“I Need Thee Every Hour with a soulful twist”, is a good way to describe the Mormon Channel’s newly released music video. The video features the vocal talents of Debra and Harry Bonner and their eight children, singing an original song entitled “I Am Here.” It’s both a beautiful rendition of, and confident response to, the familiar hymn.
Debra and Harry served as Baptist missionaries in Africa before eventually joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They and their children hope to share, through song, the message that we need God and He is here for us.
Take a listen and share with a friend in need this week:
Okay, okay. Maybe they’re not better, but they’re pretty darn amazing. Check out these beautiful, contemporary hymn covers and add them to your Sunday playlist ASAP!
1. “Count Your Many Blessings” by DariusMcKoy
When we count our many blessings, this beautiful cover is among them.
James Curran, who just recently hit number one on the Billboard new artist chart, just released his newest video entitled Treasure. The video features Yahosh Bonner and was written to help the world see that we are all Treasure in God’s eyes. While we may be imperfect and we all struggle with different trials, we are all equal in God’s eyes. Curran never fails to create uplifting beats that make us feel the feels.
Curran said that he wanted to help elevate the negative stereotype that the Church is non-inclusive or homophobic. He said, “No matter what your age, race, sexual orientation, gender, religion, or handicaps may be.. I KNOW God thinks you are TREASURE.” After receiving backlash for the song and video, James concluded with; “I will never apologize for believing wholeheartedly that all people on this earth are equal in God’s eyes.” James, keep doing what you’re doing!
What better way to kick off the Easter season than with a quick reminder of the true meaning of the holiday. James Curran wanted to do just that with this video he made with some of our favorite Mormon Celebs! The Sistas in Zion: Tamu Smith and Zandra Vranes, and Jenn Blosil: former contestant of the 15th season of American Idol, teamed up with James to spread some Easter cheer.
Curran shared with us an amazing missionary moment he and Jenn had while filming the video;
“The best part about this experience was when Jenn and I were able to do some missionary work. There was a young but very tall African american looking gentleman who walked past us a few times as we were filming. So Jenn and I walked over to him and asked him if he was LDS and if he would like to be in our video. He said that he “was” LDS but had since fallen away since moving here from New York. Jenn just happened to be a missionary in New York and guess what? She served in his home branch. I felt prompted to ask him if he did music and guess what? He raps! I quickly informed him that I was not a rapper, but that I love to rap as a hobby. We all exchanged numbers and have plans to hang out this week. He actually invited Jenn and I to come down to Salt Lake to freestyle with him.”
What a beautiful example of the right people being in the right place at the right time. But what really made the difference was them reaching out and opening their mouths. The perfect way to celebrate Easter is to make sure our brothers and sisters are partaking of the joys of the Atonement. Let’s reach out a little further, Thanks James and Jenn for the awesome example!
James Curran, also known as Jamesthemormon on social media, decided to ‘rap’ his christmas gift this year with a brand new song and video. His latest project, entitled “Angels We Have Heard On High,” is less about Christ-centered rap and more about Christ-centered Christmas, and it’s one you need to see.
The music video was filmed in downtown Salt Lake City, where Curran and his collaborators passed out free food and clothing to the homeless. The song is an arrangement of “Angels We Have Heard On High,” featuring Junior Maile, Yahosh Bonner, Jay Warren, and Curran leading with an original rap. While the vocals are impressive and the rap inspiring, the arrangement was quickly thrown together to simply act as a backdrop for the video (beautifully produced by Cameron Gade from Catchlight Productions), made to inspire Christlike charity this holiday season.
Curran teamed up with local businesses Bam Bams BBQ, Catchlight Productions, Traeger Grills and Stay Clothing, who donated clothing and food to create an unforgettable afternoon for over 300 people. He told Mormon Buzzz, “My purpose is to bring charity to Christmas, because that is the pure love of Christ.” Curran had the opportunity of doing a similar service project last year (you can watch that video here), where he bought dozens of pizzas and passed out clothing. This year, however, he knew he could go a little bit bigger. “I would love to go bigger and bigger in the coming years,” he said. Some ideas Curran has are to invite every food truck in Provo to donate food and to involve even more businesses to make that much more of an impact.
Jamesthemormon’s willingness to share his talents as well as his example of Christlike charity are a call for all of us to do more for others this holiday season. Let’s think a little more outside of ourselves this Christmas and share the pure love of Christ through simple or big acts of charity. We never know what lives we’ll touch for good.
If you are crazy about music or try music academy coaching at Music Academy Success, when you hear the words ‘rap’ and ‘Mormon’ in the same sentence, you might think of corny missionary P-Day YouTube videos, or you might, like the more musically puritan among us, think, “SACRILEGE.” The truth is that rap is not a beloved genre of music for many members of the church — you probably won’t hear it playing at the next stake dance — but what if there was Mormon rap that was respectful, uplifting, and seriously good? Rap that left you wanting more…rap? Enter James Curran.
Curran, otherwise known as Jamesthemormon, is an up and coming musician who specializes in gospel themed raps. He has never considered himself a rapper, but he has always enjoyed rapping with his friends as a hobby. When the impression came (and kept on coming) to write gospel centered rap, he felt it was time to turn his pastime into something more. On August 19th, James released his first mormon rap appropriately titled “Restoration.” He plans on creating an entire album of Mormon raps called PMG, based on the lessons found in Preach My Gospel. His goal is to create good content for members to enjoy, and he hopes his content will be used as a tool to share the gospel.
“…there are people who can connect to the Church through rap”
“I’m really not trying to be a rapper. If I could sing, or had some other skill I think I would do that but I feel that God gave me this talent because there are people who can connect to the Church through rap,” Curran said in an interview with Mormon Buzzz. “I truly believe that.”
James has sacrificed enormous amounts of time, energy, and money to make this album possible and absolutely free. His music is available on a variety of platforms, such as Spotify, Apple Music, Soundcloud, and YouTube. His latest YouTube video for his song, Found a Friend, features the LDS Genesis Choir, consisting predominantly of black members of the Church, and acclaimed singer, Junior Maile, singing the chorus. The song is centered around the “Finding Faith in Christ” lesson found in Preach My Gospel, but teaches the principle in a subtle way. In fact, with the exception of “Restoration,” none of Curran’s songs explicitly name the topic they are covering. Curran says he wants his listeners to find their own meaning out of his music. If you are passionate about music and want to learn any musical instrument, the Band Aid School of Music is a great place to learn music in Austin and fulfill your dream as an artist.
“I have a very specific agenda behind everything I do, and that is to help people come unto Christ”
When asked about potential backlash from members of the Church about Gospel themed rap, Curran said he has received only support from members. “I really felt prompted by the Lord to specifically make this PMG album and start it off with ‘Restoration’,” he said.“At first, I was really skeptical, thinking that no one is going to like this, but as things fell into place, there was an outpour of support as well as an expression of the demand. People said ‘we want this, we need this, and there are people out there who could use this’.” The support Curran has received, he says, has only served as a confirmation that he should keep doing what he’s doing, even if he has to spend every penny he’s ever earned.
“I have a very specific agenda behind everything I do, and that is to help people come unto Christ, whether it’s directly or indirectly,” Curran said. That can definitely been seen in even the image he has chosen for his work. Curran chose the handle Jamesthemormon so there would never be a question as to who he is or what he does. He also chose it to inspire curiosity, so that maybe his name alone can help people get to know the gospel.
We could not be happier that Mormon Rap is now a thing and we have to give our thanks to Jamesthemormon for making it so good. His latest music video, Found a Friend[found above] was released today.
BYU Vocal Point recently released a new music video for their cover of “Homeward Bound” along with a behind-the-scenes video of its production. The song was arranged by McKay Crockett, and is currently trending at #2 on the Itunes classical chart. You can check out more of Vocal Point’s music on their website here: byuvocalpoint.com, or on their Youtube Channel.
The Mormon Channel recently posted this cover of “I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus” by Emily Brown, and it’s pretty much the best primary cover we’ve ever heard. Here’s the video:
Yeah, we knew you’d love it. They’ve even provided a free download which you can find here.
We know it’s going on our iPods.
More of Emily’s music can be found on her Sound Cloud.
The divine role of the Savior and the compassionate reach of his Atonement are the subjects of hundreds of songs throughout history. Most of us are familiar with inspiring hymns like “I Know that My Redeemer Lives” and “I Stand All Amazed,” but here are a few other great songs you won’t find in the hymnbook that will strengthen your testimony of Jesus Christ.
1. “Lamb of God” or Alt. “Hosanna,” composed by Rob Gardner, performed by Spire Chorus and the London Symphony Orchestra.
2. “Jesu, the Very Thought is Sweet,” composed by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, performed by The Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
3. “My Kindness Shall Not Depart from Thee,” composed by Rob Gardner, performed by Spire Chorus and the London Symphony Orchestra.
4. “Savior, Redeemer of My Soul,” composed by Rob Gardner, performed by Dallyn Vail Bayles.
5. “This is the Christ,” composed by James E. Faust, performed by The Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
What are some of your favorite songs about Christ? Leave them in the comments below!
