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Freedom Never Dies

The Sojourners | thesojourners.ca

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All opinions on the film and accompanying album aside, there is no denying that Kanye West’s Jesus is King has given gospel music more attention than it usually gets. The Donald Trump-adoring rapper’s take on the whole Jesus thing appears to be more about his personal relationship to the Lord being better than everyone else’s, and trying to sell merchandise. But true gospel music as a genre has its heart in community, caring and civil rights.

The Vancouver-based trio the Sojourners all grew up within the American gospel church tradition. The award-winning group’s fourth recording, Freedom Never Dies, begins with a song about famed Florida NAACP activist Harry Moore, and ends with a pledge to “Rise Up.”

Marcus Mosely (Rails, Tex.), Will Sanders (Alexandria, La.) and Khari Wendell McClelland (Detroit) came together after blues artist Jim Byrnes contacted Mosely to see if he could bring together some singers to perform backup vocals for Byrnes’ coming album. Everything gelled so well that a new group’s career was launched.