A family friend passed away a couple of week ago, and the family asked me to sing at the funeral this weekend. The song is a gospel track called “It’s OK” by Bebe and Cece Winans. I have been practicing it all week, and for some reason, I’m finding so much comfort within this song. Gospel music is deeply rooted in African-American tradition, and my grandma played it all the time as I grew up. My parents took me to a nondenominational Christian mega church as a child, so the only Christian music I heard was contemporary. I used to laugh at my grandma’s gospel music because it sounded so different to me. As an adult, I have heard it a lot less often, so I appreciated it whole lot more.

Although it isn’t very popular now, I was fascinated to hear that famous singers like Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Ariana Grande, and James Brown were all influenced by gospel music. The genre has made its mark on history and the American music industry. Gospel music has also influenced a lot of the music in churches today. When I went to visit the Pathway church a month ago, I recognized one of the songs that their worship team sang as one that my grandma would play in her kitchen. I have found comfort in this song as I’ve practiced it this week, so I hope the family members at the funeral find some comfort in it as well. I would also highly recommend you all to give the song a listen.