On Hiatus This Week...

Monday Moment With Kyle is on hiatus this week.

Enjoy the presidential debate, Monday Night Football and Game 7 of the NLCS.

Until next Monday...

Gospel Music...

My grandmother regularly played gospel music when I was growing up in Newark, New Jersey. As a matter of fact, she wouldn't allow secular music to be played in the house on Sundays. Thus we all grew up listening to any number of gospel greats.

When I became a musician, I refused to listen to gospel. REFUSED IT, REFUSED IT, REFUSED IT!

To me it sounded like these people were screaming and hollering and making unnecessary noise. Nonetheless, I listened to the church choir religiously at Greater Welcome Baptist Church.

I preferred MoTown and jazz...those songs were exciting. More important, these songs caused an almost reflex action in your body that made you want to move.

Last night, I visited the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn, NY to see a concert billed as the King's Men Tour, featuring Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin, Marvin Sapp and Israel Houghton.

It was outstanding!

For a person not too keen on gospel, I was amazed at the musicianship and craft displayed by everyone on the stage. For a short moment, I got chills while listening to Sapp sing, "Never Would've Made It."

Simply amazing...and simply astonished that gospel music had changed. This ain't your grandparent's gospel.

This music is challenging, moving, inspiring, motivating and more. Better still, they give recognition to God. After hearing this music, there is no doubt that there is some force that anoints these musicians which such a gift...AND it made me re-think my skills as a musician.

I am humbled by their skill and I have a long way to go. This makes me feel good, because that means there is so much more to learn musically...I intend to learn it.

As stated at the King's Men Tour concert: May the rest of my life be the best days of my life.

Here's to learning and growing!!

Until next Monday....

Tyler Perry

What is with the hate toward Tyler Perry?

This past weekend I noticed several tweets from somewhat reputable people who poked fun at Mr. Perry and his upcoming role as a detective in Alex Cross. It seems that these people take offense to his movies and the Madea character that he created.

By all means, it is fine to criticize and artist and his/her work. But some of these attacks toward Tyler Perry are personal. Some have questioned his talent, business acumen and even his masculinity.

Nonetheless, Mr. Perry has a loyal audience who attends his plays and movies, and simply enjoys the entertainment and positive message that is often presented.

I must admit I didn’t like Tyler Perry productions when I first observed them. I thought they were “low-class.” However, one spring I went to visit relatives in the south and we did dinner and a movie. The movie we saw together, as a family, was a Tyler Perry film. We laughed and laughed and just had a good time.

It was about family…nobody was trying to make sociological discovery or a political statement.

This gets lost in these comments about Tyler Perry.

Additionally, he has taken from his enormous fortune to give back to the community. Not only is he hiring black performers on a regular basis, but also he contributes to society financially…probably more so than any of those people who complain and spread their negativity about the man.

Critics will always be there…but so will supporters. And I for one support Mr. Tyler Perry and applaud him

Until next Monday…

Living Life As It Is...

There is a quote that is often attributed to John Lennon, but I believe that it actually comes from a 1957 comic strip in Readers Digest. It posits, “Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.”

If we were to consider this statement for a moment, we might come to realize that we plan our lives on the basis of expectations. For example, we go to school in order to get great grades. This, in turn, should aid us in getting into the best college, which should therefore lead us to the best jobs with an excellent salary, so that our social lives will improve and put us into circles where we would find a spouse and ultimately build a beautiful family and live happily ever after.

This is what most of us plan.

This is what we expect.

But life happens…and we change.

Yet, as we change, some of us cling to the ideas and notions of who we thought we were and overlook the person we’ve become. Thus we’re unable to live a life that is fulfilling and in the moment and that’s authentic.

In the way, it is important to remind yourself to always push forward and limit the longing for looking back to our expectations or for the “good old days” that never were.

There's a lot to be said about living life as it is instead of how I wish it to be.

Until next Monday...