Fred Hammond is aware even as he’s getting up there in age, he’s still making waves happen in music! The gospel legend taps in with AV from the Houston BMW Studios to break down his Verzuz with Kirk Franklin, how George Floyd changed their entire dynamic, getting older in the gospel, his new comedy series Surviving Williams his passion for filmmaking, his battle with COVID-19 and more!
“As gospel artists, we’re regular people,” Hammond says of his relationship with Franklin. “We laugh, we tell stupid jokes … we’re all on a thread. Yolanda, Donnie McClurkin, Israel Haughton, Marvin Sapp, Kirk. All of us are on a thread where we can be ourselves and talk about anything. We can talk about religion to red hats and we can say whatever we feel about all of it. It’s a safe place for us because they don’t know, we regular people but we made a choice to sing about something.”
Hammond was initially hesitant about participating in a Verzuz, believing the “gospel shouldn’t go up against the gospel” like a rivalry-style setting. It wasn’t until the death of George Floyd plus some coaxing from Bishop T.D. Jakes, Swizz Beatz, Timbaland to do it. Even Franklin needed some coaxing to bring him in as the nation needed some “healing.”
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