My First Music Video, "Highest Praise"

Tomorrow morning, God is blessing me to realize another lifelong dream of mine; we will be filming, with a full production, the very first video for "Highest Praise," the Contemporary Christian Music single from my debut album Marathon. The song and video will also feature the phenomenally talented Mayra V. Alvarez, who I was introduced to by Seth Perez, of rock band The White Flags (and brother of my friend Happy Perez, the Grammy Award winning producer of stars such as Kanye West, Miguel, and Frank Ocean). Seth showed me YouTube footage of Mayra singing at Lakewood Church, and I was blown away by the beauty and control of her vocals. When I reached out to her about being a part of the song, she was out of town leading worship for her church, Grace Community, but she didn't hesitate to let me know that she would love to be a part of the song and couldn't wait to hear it.

What she didn't know, was at the time I was reaching out to her about being a part of the song, we hadn't even recorded it yet. Truth be told, I hadn't even finished writing the song yet. When my team thebridge (Ty Steez, Aphillyated, JayTel) and I began working on Marathon once we'd completed our work on my big bro Lecrae's Gravity album, we started by getting all the tracks together. I had maybe 20 tracks that we'd produced that I selected initially, expecting to do a 12-13 song album. JayTel and I then went thru all the ones I'd selected, listening based on what God had said the concept for the album needed to be (see Marathon previous post), and pared it down to about 15 tracks, several of which we came up with basic melody lines for. Finally, I would sit down every morning in prayer with my Bible on the side of me, and ask God for direction, for what to write, for what to say, for what concepts to base the songs on. I then selected 11 tracks that I knew said what God had charged me to say.

But, for some reason, the track that became "Highest Praise", I wasn't sold on. I knew God had tasked me with writing a big worship song, that could cross racial and denominational divides to unite His people in praising Him, but something about this track we'd produced just didn't sit well with me. I remember when my wife Shaunta heard it the first time, she quickly said "NOPE! Next track!" (lol) Even JayTel and I, when we listened to it together again, weren't sold on it. I even told the team we needed to come up with another worship record, and we did...but for some reason I couldn't let that beat go. I prayed the next morning during my daily devotion time that if it was meant for me to write a great song to that beat, that God would give me the song. I then felt led to go to Psalms 3:3, which King David begins by saying, "You are a shield about us, O Lord..." Once I read that, the rest of the lyrics flowed thru, as though God had opened a musical spigot inside my heart..."You are the shield about us...delivering us from harm...though ten thousand fall at our right hand, we find safety in Your Arms..." Within maybe 20 minutes from the time God gave me the first line, the entire song was done, verses, chorus, core melody, everything. And I can't take credit for writing it, as I'd never written a song in this style before, ever. It was all God.

When JayTel came back to thebridge studio, I played and sang him the song, and he was tripped out that THIS song came out of THAT track. When everyone else hears the song, it sounds like the music and song were a perfect fit, but in truth, God made that all possible. We recorded my verse and all my backgrounds, and sent the rough over to Mayra, who replied that she loved the song and couldn't wait to come by to sing it. Boy, did she sing it!! When she dropped by my studio a week later with her husband Melqui and got in the booth to lay her lead vocals down, we had no idea what to expect. We knew she could sing from the YouTube videos, but had no clue as to the true depth of her talent. Once she got in the booth, JayTel hit record, and in her first take, she blew us all away. She was so humble, however, that even after leaving us with our jaws on the floor, she then came out of the booth, nervously, and asked us if we thought that was "Ok." OK? That was absolutely amazing. I'm not easily impressed when it comes to singers, as I have been around great singing most of my career and worked with some of the most gifted singers in the industry, but Mayra?? Wow.

As JayTel was the vocal producer for the session (and for all of Marathon), he had her go back in the booth to lay her adlibs. She laid 3 or 4 different comp takes (which means different feels and adlibs that we could then go back later and pick and choose from to make a final take), and it fell to me to finish my adlibs. We knocked the song out, and sent it to a few industry ears to check out, and they all unanimously loved the song and thought it had the potential to be a big record.

Tomorrow, at 7:30 AM, we begin the process of bringing this song to life visually. I am blessed to have a film director at the helm, with a full production crew, and as I type this, I am preparing my portion of the Call Sheet for the shoot tomorrow, with names and emails of every creative person involved in the video. I have spent the past couple weeks shopping with my stylist for the shoot, Merakal Birmingham, and have only last night officially decided what I will be wearing (I am passionately opposed to shopping of any kind, unless it involves bookstores lol), and am extremely excited (and, admittedly, a little nervous) about the opportunity God has blessed me to have with this project.

I'll post plenty of pics from the set tomorrow, and will likely blog details once the shoot is wrapped. Once the crew has finished the video, I'll post it on YouTube and put a link to it here on the blog for everyone to see, as we begin the promotional campaign to launch the album. Stay tuned.

Update, 12/3/12

The video shoot was an amazing experience, even better than I imagined it would be. Although I was the last one to the set Friday morning due to getting my oldest daughter on the school bus and having to fight traffic across town to get to Grace Community Church, I walked in to the crew having set up much faster than I anticipated, and already running thru the lighting sequences with Andre, Grace's lighting technician. I said my quick hellos and walked to the dressing room area, where Mayra was in the mirror applying her makeup. After a quick talk thru the plan for the beginning of the shoot, she headed out so that I could get in wardrobe. Once that was done, I walked out on set to my mark in front of the camera, and when I did, the entire cast said a collective "wow" as they saw the way the outfit my stylist, Merakal Crawford-Birmingham, popped on camera. The director, Dallas, ran up on stage and immediately commented on how much he loved the colors I was wearing, and proceeded to change the color of the lighting for the intro scene of the video from blue/green to yellow/orange, which blended even more beautifully with the colors of my wardrobe (I was initially going to wear an entirely different style of outfit, and color scheme, and the original color of the set was based upon that). Once he did that, and after Mayra's husband Melqui snapped what has to be one of the most beautiful pictures I've ever been in of me in profile from a distance on set with the yellow/orange lights beaming from behind (see below), it was time to get to work.

We began the shoot by running thru the intro sequence, which leads directly into my verse. The director was looking for me to be serious, and for the scene to be an intimate worship moment...eyes closed, non-pretentious, and wanted me to end my verse with a smile that would bring in the pre-chorus energy and showcase the warmth of the song. All this, in my first scene. It took us a while to nail the angles and for me to nail the exact range of emotion and depth of feeling he was looking for, but when we nailed it, it felt perfect. We watched the playback of the sequence on the side monitors, and it looked, unedited, every bit as beautiful and crystal clear (we shot on a Red Epic camera, a $70-100K + 5x 1080p definition camera, which was the same camera Peter Jackson shot The Hobbit on, if that tells you anything of the quality we were blessed to work with) as any video I've ever seen on MTV, BET, or VH1.

Next, it was time to do the scene leading into the first chorus, where Mayra is introduced to the camera, as we sing the choruses together on the song (each alternating leads). I had the chance to learn a few new camera tricks for the next video I direct (my last directing job was for my artist Rudy Peyrani's single "Wish You Were Here", which is up on youtube, and in which I play a small role as a military officer assigned with telling someone their loved one passed away in the line of duty), and had fun with Mayra, who has so much energy and talent that working with her is always a joy. We nailed the first prechorus, hook, and instrumental break before her verse, in fairly short order. Watching the footage back, I'd have thought we spent much more time working on it than we did.

When it was time for Mayra to do her verse and adlibs, I had to leave the church to go pick my 5 year old daughter, Taylor, up from the bus stop, and come back to the set. I anticipated the trip taking 45 minutes to an hour, tops. What I didn't anticipate, as I never drive on that side of town at all, was the traffic I'd run into off the Beltway and 45S near the church. It took us nearly 2 and a half hours to get back to the church, and the last 30 minutes of that time, we spent in non-moving traffic on the feeder directly across the freeway from the church, before we even got to the u-turn to go back to the church. Once we got back to the set, I knocked out a solo scene all the way thru, and then it was time for Mayra and I to do some shots of the "lullaby" section, as so many people call it. I call it the singalong portion of the song, which we created to be the part where everyone in the church can put their hands in the air and give God the "Highest Praise" regardless of whether they are able to sing or not, and I'd envisioned this section of the video being Mayra and I waving our hands as though we were leading worship in a packed church. We ended up shooting exactly that, and it's (without having seen the entire video) the most energetic part of the video.

The director called my 5 year old daughter Taylor up to the director's chair to take a look at a scene we'd just shot, so he could ask her if she liked it or not. Once she watched it, she cocked her head to the side (the same way my wife does when she doesn't like something but isn't sure how quite to say it without hurting someone's feelings lol), and I asked her if she liked it. She looked at me, and said "No!" When I asked her why (as the entire crew, Mayra, and her husband Melqui looked on for the reason), she smiled her big beautiful, mischievous smile, and said, "Because you're ugly!" Everyone, including me, fell out laughing! My child is a mess...and I love her little silly self. I said, still laughing, "Get your butt back over to your seat, little girl!" and she walked back to her front row seat with a big grin on her face. Score? Taylor 1, Daddy 0.

Mayra and I finished our last scene together with a laugh at the end of the video, and the director said, "That's a wrap!" to cheers from us as well as from the crew. The entire shoot, from beginning to end, took just shy of 12 hours. I should see the first rough cut of the video this Wednesday, and absolutely cannot wait. Everything about the shoot was beautiful, from the lighting, to the wardrobe, to the skill, organization, and efficiency of the crew. My last video that I shot, the camera crew showed up hours late, and didn't seem to care about protocol or professionalism. Although that video came out amazing, it was in spite of the crew, rather than because of them. I thank God that my first video shoot for my own album was nothing at all like that.

Below, I've included, as promised, pics from the set, as well as a video clip showing one of the takes of my first verse. The clip was given to me by the director Dallas, and he asked me to make sure that I state that the clip was unedited and from him. I think it's beautiful, even without any edits at this point. Definitely let me know your thoughts in the comments once you've had a chance to see it.

Unedited Clip of "Highest Praise" video (per director Dallas)

collage of pics of myself and Mayra V. Alvarez on set (pics courtesy of Mayra's husband Melqui)

Instagram photo of us ministering in the video

The original color scheme for the video prior to the director seeing my outfit on shoot day, at the beautiful Grace Community Church

...and the color the first scene was changed to based upon my wardrobe. Kudos to my stylist, Merakal Birmingham.

Stay tuned. My next update on this blog will be, Lord willing, a link to the finished video, just before the song, my first CCM single from Marathon "Highest Praise" f/Mayra V. Alvarez, is released commercially.

#IMPECCABLEGRIND

The Cypher's Den Interview

I was blessed last night to have the second radio interview last night in support of my upcoming album Marathon with The Cyphers Den, a blogtalk radio show out of Atlanta, GA, which was sent to me by my publicist Makasha. She sent over the series of questions that they would likely ask while I was on the air, and as usual, I immediately began working on going over the answers. I prefer to be prepared, and then be able to speak off the cuff if necessary beyond my written answers.

At 6 PM Central Time last night, I called in to the show, and the host Tari immediately began talking with me regarding the topic of the night, which was whether it was a good idea or not for the states who have petitioned the US to be able to leave the Union. I gave my thoughts, and then she moved on to the first guest on the show, a spoken word poet from Atlanta (who was good, by the way). Once the first guest was done, it was my turn (My interview section began at 27:00, for those who may want to hear that portion).

I had the opportunity to speak on my musical influences and people who inspired me as an artist and producer, such as Fred Hammond and Prince, Jodeci, and Marvin Sapp, and was able to speak on some of my experiences with great artists, my greatest obstacles to success, and they also played three of the songs from my debut Christian album Marathon, "Enough", the first mainstream single, "Go", the 3rd single, and "Put Up With Me", the most personal song on the album, which I wrote for my great aunt Mama Ruth (Margaret Ruth James), who passed away from cancer July 26, 2002, but was one of the major influences on my life and someone who loved, supported, and prayed for me to be in the position I'm now in and to be the man that I've finally become.

I truly enjoyed the entire show, and am grateful to the hosts Tari and Quon for their joy and hospitality. Some hosts are lifeless and dull, and that was NOT the case last night. I had fun. I've posted a link to the interview now for you guys to check it out if you like. Enjoy!!

(Note, if you just want to hear the songs from the album, they played them at the following times:
"Enough" - 34:10
"Go" - 115:50
"Put Up With Me" - 151:30)

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thecyphersden/2012/11/26/the-cyphers-den

#IMPECCABLEGRIND

Pastor Billy Dorsey, Jr.

I've known my whole life that God called me for something...for a purpose, and I knew that the gifts God gave me, including my music, were instilled in me to fulfill a higher calling. I spent my entire youth being called out by pastors and prophets in various churches, who all uniformly told me some variation of the fact that God called me to preach. I knew they were right, but I did NOT want to do it. I had in my mind that most preachers were fake and didn't live the lives they preached about, and sadly, most of them confirmed my thoughts on this during the course of my getting to know them or being around them. I knew my own flaws, and my hidden sins...the things we all have that we pray no one ever finds out about...and I knew that I didn't want to be a preacher as long as I wasn't living a life that lined up with God's Word.

However, even before JayTel, Ty, Phil and I formed thebridge and began working on Gravity, God had already begun working on ME. I first noticed it as a hunger for the Word of God...I'd wake up, spend my days, and go to sleep either reading the Word or meditating on it, and I couldn't get enough. Next, I noticed that my tastes in music changed. I still love the same music I have always loved, but I found myself wanting to hear less and less secular music, and more and more worship (Kari Jobe, etc) and spiritually uplifting music. I didn't fight it, but I made note of it. I have always been able to hear God's voice clearly, even when I was fighting like crazy to get away from my calling, but I noticed that as I began to focus more and more on consecrating myself, I could hear direction from the Holy Spirit that much more clearly.

I began asking God to show me myself, and open my eyes to who I really had become. Certain situations in my life were as negative as my music career was positive, and I knew that all blame didn't fall with the other people involved in those situations, and so I asked God to let me see me so that I knew what to pray that He would change. Boy....did He. He allowed me to see me as those around me saw me clearly for the first time, and it sickened me. I was selfish, inconsiderate and stubborn, and only acknowledged others' feelings and opinions as it related to my life when it served my purposes. I had allowed myself to become bitter and cold, whereas I had always been thoughtful and compassionate, if not overly gregarious, before. And I had allowed my attitude to be governed by how those around me treated me, rather than remaining in control of my own thoughts, my own feelings. So when God showed me my shortcomings and how they caused those around me to suffer, I asked Him to change me. To deliver me. To remake and renew me. He answered the prayer, and I started to see my attitude get better, bit by bit. People would curse, scream, and rage around me, and I began to retain my peace despite them. And past situations that once held me hostage to my own guilt and shame began to lose their hold on my joy.

All of us are imperfect. All of us have sinned. All of us have "issues". The one who tells you otherwise either is lying to you, or lying to themselves. And I saw all of my issues clearly, and because of my upbringing, I understood that I couldn't fix any one of them in my own strength. So I did the only thing I could do; I yielded my will to His. Once I did that, He began to move the things around me to fit His purposes for my life. We nailed "Higher" on Gravity, per God's instructions. We finished Marathon, per God's instructions. And once those things were done, He spoke to my spirit and said, very clearly, it's time to accept the mantle of Pastor and walk in my calling, which is to lead the lost to Him using the gifts He so graciously chose to impart upon me from birth. I immediately said yes, despite my misgivings about pastorship, because I'd always said that I would go whenever He said go, with no hesitation.

One of my musical heroes, Al Green, was also called to preach and pastor, and like me, he also ran from his calling. But he ran for too long, and God allowed a lover of his to scald him with a pot of steaming hot grits before taking her own life. He has said more than once that this horrific event was God's way of getting his attention, and needless to say, it worked. That stuck with me from a very young age once I'd read this part of his story, and I always said that I never wanted God to have to burn me with any grits for me to obey when He called me (lol)! No, no "Grits" Green for me. So when God finally said "Go", I went.

On October 14 of this year, after completing my Pastoral Training, I was appointed as an Elder, and simultaneously was appointed as Pastor, by my dad, Apostle Billy L. Dorsey, Sr. My charge is to obey God in creating Bridge of Hope in Houston, TX, which I've already begun the work of doing. The vision that God gave me for the ministry here is to not focus on building a church edifice, but to take it back to what Jesus and the disciples did. They actually went out to the people, meeting needs and performing miracles where they were, rather than sequestering themselves in sanctuaries and having people have to come to them for the deliverance they needed. My heart is open to instruction from the Lord on the way to do this, and I'm not leading as much as being led in it all. This is a new thing for me, and I have to be mindful more than ever of the things I say and do to make sure that people see and hear Christ when they see and hear me. I am thankful for the positive role models I've been blessed to have along the way, like my parents, who are both pastors, and Pastor Steve Jamison of Maranatha Faith Center in Columbus, MS, along with Elder Larry Traylor, who was our pastor when I was 7 years old in Germany. All of these people actually strive to live what they preach, and allowed me to see from a young age that, while none of them are perfect, it is possible to live a life that is pleasing to God and be a minister.

I'm on the road now. I still fight some of the same battles, and the enemy still attacks me as always. I have even more incentive to overcome now. I have the conviction of my beliefs, and the knowledge that "I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me", which gives me the endurance to run on when I'm tired, and to get up when I fall. I never want to be one of those pastors or men of God who portrays that they're better than others or that they've "got it all together." The Word says "for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God," and I'm no different. I am just a sinner saved by Grace. I'm working to repair the damage of the past, and honestly want to be a man after God's own heart, as King David was.

Please keep my family and I lifted up in prayer as we walk down this road, striving to live for Christ in this music industry. The enemy is not pleased with this decision, but I have to do what God has decreed over my life; as such, I know he is going to work overtime to knock me off track from where God wants me to be. Not so. "Greater is He that is within me than he that is in the world." Indeed.

#thebridgelife

Myself, my dad, Apostle Billy L. Dorsey, Sr, and my mom, Pastor Patricia Dorsey, at my Ordination Ceremony. We were laughing at the fact that my clergy collar was so tight I could barely breathe (lol)

My dad, Apostle Billy L. Dorsey, Sr., myself, my mom, Pastor Patricia Dorsey, and my brother, Pastor Emmanuel Williams. I'm holding my Pastoral Appointment and Ordination certificates from my Ordination ceremony.