Sounds of Blackness KINGS & QUEENS Review - ChristianMusic.com
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Based in Minneapolis, the amazing 25-member (15 singers and 10 musicians) eclectic band Sounds of Blackness has been going strong for 37 years. With the release of their latest album, “Kings and Queens,” in September 2007, it seemed like a good time to catch up with their leader, Gary Hines.

“It’s an issue of self-image,” Hines explains the album’s title. “It addresses issues of self-esteem and self-respect. We want young people who are involved in gangs to know they are descended from kings and queens.”

“We’re bringing the spirit of the [civil rights] movement to address issues of violence,” Hines says of the album. “Violence in the streets, domestic violence… We need to take the next step and address it. Aim for solutions rather than talk about it and complain about it.”

Proceeds from the album, which is exclusively sold at Best Buy, go to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Fund.

The Sounds of Blackness is touring to promote their album, but more importantly, the message of the album. In January, besides performing in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the band was involved with Martin Luther King events in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Newark, New Jersey. There they were joined by former Congressman and head of NAACP Kweisei Mfume (whose name means, coincidentally, Conquering Son of Kings).  They will also be heading to the University of Louisville for a concert soon, among other venues, and, Hines says, the Image Awards in Los Angeles, CA. The group also performs in prisons and for schools and events that are designed to address violence or speak to improving the African-American self-image.

“Kings and Queens” is not a Gospel album. The 18 tracks (including interludes) include everything from a capella spirituals to march songs from the civil-rights movement. Sounds of Blackness, Hines is quick to point out, means ALL of the forms of African-American music. “We do jazz, soul, R&B… even field hollers.” Hines distinguishes his band from, say, Harlem Gospel Choir, “We are a band, not a choir.”

Certainly, though, Christian-music admirers will be at home with both the sound and the important and positive message of the album. Sounds of Blackness has from the beginning expanded the notion of Christian music. Their first big album was “Evolution of Gospel,” which was awarded with a Grammy. Their other two Grammys are for Christian music as well. They shared a Grammy for “Soulful Celebrations” and for the soundtrack for Robert Duvall’s film “The Apostle.”

Another quite different album the band helped out on was the soundtrack for Tim Burton’s “Batman,” where they joined another Minnesota icon, Prince. Sounds of Blackness also appears on the international album of Disney’s “Hercules” film, doing a version of the song “Zero to Hero.” They also worked with Disney on the animated short, “John Henry.”

Among Hines’s and the band’s many various adventures is musical theatre. They have performed a musical fantasy version of “The Night Before Christmas” at Minneapolis’s famed Guthrie for 12 years as well as in Japan. Hines has also written and composed the musicals “Music for Martin” and “Soul of the Sixties,” which Sounds of Blackness performs around the country.

Reviewed by Nate Lee for ChristianMusic.com

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