American songwriter, choir director, gospel singer, and rapper Kirk Dewayne Franklin was born on January 26, 1970. The Family, God’s Property, One Nation Crew (1NC), and countless other urban contemporary gospel and Christian R&B ensembles were led by him.
Among his many accolades are nineteen Grammys. Among the first-ever inductees into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame, Franklin was also named “Reigning King of Urban Gospel” by Variety.
Kirk Franklin Net Worth
Worth $5 million, Kirk Franklin is a multi-talented American who plays gospel music, directs choirs, writes books, acts, and produces. Notoriety first came to Kirk Franklin in the early 1990s, when he was performing with the band he had created, which later became known as The Family. Their debut album, which was self-titled, sold over a million copies in 1993.
Since the early 2000s, he has been performing solo and has received multiple Grammy Awards. He collaborated with Kirk Franklin & The Family on two albums: “Kirk Franklin & the Family Christmas” (1995) and “Whatcha Lookin’ 4” (1996). He has recorded albums with Kirk Franklin’s Nu Nation, including “God’s Property from Kirk Franklin’s Nu Nation” (1997) and “The Nu Nation Project” (1998).
He then released “Kirk Franklin Presents 1NC” (2000) with Kirk Franklin and 1 Nation Crew. “The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin” (2002), “Hero” (2005), “The Fight of My Life” (2007), “Hello Fear” (2011), “Losing My Religion” (2015), “Long, Live, Love” (2019), and “Father’s Day” (2023) are all albums that Kirk Franklin has composed and released as a solo artist.
He collaborated with Maverick City Music to release “Kingdom Book One” in 2022. Films like “Joyful Noise” (2012) and “The Night Before Christmas” (2022) and television movies like “Something to Sing About” (2000) and “Kirk Franklin’s A Gospel Christmas” (2021) are among Kirk’s acting credits. He has also been in series like “Sister, Sister” (1998) and “Kingdom Business” (2022).
Films such as “Kingdom Business,” “The Night Before Christmas,” and “Kirk Franklin’s A Gospel Christmas” were all produced or executive produced by him.
In 2008, he also gave us “Hopeville.” The children’s book “How Do Alligators Praise the Lord?”(2005), Kirk’s novels “Church Boy: My Music & My Life” (1998) and “The Blueprint: A Plan for Living Above Life’s Storms” (2010), and Kirk’s poems have all been published. As of the year 2021, he is a member of the Black Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame.
Kirk Franklin Early Life
Texan Kirk Dewayne Smith came into this world in Fort Worth on January 26, 1970. His name is Kirk Franklin. His biological father, Richard Hubbard, was not introduced to him until he was an adult, and his mother, who was only a teenager when he was born, left him. Gertrude Franklin, his aunt, reared him.
She saved enough money from recycling aluminum cans to start Kirk, who was four years old at the time, on piano lessons. Gertrude declined a record deal that was extended to Franklin when he was seven years old. At the tender age of eleven, Kirk took over as director of music for the adult chorus at Mt. Rose Baptist Church, where he had previously begun singing in the church choir.
As per “Exodus News,” throughout his adolescent years, “he got into fights, entertained too many girlfriends, and in school he skipped his academic courses, opting only for the arts, choir, band, and drama.” To assist channel the defiant adolescent’s energy, Gertrude set up an audition for him at a university-affiliated professional youth conservatory.
Franklin was in, but he was ejected for misbehavior and later found out that his girlfriend was pregnant. Kirk became the choir’s pianist after studying with Jewell Kelly and the Singing Chaparrals at Oscar Dean Wyatt High School. He saw a friend’s murder at the age of fifteen.
Following his return to church and his previous role as choir director, he co-founded the gospel group The Humble Hearts, which caught the ear of Milton Biggham, director of music for the Georgia Mass Choir, after they recorded a song by Franklin.
While recording Franklin’s “Every Day with Jesus,” Biggham requested Kirk, then 20 years old, to conduct the DFW Mass Choir. In 1990, during the Gospel Music Workshop of America Convention, Biggham hired Kirk to conduct the choir.
Kirk Franklin Personal Life
On January 20, 1996, Kirk wed his longtime friend Tammy Collins. They have two daughters, Kennedy (born 1997) and Caziah (born 1999), together. Carrington, Collins’s daughter from a prior relationship, and Kirk’s older son Kerrion, who was born in 1988, are both stepchildren of Franklin. The recording of Kerrion and Kirk’s private chat, in which they both swore, was made public in 2021.
Franklin released an apology to his social media followers after his son decided to record an argument between them. Please accept my deepest apologies; I became really angry during that talk and said some inappropriate things.
I felt utterly disrespected. I deeply regret my actions. Debuting in the 2023 documentary “Father’s Day: A Kirk Franklin Story,” Kirk finally saw his biological father and made up with Kerrion.
Kirk Franklin Awards and Nominations
Franklin has been nominated for 31 Grammys and has won 19 of them. More than twenty Dove Awards and twenty-three Stellar Awards have been bestowed upon him by the Gospel Music Association. Kirk was nominated for ten BET Awards, winning for Best Gospel Artist in 2006.
His singles “We Win” (co-written with Lil Baby) and “Bless Me” (co-written with Maverick City Music) were nominated for the Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award in 2022 and 2023, respectively. He was nominated for Favorite Artist—Gospel in 2021 and won the American Music Award for Favorite Contemporary Inspirational Artist in 2006.
In 2009, he received the Urban Music Award for Best Gospel Act. With a total of ten nominations, Franklin emerged victorious at the NAACP Image Awards in 1999 for Outstanding Gospel Artist, Outstanding Music Video for “God’s Property Feat.
Kirk Franklin & Cheryl James: Stomp,” Outstanding Performance in a Variety Series/Special in 1998, Outstanding Gospel Artist in 1999, and Outstanding Gospel/Christian Album for “Kingdom Book One” (shared with Maverick City Music) in 2023.
In addition to 12 “Soul Train” Award nominations, he has won the Best Gospel Album (1997), Best Contemporary Gospel Album (1998), Best Gospel Project (1999), Best Gospel/Inspirational Album (2003), and The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin (2003).
Kirk Franklin Real Estate
The mansion in Arlington, Texas, where Franklin supposedly resides, is worth $1.63 million. On the 1.25-acre lot lies a 7,585-square-foot mansion with six bedrooms, six bathrooms, a movie room, a game room, and a swimming pool.
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