Every year, without exception, a fresh new crop of artists with remarkable gifts and buoyant spirits emerge in Gospel music.  Occasionally - if very special – they draw some comparisons to longstanding gatekeepers of Gospel music.  To achieve this, their message is delivered with passion, their style is patently unique, and their talent is without question, a manifestation of divine favor.   

It takes a very special artist to achieve these feats, separate him or herself from the fray and draw comparisons to the likes of Donnie, Kirk, Yolanda and Fred.  In recent years, music fans have watched artists such as Smokie Norful, Martha Munizzi and Rizen defy marketing formulas and human biases to emerge as passionate new voices in Gospel music.  With a heart for ministry and a spirit for praise, they’ve taken their boat-load of talent to the stage and studio and allowed God do His business without restraint.  It’s an astonishing thing to behold, which brings us to the story of Micah Stampley.

As a new artist, this gifted psalmist is immediately drawing comparisons to Donnie McClurkin, both in terms of his compelling voice and anointed ministry.  It’s easy to understand why, when you’re selected the unanimous winner, among thousands of contestants, all eagerly seeking to be crowned the victor, for the first ever Stellar Gospel Music Awards Talent Search.  As well, your God-given talents are acknowledged and sought by spiritual leaders like Bishop Paul S. Morton, Sr. and Bishop T.D. Jakes.

Micah Stampley may very well be the finest Gospel artist you do not know a whole lot about.  But that’s likely to change in ’05.  With the release of his well-crafted debut album – The Songbook Of Micah (EMI Gospel) - Minister Stampley will likely emerge this year as a new and striking voice that few listeners will forget and even fewer souls will deny.

BLACKGOSPEL.COM spoke with Micah about his incredible passage from relative obscurity to his present weekly role as a music minister before thousands.  His bumpy journey is replete with uncertainty, temptation and death in his immediate family.  But through it all, Micah remained faithful and found his resting place by the Lord’s side.  It’s a testimony many will find inspirational.

Christopher Heron:  Names can occasionally play an important part in defining personalities and presenting people in a certain way.  I wonder how much of an impact your name – Micah – has had on your life and in the expectations people have of you.  Micah was a Hebrew prophet who openly criticized the children of Israel for their hypocrisy and immorality.  Did your father, Rev. Richard Stampley, have something in mind when he named you Micah?

Micah Stampley: First of all, I really didn’t know the significance of my name for a very long time. The significance of ‘Micah’ didn’t really come into full fruition until I was about 25 years old.  The Lord began to give me music, songs of repentance.  I never studied the story of Micah in the Bible.  But I later discovered that it was similar to his message.  It all began to tie in together.  My mom told me that she believed that I was a modern-day Micah.  When people tell me things like that, I really just want to do God’s will.

CH:  I’m not from the South but I often hear folks say that southern folks are warmer, kinder and more gracious.  You’ve spent a part of your life growing up in Southern California and, more recently, have accepted the Southern way of living by residing in both Louisiana and Houston, Texas.  What has the South done for you and your ministry?

MS:  Oh my God!  It’s really kept me rooted and grounded.  I actually moved out to Southern California back in ‘94 where I did a lot of plays and stuff like that.  I noticed my mindset was changing; I went through a transition where I viewed my gift just the way Lucifer viewed his gift.  It developed pride and arrogance.  And so, God really had to deliver me from all of that and start all over with me from the ground up.  What you see now is the foundation I started with in Louisiana and a very strict Pentecostal home.  It’s really kept me rooted and grounded over these past few years.

CH: You’ve studied and served under some incredible men of God, including Bishop Paul S. Morton, Sr., Bishop Gene Moore and, most recently, Bishop T.D. Jakes.  What have you learned from each of these anointed men, both in terms of ministry and the role music plays in ministry?

MS:  Bishop Paul S. Morton, Sr. was very instrumental in helping me to take music to another level.  At the time, I was still naive when it came to different styles.  Under his leadership, I received an ear for music and various musical genres.  Bishop Gene Moore is definitely prophetic, an end-time messenger of God.  He’s the one minister that sees me every week and that keeps me going.  I also learned a lot of structure and discipline from Bishop Morton which I didn’t have growing up in a storefront church; it was basically come what may.  There were times where we would start church at eleven a.m. and when we finished, it would be dark outside.  People would be arriving for Sunday night service and we’d just be leaving from the first service.  So there was no structure to our worship service; it was just whatever you know, never a dull moment though.

With Bishop Jakes, my God, I think God has given me a greater sense of versatility.  I always wanted to be able to minister to a multicultural environment and I’m getting that from him.  If you watch him, he can adapt to any situation no matter what it is.  Any environment - or Pentecostal, non-denominational - whatever!  He can adapt to being around politicians and celebrities.  I study him.  I’ve learned how to implement that in my music. I pace myself in my music and I notice he does that in his teaching.  He starts slow and then by the end of the message, you’re literally on the floor.  I'm learning how to do that in my music.  I find that a lot of singers come out of the box with everything and towards the middle and the end, there’s no climax.  I’m learning how to pace myself in my music just the way he delivers the Word of God through preaching. 

CH: Over a year ago, I had the fortune of capturing your performance at the Stellar Awards Talent Search at the reception.  I realized then that music fans were in for a very special treat.  How was that whole experience - participating in a nationwide contest and coming out the victor?  What was the reaction, from both the industry and the public, once you were front and center stage as the anointed winner at such a prestigious contest?

MS: Oh My God, I was so blown away!  I didn’t even think that I had a chance at winning.  I was just trying to get a good record deal.  I knew that there would be a lot of industry people there.  I don’t normally do competitions; I’ve never done a competition like this before.  I just felt this unction to get in it and I did.  Here in the Houston area, there were over two hundred contestants.  The competition went to fourteen cities and regions in our country.  I was just so honored to win the entire thing.  There were thousands of people competing and when they announced me as the winner, I was just so blown away.  You had to have been at the finals; those guys were killin’; they were phenomenal vocalists.  I really didn’t think that I was going to win it.  What God had for me, I guess, it was for me.  Being able to sing at the banquet for the Stellar Gospel Music Awards, man, I was nervous.  All of these established artists were there.  I was just so blown away and honored, just completely floored at the opportunity to just sing.  I got a lot of feedback from the industry, they really enjoyed it.  Several major labels approached me afterwards but I ended up signing with Dexterity/EMI Gospel.

CH: Which leads to my next question, you opted to sign with Dexterity/EMI gospel.  What went into your decision to sign with Bishop Jakes’ music label as an independent artist?

MS: The amazing thing was that I’ve been waiting for this opportunity all my life.  I got to a place where I was happy and content just being at my church.  But I tell musicians and singers all the time, “Don’t pray for opportunity, pray that you be ready when opportunity comes.”  I think that’s what happened to me, I was just content with being the worship leader at my church.  God then said, “Okay, now I can trust you with ministry.”

When meeting some of the other label heads in the ministry that night, at the Stellar Awards, shaking hands, God was speaking to me.  I actually had an opportunity to meet Matthew Knowles (Beyonce’s father) and he wanted me to meet with him that week.  As I shook his hand, God told me, “No, that’s not the direction I’m taking you.”  And with every hand I shook, He would tell me that.  “No, they're not the one, that’s not the one, that's not the one.”  I was really getting frustrated because I felt like this was my last opportunity to make this happen and God wasn’t letting me connect with these CEOs and labels.  

I think it was that Monday, the next day Marcus Dawson called and said Bishop Jakes wanted to invite me to sing at The Potter’s House Church one Sunday in February, any Sunday I was available to give him.  We decided on a Sunday and I completely forgot that there was this Dexterity label.  It just didn’t dawn on me and when I went, God really used me at the Potter’s House.  Immediately afterwards, Bishop Jakes invited me to his office and offered me a recording contract.  I didn’t answer immediately but over time I really sought God about it.  And God said, “This is where I’m taking you.”  And here I am.

CH: Awesome!  It has been a remarkable journey to this point.  I do want to touch on one of the bumps along the road and a sensitive topic - the death of your brother and closest friend Nathaniel.  How much of an impact was the loss of your brother in terms of making firm and fearless decisions surrounding your ministry?

MS: That incident scared me for years and years.  Nate was not only my brother but my teammate.  You never saw one without the other.  He was also a singer and musician.  Nate was a drummer and I would play the keyboard and sing at my father’s church; we were a team.  He was also an awesome choir director and teacher.  When he passed away, I felt like half of me had died.  It took me years to get over that.  As a matter of fact, I just wrote a song, maybe a couple months ago, as a tribute to him.  Hopefully, I’ll get to record it on the next album.

CH: In conclusion, let’s touch on your new album - The Songbook of Micah.  It’s on the horizon.  What type of impression, both on the hearts and minds of folks, are you praying to make with this project?

MS: I want people to be more sensitive to what God feels about us.  A lot of times, we go from day to day and we pray and ask God for more than what we give to Him.  I want people to be more sensitive that He is a God of love; He is a God of feeling.  When we neglect Him or reject Him, it hurts Him.  I want people to be aware of how we all treat Him, not praying enough or not praying at all, and that’s communication with God.  

The scripture says, “To pray without ceasing.”  Prayer is communication which means that He's willing to never stop communicating with us and that says a lot.  We look at prayer as a one-way street, we’re just blabbering off at the mouth.  He just sits there and listens but it’s communication.  We're speaking to Him, He’s speaking to us and giving us direction for our lives.  I believe a lot of things in life we won’t have to go through if our prayer life was taken to another level.

I hope my music War Cry and Sin teaches people how to worship; that it teaches people how to praise, that it teaches people how to repent when they fall.  We all fall sometimes, we all do things that are not in God’s will.  Our steps are ordered but at times, it’s like we go to a restaurant, place our order and sometimes we get something we didn’t order.  We sometimes do that to God.  He orders our steps but we make decisions that are not in His will.  We bring Him an order that He did not make.  So it’s up to us to be more sensitive.  Will we get it right every time?  No, but I hope my music will steer people in the right direction.

For more information on Micah Stampley, visit www.emigospel.com.  To contact or book Micah Stampley, send your email to heidistampley@aol.com.  To purchase his new album, The Songbook Of Micah, click here.