GRAMMY Award nominee and Stellar Award winner JJ Hairston is back with Anthems & Prayers (Live), available now everywhere via James Town Music.
For more than three decades, Hairston has shaped the sound of modern gospel, from founding Youthful Praise to writing “You Deserve It,” the No. 1 Billboard Hot Gospel Songs anthem sung in churches around the world. This project is a first for him: an album built to carry his pastoral ministry and his artistry together. Every anthem is paired with a prayer, moving listeners from celebration into conversation with God.
“For years I’ve stood in two places, behind the pulpit as a pastor and on the stage as a worship leader,” Hairston says. “Anthems & Prayers is the first time I’ve brought both of those callings into one room. The anthems lift our praise, and the prayers bring us close enough to hear from God. I want people to sing, but I also want them to pray.”
The album is led by “Mighty Is Your Name (Live)” featuring Melissa Bethea, an 11-minute live recording released October 2 that builds from worship into prayer.
Reginald Robinson opens the project in prayer, followed by Trina Hairston on “We Bare His Name,” David Wilford on “A Prayer for Deliverance” and Tiffany Wilson on “A Prayer of Repentance.” On the anthems, you will hear Tiffany Wilson and Mandela Simmons on “Heal the Land,” Mandela Simmons on “Touch of Heaven” and its reprise with David Wilford, and Cassie Richardson on “We Receive” and “Yahweh Will Manifest Himself.”
Press release courtesy of CR8 Agency, on behalf of JJ Hairston and James Town Music.
