Music Review: Kingdom Book One by Maverick City Music and Kirk Franklin
Music Review: Kingdom Book One by Maverick City Music and Kirk Franklin
27 August 2022
Kirk Franklin and Maverick City Music visited Everglades Correctional Institution in Miami-Dade, Florida, during their Kingdom tour in March. Their recording features the voices of 1300 inmates and prison staff.
Kingdom: Book One is the latest album by trending worship group Maverick City Music and gospel great Kirk Franklin. The collective is making waves around the globe for its blend of contemporary, gospel, R’n’B and funk anthems and music.
As per previous releases by Maverick City Music, this album is an eclectic mix of music that makes sincere efforts to intertwine between tracks. ‘Fear Is Not My Failure’, a driving gospel, merges into ‘Bless Me’, a song in an American pep band style that is infused with R’n’B, funk and continuous key changes.
The lyrics throughout Kingdom: Book One are raw and emotive (“You are jealous, you are jealous for me”), and the honesty at times confronting. However, according to an interview with WorshipFuel.com, Maverick aims to be “a place where you can just be who God has called you to be”, and due to this, the listener is taken on an authentic worship experience. This is not necessarily an album of songs to be replicated in a congregational worship setting but a vulnerable declaration of praise and love to God.
The Salvation Army exists to represent the lost, last and least of society. In this, a common theme is found among these musicians. In their own words, Maverick City Music is a group that aims to be a voice for those who “believe in Jesus ... but have been pushed to the margins”.
They seek to give family to a minority community that has often been marginalised – and in this album, it is illuminated by the congregation of 1300 inmates from Everglades Correctional Institution in Miami-Dade, Florida, who participate in the recording. In this way, they spotlight the injustices plaguing the mass incarceration system. However, through worship, they seek not to be a representation of those deprived but rather a “sound of true belonging: The beautiful harmony of a long-lost family”.
Kingdom: Book One is streaming now on Apple Music, Spotify and Google Play. The physical album is available at Christian bookstores.
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