and showbiz. Not to be outdone, Oprah made a grand appearance at the Apple launch of their latest tech project. She says they’re partnering to leave the world a little bit smarter, kinder and better than they found it.

Ciara and Oprah with their first-name status and the big rollout, are looking to leave their mark on the marketplace. That’s not some new feeling/fad that’s got them pitching a ‘pie in the sky’ idea. It’s really them connecting with folks in ways that excite new ventures in technology along with hopes and dreams.

Outside of those times Ciara gets to shake, bounce and pop in music she’s giving talks to industry/sports groups on the challenges of life-role balance. Beyond those times Oprah gets to share content, impact culture and deliver entertainment, she’s big on spreading ‘aha moments’ to rev-up life.

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What we see with them points back to times they took a chance, made a shift, or set a goal to stretch them from where they were to where they could be. This latest effort with Apple is one Oprah is gushing about. It gives her another way to show that achieving fulfillment in career and life is in how we affect:

  1. The Game

This takes some passion. For Oprah it started with her doing the local news. Her passion was working in journalism. Then she made the shift to hosting her own talk show which changed the game as we knew it. Oprah and Ciara show that passion is in how we master the game and how we level-up the career field.

  1. The People

Most folks remember the Oprah show episode when she said these words: “you get a car, you get a car, err’body gets a car.” That was one of those moments where she did something special for the audience. She’s been doing that not only with financial gifts but also serving in ways guided by a sense of purpose.

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  1. The World

Ciara’s fans love her music and how she celebrates sexy. It sure lights-up the faces of many a guy and girl. Oprah says her calling is as a kind of teaching guru. That’s why she’s revamping her book club. She uses it to bring light to the world and maybe has a big payback by making God look good in the process.

  1. The Times

Along with her professional duties, Ciara is busy being a mom. She’s helping her kids get through their times-table so they can multiply faster. But Oprah chooses to multiply numbers faster with vision, passion and mission to affect millions. That’s how they and other major players affect the times and the ages.

Ciara and Oprah give us inspiring notes on how fulfillment means having our whole-self matter in the best ways possible. Not everybody gets to have first-name status in pop culture. But they do, maybe because they’re loved for what they represent and how they affect the game, the people, the world and the times.

Tip: There’s no greater sense of fulfillment from making a difference than how we bring love to affect the game, the people, the world and the times.

Talkback: Ready to get your game on, excite the people and impact the world for all times?

Tracks: Kirk Franklin – Love Theory – https://youtu.be/3aD8OK07iIY

Aloe Blacc – Wake Me Up – https://youtu.be/M_o6axAseak

Taraji P. Henson & Tyler Perry Give It Their All to Produce an Epic Movie Project like ‘Fatal Attraction’

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Who was that little girl at the recent Art auction? The viral video showed Blue-Ivy Carter sitting with her celebrity parents Beyoncé and Jay-Z at a charity event. She placed a bid on a picture of Sidney Poitier that had folks laughing. It even caught Tyler Perry’s attention since he wanted to have that picture.

Perry told the story during media rounds for his upcoming movie Acrimony which stars Taraji P. Henson. The movie’s title turns out to be one of the most online-searched words this month. Perry teamed-up with Henson for this epic project because he envisioned her as the ‘black Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction.’

You can imagine what it was like filming this movie in eight days. Word has it that the universe was created in seven days so this project may be of epic proportions coming on the heels of Easter. Henson also returns to the TV screen as Cookie on Empire for which she’s still about doing big things.

What it takes to be epic is a story Perry and Henson know well. In the professional world it’s about knowing your ‘main thing’ and supporting it with your favorite ‘sides’ or side-hustle. Think of it the way you enjoy a meal. There’s the main thing you’re good at and the supporting side-skills to round-out the work.

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Perry and Henson have used their talents to land bigger roles, raising their market appeal to a higher level. In addition to working with the OWN Network, Perry has signed production deals with other outlets. It’s like an alphabet soup of TBS, OWN and BET. Their inspiring stories are rich in the success mix of:

  1. Faith for the next mountain to climb

Perry recently shared how the Black Panther movie was one of the many showbiz projects shot at his Atlanta studios. The site was an old military base that’s been transformed into ‘Hollywood South.’ How do you go from ‘dead to alive’ in any aspect of career, biz or life? Perry might say it takes mustard seed faith.

  1. Passion for the next road to travel

There were times life presented Perry and Henson with options for the next road to travel. It might be a new project assignment, a new lane in business or a new lease on life. They’ve found the passion for the next road to travel and even for the road less travelled. That’s a choice people make to become epic.

  1. Savvy for the next dollar to make

Perry shared how he was watching TV news and heard the word ‘acrimonious’ used in a certain context. He decided to look up the meaning. Then the light bulb went off in his head to put a different spin on the word for his movie title. Professional savvy is about using a skill or applying a concept in another context.

  1. Smile for the next advice to give

Sometimes when comedians tell jokes they do it with a straight face. There’s a certain seriousness that adds to the punch line. There’re also times when the impact is best made with a smile. Perry and Henson have a way of doing the same when sharing their stories with a little advice thrown in for good measure.

Maybe that’s what was memorable about Blue-Ivy placing her bid. From the looks on her parents’ faces and hers as well, folks weren’t sure if she was serious or playing. But Perry had his mind made up. Like his Madea role, he was seriously-funny about getting his hands on the picture and landing it with a smile.

Tip: When it comes to doing big things in 3 days, 8 days or the rest of your days you might need a mix of faith, passion, savvy and a smile.

Talkback: So who was it that bit Beyoncé in the face?

Tracks: Kirk Franklin – Smile – https://youtu.be/Z8SPwT3nQZ8

Stokley – Level – https://youtu.be/phOiiWL_Ljg

The Inside Scoop for How Allyson Felix Schooled Ryan Lochte on Having Amazing Grace #BigTimeUniversity

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This production of “Wise-up Wednesdays” Blogcast by Douette ‘Doc’ Cunningham is a presentation in “social media entertainment from the groove-track of life!” #WUWECAST

LOL Tube – Got Funny?

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Theme:– “The Year of ‘Flashlighting’ – Get Seen!”
A New Way to Shine with Highlights, Insights and Media-bites that’s Exciting (Old-School Flava)

Al Roker may no longer be trending but recently he became a big Internet sensation. After more detail came out from the Ryan Lochte story, Roker wasn’t having it. While Lochte was cleaning up his story Allyson Felix was cleaning-up on the track. She schooled Lochte on what it takes to have amazing grave.

Leading up to and at the Olympics Felix had a series of gut-wrenching setbacks. In a recent tweet she wrote “When you feel broken. When you have nothing left to give. Remain faithful. Keep fighting. Joy comes in the morning.” She gave us 3 options for flashing A+ swagger in a performance crunch.

Felix missed-out on qualifying for the 200 meters at the US trials. She then lost the 400 meters Olympic final by a hair. Both times she was beaten at the line by a falling runner. She has a template for handling adversity. It’s in forgetting those things which are behind and pressing towards the mark of a champion.

Even when they dropped the stick in the 4X100 heats, Felix called on some ‘smile diplomacy.’ This pushed her teammates to finish the race before issuing a protest. If they hadn’t completed the initial race, they wouldn’t have had another chance. In the finals, the squad blew away the rest of the field.

When asked by the Today Show about how she moved from feeling devastated, Felix showed true character. “You’re going to have obstacles. There’s going to be adversity. Let your spirit shine through.” She displayed humility in ways that helped her turn a surprise setback into a history-making comeback.

Groove-Track: Curtis Mayfield – Back to Living Again – https://youtu.be/FdUNwo5HXdU

Theme:– “The Year of ‘Flashlighting’ – Get Seen!”
A New Way to Shine With Highlights, Insights and Media-bites that’s Exciting (New-School Flava)

Al Roker no longer trending. Since Internet sensation branding. After detail of Lochte’s story came out. Already begun to up-end Ryan’s clout. Tried to clean-up what he said. But damage already done Fred. Hoping for gold in last act. Felix cleaned-up on the track. And schooled Lochte on amazing grace in black.

A gut-wrenching moment in trials loss. Felix still planned to rock like da boss. In recent tweet she wrote. Words to embrace and quote. When broken with little to give. Remain faithful in how you live. Get back up and keep fighting. ‘Cause joy comes in the morning. 3 options for flashing A+ swagger and top billing.

Missed-out on 200 meter spot. Didn’t sit well in 4th finish slot. Lost 400 meters final by a hair. Winner falls across line in a scare. A template for handling adversity. Something to share at ‘Big Time University.’ Forgetting those things which are behind. Pressing towards mark of champion’s next find.

Even in relay when stick was dropped. Didn’t mean that passion had stopped. So she called on some ‘smile diplomacy.’ As if to trigger a distant legacy. Getting teammates to complete the race. Made a second chance fall in place. In finals, squad blew away the field. Taking home gold and ‘girl power’ shield.

How she keeps going from devastated? Tells Today Show it’s being pro-rated. With true character in her explanation. For how to handle the situation. Obstacles come from time to time. Dealing with adversity not a crime. Spirit of humility shone through next move. From setback to history-making comeback groove.

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Tip: A+ swagger isn’t just about skill & status but handling adversity with patience, diplomacy & humility.

Talkback: Is Felix going to be remembered more for her relay race or her amazing grace?

Groove-Tracks: Kirk Franklin – Smile – https://youtu.be/Z8SPwT3nQZ8

Joey Bada$$ – Devastated – https://youtu.be/DWDD3AyMtxs

This production of “Wise-up Wednesdays” Blogcast by Douette ‘Doc’ Cunningham is a presentation in “social media entertainment from the groove-track of life!” #WUWECAST