Kirk Franklin has released his fourteenth full-length solo album, I Am What I Am, a 14-track, double-disc project divided between studio recordings and live performances. “Hope In You,” featuring Davido, is the album’s focus track. The set is available through Uptown Records.
The album’s seven studio tracks pair Franklin’s gospel foundations with sounds drawn from Afrobeats, hip-hop and R&B. Its guests include Davido, Jelly Roll, GloRilla and Tobe Nwigwe, while Karen Clark Sheard and Tim Rogers appear on live tracks. The live half comprises “Someday,” “It Is Well,” “Welcome In,” “Thank You For Everything,” “Holy,” “Beautiful Thorns” and “Time.” The studio side opens with “Free Me Tonight” featuring Jelly Roll and “This Time” featuring GloRilla, followed by “Hope In You” and “It Gets Better” with Tobe Nwigwe, as well as “Able,” “Do It Again” and “Stay.” The release frames the split as reflecting Franklin’s identity as a gospel artist and a musician working across genres, with both approaches given equal space.
Kirk Franklin - Someday (Live)
“This Time” incorporates Mandrill’s “Children Of The Sun.” The album’s earlier single, “Thank You For Everything,” features Clark Sheard, a member of The Clark Sisters. Franklin performed the song at the 41st Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards, where it made its live television debut; its video also premiered on BET Her. The record follows a career spanning more than three decades for Franklin, who has won 20 Grammy Awards. The album arrives under Franklin’s partnership with Uptown Records, Fo Yo Soul Entertainment and TRIBL Music Group, reported earlier this year.
