Monday, July 9, 2012

Free (2011 Album) & Indescribable (Kierra “Kiki” Sheard) – A Review


If you know “Ki” as many love calling her, born Kierra Valencia Sheard, you can only imagine what she did in her latest 2011 album “Free!”, which by the way was the first live recording made my her brother J. Drew Sheard (and probably herself?) in Chicago under her family’s Gospel label “Karew Records”.
Ki's vocals are some of the most powerful I've ever heard; and that daughter of God knows how to use her voice as an instrument that always will communicate straight to your heart. Sincerely speaking, her whole family is a home of great vocalists; considering that she is the daughter of the great Karen Clark-Sheard and therefore part of a family of The Clark Sisters, related to the legend Gospel musician Mattie Moss Clark (the Father to J Moss and Bill Moss), thus making her one who belongs to - if you’ve been listening to contemporary Gospel Music for a while - one of the most famous black American Gospel Music families maybe just behind The Winans…
Ki was only 24 when "Free" was recorded last year. She has featured in several successful projects both musically and in the theaters. I saw her in Deitrick Haddon’s movie “Blessed and Cursed” acting as his sister and she also played a role in “The Preacher’s Kid” (a 2010 movie). You know her if you know her early 2000s Gospel jam “You Don’t Know” which she presented in a 2005 CeCe Winans concert and is also on WoW Gospel 2005 track listing. She is a niece to J Moss (James Moss) of PAJAM. You know PAJAM if you know and love the production behind such great songs as “Give You More” by J Moss, “We Love You” (J Moss and Byron Cage) and songs like “U Got Me Through” (by 21:03 featuring J Moss); and some like Cover Me (Featuring Fred Hammond and J Moss). J Moss has mentored 21:03 since youthhood and are about to release their latest album, “From Boys to Men”)… BTW, have you listened to their song “The Prayer” featuring J Moss? If you have not, then I wonder what kind of music you listen to, mun!
Oh how I love J! “J” is just soooo lollidopous! His vocals will blow anybody away (including myself). He is one of those guys/servants I say they preach the Gospel in the best way possible and with swagga. BTW, he’ll be releasing his latest CD, “V4... The Other Side” on July 31, 2012 having my favourites like ‘Good and Bad’ which has received massive airplay already on most American Gospel radio stations. I just can’t miss that! iCan’t!...
So “J” being Ki’s uncle (because Karen Clark-Sheard her mother, is his cousin), you can all tell that she has been in good hands in terms of music mentoring... She has been surrounded by stars all the way, making you expect stardom from her... Please allow me not to go into all that...  
Now let’s talk about “Free” and that song up there, “Indescribable.”
“Free” was released on October 18, 2011. It is an album I’ll recommend to all young people (like me) out there.  
The flow of the music and the composition in this album is just beyond what I can fully define on paper. It is a wonderfully planned project that begins so well with a prelude to "Free", waving itself into great jams like “War” – a song which had been done before in one of her past albums - then matching right into beautiful sounds of “Mighty” and “You Are”, then an Interlude… (some bit of great noise there). Such arrangement for an album into means two things: first, it is a real project and second, it is anointed project. I call those first five tracks "part one" of the album. You start feeling the dominance of Ki’s voice, her brother's beautiful production and great backing-up from the BRL (the Bold Right Life Choir) in this first part of the album. 
In “part two”, the album then just escalates the atmosphere giving you a taste of deep worship where she hits high keys mixed with her melodic voice and some bits of emotion. Let me stop here. You have to imagine Kierra “Kiki” Sheard, and her great vocals turning emotional… Impeccable! The string of songs in this second "part" of the album “Desire”, “Free” and “Indescribable”, give you such an atmosphere of deep devotion that somehow gives you a break from the jammy first "part" of the album... Relaxes you but also inspires you to speak your heart out to God...
Those three songs bond and blend really well if played back to back… The truth is that when you listen to those three songs back to back, you can’t imagine it is a 24 year old doing the worship. It is great stuff right there! You will have a feeling and an admiration of the way she has radically changed, showing that she has grown a lot both vocally and spiritually as painted in the album's musical transitions.
“Part three” of the album includes song numbers 9 to 14 (in the listing: “People”, “Victory”, “Believers Evolved”, “Back to Earth”, “Lane” and “Since I Found Christ” which bring you back to some really groovy jams. You will like it, I promise...
My favorite song “Indescribable” which is Track no. 8 in the album was originally done by Chris Tomlin. To show her musical prowess and ability to be creative, the song is redone so a-may-zingly, with addition of a third part to the original chorus and lots of action (action I mean the Tye Tribbett style... - like in when he is doing his song "Good"). Really. This makes the message of the song (which is at the center of the album) point! The song colorfully describes how God’s power, love and deeds are simply indescribable. Indescribable indeed... Her vocals are so WoW, her emotion so dope, and it’s just a-may-zin… It is a must listen to guys! Here are the lyrics;

Verse 1
From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea 
Creations revealing Your Majesty 
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring 
Every creature unique in the song that it sings 
All exclaiming… 
Chorus:
Indescribable, uncontainable, You place the stars in the sky and You know them by name..You are amazing G-od 
All powerful, untameable, awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim…
You are amazing God… 
Verse 2
Who sees lightning bolts and tells them where they should go or 

Sees heavenly store houses laden in snow 
Who imagined the sun and gave source to it's light 
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night 
None can fathom 
Repeat Chorus +
Part 3:
Incomparable, unchangeable, You've seen the depths of my heart and You love me the same…You are amazing God 
You are amazing God… 
 Repeat Chorus with part 3
Vamp
(You are amazing God) ×5

God bless.


Morris.

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