Melvin Crispell III on a roll with fourth Grammy nomination

AARON THORNTON | GETTY

Gospel recording artist Melvin Crispell III, who grew up in University City, has been nominated for a fourth Grammy Award. Crispell will perform Dec. 22 at Life Center Church, 2435 Toomey Ave.

Four-time Grammy-nominated gospel artist Melvin Crispell III has just begun to make a name for himself.

Crispell, who moved to Charlotte’s University City area from Brooklyn, New York in 2006, Crispell found a faith home at Life Center Church, where he will perform at “A Crispell Christmas” concert on Dec. 22 at 7 p.m.  The church is located at 2435 Toomey Ave. Tickets are $25-$40.

“Gospel music has always been a part of our history,” Crispell said. “Generations upon generations ago, it was Jesus that was the source for all of our hope, our peace, and that's what we use to encourage ourselves, to keep ourselves grounded to our faith and to spread that gospel of Jesus Christ across the world.”

After winning BET’s “Sunday Best” in 2019, Crispell said that’s when he finally got his name out there.

“I think Sunday Best was the catalyst for getting my name out there,” Crispell said. “The buzz was starting to get around about who I was and that I was the son of my parents.” Crispell will be attending the Grammy Awards in February for his fourth nomination.

Crispell is the son of gospel standouts, Tunesha Crispell and Melvin Crispell II, who traveled the world teaching and writing and would bring little Melvin along. Melvin Jr., a gospel composer, died in 2014; Tunesha, a singer, died two years later.

“Both of them together really made a statement way before I was born in the gospel community. I was born into all of this,” he said. “When I became of age to start singing, I helped him to teach singing to kids my age at the time.

“I miss them so much, but I’m grateful for the foundation that they gave me and all the lessons that they taught me.”

Crispell said he learned “something different,” at southern churches.

“There was a different sound of gospel music down here, and that began to really change my  perception of how I view, not just gospel music, but music in general,” he said.

Participating in theater productions in high school gave Crispell an introduction to jazz as well, which influences his music.

Since winning “Sunday Best,” the last four years have set Crispell on a whirlwind of success.

He has been nominated for four Dove Awards and six Stellar Awards, winning one and two, respectively. He has also released three albums: “I’ve Got a Testimony” in 2020, features “Wonderful Is Your Name,” originally composed by his late father, earning him a Grammy nomination. His live sophomore album, “No Failure,” followed in 2023, which includes his second Grammy-nominated single “God Is.”

“I'm intentional about making sure that every live performance I have is spirit-led,” he said.

“I give God my best and give people my best. There's many emotions that could come. It's just really about where I am in my life at the time.”

Crispell said he enjoys being a minister and leading others to worship God with his music.

“I just really want people to feel my experiences through my music, and I want them to see how I turn it all to God,” he said. “It’s basically my worship to God, and I'm inviting everybody else in on it, and praying that they would join in and participate so that we could all worship together.”

That’s because Crispell wasn’t always on such a bright path. He struggled to make a name for himself in the recording industry as well as managing the deaths of his parents.  

“I remember when I was not doing well just in life in general,” he said, “just trying to carve out my own path and make sure I had money for this week and that week and make sure I can get places. I didn't have a car at one point.”

However, Crispell believes his own experiences are an example and a testament to God.

“God is our provider,” he said, “and He cares for us and that's what I believe because it's what I know. ?I've seen God do it in my life and that's why I lead people to Jesus. If he can really do it for me, I'm not perfect, I don’t always dot on my I's and cross my T's, but He cares for me. And, and if he can do that for me, I know that he can do that for anybody else.”

Tickets for A Crispell Christmas at Life Center Church are available at: melvincrispell.ticketlocity.com/events/95428

On the Net:

www.melvincrispell.com

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