You may not know it, but if you listen to popular music, you have definitely heard Debra Killings. The soulful artist's voice has been heard on albums spanning the gamut from Madonna, George Clinton, Santana to Toni Braxton, TLC, Deborah Cox, Aretha Franklin, Monica, and Outkast. Today, Debra Killings steps out from behind the scenes and prepares to release her first solo album, Surrender, and she proves this her time and season to show the world her own unique music and vision.
The list of artists that Debra has worked with as well as those she cites as influences clearly show her range both in style and in musical tastes; the culmination of which are apparent on Surrender where she displays a flexibility that is rare. Debra's heart is heard throughout the project and what has emerged is a distinctly honest and deeply affecting body of work. She combines rich melodies, warmly inviting vocals and a simply stated message about the love of God. Hoping to not only entertain and inspire, Debra wants to change the way people see and hear Inspirational/Gospel music.
"I've done a lot of different session work with a number of people," explains Killings. "I've always been seen as a background singer, but now I think this is God's appointed time for Debra... I was going to give up on my own solo career ... but God really took over and here I am with my first album."
Although Debra's resume and track record certainly speak for itself, and it'd be pretty easy for her to record a secular album, it's been a deeply rooted calling on her life to record gospel music. So begins Debra's musical and spiritual journey with the release of Surrender on July 22, 2003 on Verity Records.
"My whole purpose and goal is to let people know that God is a simple God and that He loves everybody," said Debra. "I want people who may have never gone to church or those who don't listen to 'gospel' music to know that you can come to Him however you are, wherever you are...that's basically my whole message."
Killings' music ministry and artistry expresses and focuses on an unshakable love and much-needed faith in God wrapped around a sundry of influences and insights. For example, she goes from conventional contemporary Gospel like the flowing and expressive "Oh My God," the reflective praise ballad, "Jesus" and the soul-stirring title track "Surrender." To the irresistibly melodic first single, "Message In The Music." A song co-written and produced by Dallas Austin and Kandi Burruss (Xscape) the mid-tempo track is a bass heavy song that seems to reveal the whole theme of Debra's music ... there has to be a "message in the music."
Recalling days when she was brought to church as a younger girl ... the songs speaks to the joyous feeling she got when she heard the choir get up and start to sing. It was the earliest memories she had of why and how she loved Gospel music. "If anyone has ever been to church, they'll remember what it was like when the choir came on ... music can really minister to people," she said.
An accomplished singer, songwriter, musician and producer, Debra's signature is her way of expressing the ways that love, God and faith can inspire and carry us all. There are mesmerizing melodies, "Because of Your Love," and "Without Him," and compelling vocals "Love," and "Even When," all of which tap into Debra's influences and exemplify how deep her musical range really is.
Her unique combination of soft rock, gospel and soul is what makes listening to this album so exciting. "It's hard to explain my style," said Debra. "Think Journey meets Stevie Wonder meets Karen Clark Sheard. If you listen to the song 'Love' that's what I would call my Stevie Wonder song ... it's got a smoothed out harmony and groove, but if you hear the song 'Jesus' that's my straight up Gospel church song."
She continued on saying, "My favorite song right now has to be 'Jesus' ... it's so powerful and the album was almost totally completed when I was listening through it and felt it need something ... I sat down and the Lord just gave me this song. I was thinking of how wonderful His name is."
There's so much to find on the album ... from the RandB toned "A Change" comes straight from Debra's soulful roots that speaks to determined encouragement and strength in God to the Latin, funky bounce of "Because of Your Love," written and produced by label-mate and contemporary Gospel whiz Fred Hammond. "It was amazing that I got to work with Fred Hammond on my first album ... I've been a fan of his for so long, and it was amazing to watch him work," said Debra. "I went to Detroit to his studios and we just started flowing and Fred writes straight from the heart." Rounding out her musical outpouring is the warm and expressive "Without Him" a song that was first introduced on the Gold-certified WOW Gospel 2003 project.
Without a doubt there has been a buzz about Debra Killings for quite a while and it's her creativity and her dedication to record the kind of music she wanted to record that makes her personal journey and story as an artist so meaningful. She's at the dawn of an incredible solo career, and in her own words said it best "I'm looking forward to seeing how far God is going to take this."
Source: http://www.debrakillings.com/
