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Gospo
Centric Records is a power house.
Not necessarily run on the electrical kind, but from
the powers up above. Fueled
on the Holy Spirit and the unwavering capacity of producing
hit after hit, Gospo Centric has become the epicenter of the
gospel world. Literally
nestled discretely on the outskirts of The City of Inglewood,
the company has managed to set themselves apart due to their
excellent work ethic, creativity, and healthy doses of faith.
Founded
in 1992 (with virtually no budget) by entertainment industry
vet Vicki Mack-Lataillade and her husband Claude, Gospo
Centric was conceived after Vicki became tired of investing
time into projects that she felt were morally objectionable.
Things soon started to blossom for the business after
Vicki listened to a demo tape passed on to her by a friend of
then young artist and songwriter Kirk Franklin.
In 1997
Gospo Centric and Kirk hit it big with God’s
Property From Kirk Franklin’s Nu Nation...and well
you know the rest. Once ranked by Billboard magazine as the #4
gospel label in the world, they soon held court at #1 where
they still remain today.
As their notoriety grew so did their roster and folks
like Walter Hawkins, Gospel Gangstaz, and Trin-i-tee 5:7 as
well as collaborations with high profile guest like Mary J.
Blige, R. Kelly, and Fred Hammond soon solidified their
existence in the music world.
Because of the Lataillade’s groundbreaking efforts
and those of their team which by the way they consider family,
Gospo Centric is to gospel what Def Jam is to hip hop.
By
ushering in a new way of looking at music, they have been able
to move the masses to worship on a variety of rhythms under
one beat. I had a
chance to visit their beautiful facility on a warm spring
evening where I chatted it up with spokesperson/A&R
TaNisha Gates. We
had a warm, friendly, even exciting discussion about what
really makes Gospo Centric tick and why they are still number
one.
LJC:
How long has Gospo Centric been in business?
TG:
13 years. It
started in Inglewood actually right off of Regent in Vicki
Mack-Latailade’s home -in her garage.
At that time Kirk Franklin and everybody else was
answering phones, taking their own messages, so it was a home
grown business, she started with $6,000.
Kirk Franklin-Vicki really believed in him and he was
the first major artist that really put Gospo Centric on the
map.
LJC:
What is Gospo Centric’s mission?
TG:
Gospo Centric’s
mission is a little different.
You have a lot of traditional labels out there who have
the foundation of gospel like Albertina Walker and Shirley
Ceasar and Gospo Centric is very contemporary almost hip-hopish.
We do cross the line every now and again.
It’s reaching the younger believer and Kirk Franklin
kind of broke us into that with Stomp
and Trin-i-tee 5:7 with Spiritual
Kiss, so it has always been urban and geared towards
Vicki’s children because there was nothing out there her
kids could listen to.
LJC:
What do you think has made Gospo Centric the powerhouse that
it is
today?
TG:
I think the belief
of the artist themselves. This is not just work for them, this
is their daily lives, they have a strong spiritual foundation
and it comes through in their lyrics, even in their music-the
sounds and the beats. It’s
their daily walk, it’s them, you won’t see them acting a
different way because this is who they are on a daily basis.
LJC:
When you chose an artist/group what is the criteria?
TG:
Honestly if it moves us, if what they are saying really moves
us, the sound, and this is still the industry so the packaging
is really important. We
get so many demos a day so you really want something that
catches your eye. Gospo
Centric has the reputation of having the best, so if you come
at us you have to come with the best.
LJC:
Has the state of hip hop had any backlash on the state gospel
music?
TG:
No. I think
because a lot of the hip-hop artists come from gospel, come
from the church. Like
Kanye West is talking about Jesus’ walks with me, he’s
proven that this is his foundation, that’s’ where he comes
from. We have a
lot of hip hop writers, Trinitee 5:7 had some. PaJam is
another one who produced Brittany Spears, Toni Braxton, INSYNC,
Kelly Price, Justin Timberlake, and Boyz II Men.
We at Gospo Centric take hip hop and blend it in with
our music. Some
people in the industry and some of the buying public don’t
really like the contemporary stuff we do, so we have the
traditional market like Dorinda Clark Cole, Tremaine Hawkins,
and Byron Cage. We
try to cover all bases.
LJC:
What has your experience been working here and how has your
position been instrumental in building Gospo Centric?
TG:
I came from a radio
background and was on my way back to Atlanta when I got a call
with a foot-in the door position.
My radio background really helped me because when I
came in they had a radio promotions position that really
needed to be filled and I started there and worked my way up
to A&R. I am
in the A&R department now under Monica Bacon one of the
best people to work for. She is the Senior VP of A&R and
Special Events. It’s
been really great working under her because she’s been here
the whole 13 years. It
has taught me a lot.
LJC:
How does it feel to help in the process of making people’s
dreams
reality?
TG:
It feels good. My
experience working here has been amazing.
I’ve listened to Dorinda, Bobby Jones, Kirk Franklin
growing up so it has it has been mind blowing.
LJC:
If you were to describe Gospo Centric in three words, what
would they
be?
TG:
A leader.
Trendsetters- even with our videos they are like BET
videos, we get regular spins. A family- honestly and truly
it’s a family. Vicki is so sweet and she will do anything
for you once she sees that you are serious about it.
We all laugh, joke, and argue just like at home.
It’s really a close unit.
They are not that many of us in the Inglewood office-17
people, then we have satellite offices in Maryland, Ohio,
North Carolina, Nashville and street teams all over the
country.
LJC:
What do you think is Gospo Centric’s claim to longevity?
TG:
We reach every
generation, that’s our claim.
We have the old school singers like Dorinda etc., and
then we have new school coming out like R.J Helton from
American Idol so we touch that Christian, urban, contemporary
market. We also
have our first quartet group called the Soul Seekers who are
Teddy and Warren Campbell that touch on that southern niche or
Papa Sun that bring that reggae vibe. We
try to stay on top of things and be leaders in this industry.
We try to stay a step ahead and that’s Vicki’s
vision-to be the leaders that we know we are and the world
recognizes as. I
think that Gospo Centric will be around for a very long time
because our artists are serious about what they do and what
they have to offer.
For more info
visit
GOSPO
CENTRIC RECORDS
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