Bio -- Anointed
"The way I see it, CCM pop, gospel, and urban music are all in the same house together, they’ve just been compartmentalized in their own rooms. Have you ever seen those room partitions that you can just pull back like a curtain?...
Updated Aug 09, 2001
"The way I see it, CCM pop, gospel, and urban music are all in the same house together, they’ve just been compartmentalized in their own rooms. Have you ever seen those room partitions that you can just pull back like a curtain? What we’re doing is getting rid of those dividers. On our new record, it’s all one big room, and everyone is invited." Steve Crawford
Anointed
They’re talking about beginnings. They’re talking about starting something new. They’re describing how it feels to be on the verge, like the door has just opened to the next level. And to hear the members of Anointed talking like this nowadays, you’d be hard pressed to reconcile what they’re saying with the fact that they’ve already been recording and performing together for better than a third of their lives.
"We were just teenagers in a choir ten years ago," says Da’dra Crawford Greathouse, "but we really felt like God said, ‘Look, I want you guys to come together as a group and just watch what I’ll do.’ A lot has happened in those years, but now it feels like we’re just getting started on a whole new level. It’s like that was all warm-up and now we’re standing at the starting line and the race is about to begin."
For Da’dra, Steve Crawford, and Denise "Nee-C" Walls, that ten year "warm-up" included four albums, three Dove Awards, two Grammy nominations, one Stellar Award, and numerous chart-topping singles. Crisscrossing the country in the last three years, they’ve garnered spots on the "Big Voice Tour" as well as the "Christmas Celebration Tour," made the rounds of shows like the 700 Club and Cece’s Place, and participated in numerous crusades with Billy Graham, Franklin Graham, and Mario Marillo. In short, they ought to be tired by now. But from all indications, they’re just getting primed.
Anointed, the group’s fourth Myrrh Records project (and the first record jointly marketed by Myrrh’s new Black Music Division) is a vivid exploration in seasoned songwriting, immaculate instrumentation, and music that transcends traditional barriers. An all-star production team consisting of Keith Crouch (Boyz II Men, Brandy, CeCe Winans), Tony Rich (Michael Bolton, Aaron Neville, Tony Braxton), Mark Heimermann and Chris Harris (producers of Anointed’s best-selling project Under the Influence), and Wayne Tester have added their considerable talents to the record. "When we first began thinking about this record, we made a list of producers we’ve always wanted to work with, a ‘wish’ list," says Da’dra. "It’s incredible that the top people on that list have all come together to work on this project with us."
Anointed’s reputation has long been built on premier vocals and a unique ability to move seamlessly between a wide variety of genres, proving their diversity on each of their previous offerings by interspersing cuts that alternately leaned more toward pop, gospel, and R&B influences. But it’s only with this project that Anointed feels they’ve finally made the record they have always wanted to make, a "dream record" successfully representing who they are with a consistent blending of their many musical roots. The result is a crafted, textured and accessible sound that promises to bring demographically scattered audiences together.
"Because we’ve grown up listening to and being influenced by various styles of music,’ Da’dra says, "it’s just what comes out naturally in our songs. What’s been surprising to us is that God has blessed us with a sound that is ‘trans-generational’. Teenagers will buy our music, and then their parents hear it and like it too. That’s been a pleasant discovery for us."
"It was always part of our original vision to create music that everyone can feel and be touched and changed by," Steve adds. "Anointed has always been about bringing people together across musical boundaries and across racial and denominational lines, as well as across generations."
Along with the diversity and quality of the project there’s another element, just as important though more difficult to name, that permeates the whole record. It seems to come from the personalities of the members and from their personal understanding of why they’re doing what they’re doing. It comes across in the music of Anointed as a natural buoyancy, a joyfulness, an invitation. It’s the gift of encouragement extended to others through song.
"Our purpose is to share with others the experiences of our lives as Christ changes us, helps us, and walks through daily challenges with us," says Steve. "We want to let people know that God is present and able to help them in every facet of their lives as well. That’s why we talk in our songs about our spouses, about relationships, about reconciliation when hearts have been damaged. We want people to begin to see how God is in the midst of every aspect and every moment of their lives. We want to offer the hope and encouragement that, even in a bad situation, God is at work and he can redeem it."
The album’s first single, "Revive Us," conveys those thoughts in a genre-crossing, energetic, "dancing-in-the-aisles" prayer for personal, spiritual renewal. And though the lyric is indeed a prayer, the music seems to be more an offering of praise, as if in thankfulness for a prayer already answered. The group became so attached to the song in the studio that they created two additional versions: one, a groove R&B interpretation, and the other a dance mix with rap sections added. "Revive means to bring to life what was dead or dormant," Steve says, "and this song is definitely full of life."
In fact, the entire project is filled with the themes of revival and encouragement. On "Anything Is Possible," Steve, Da’dra, and Nee-C point listeners to the fulfillment of God’s promises at the end of present trials. Da’dra says of the song, "If God gives you a dream or a vision of what he wants you to do, it may take some time for things to come together, but you have to keep the faith and believe that anything really is possible."
"Head Above Water" offers a similar message, in the context of a laid back, unpredictable, and vibey tune. "Life isn’t always consistent," Nee-C says. "You have your days when you’re happy, and you have your days when you’re frustrated and tired and it’s all you can do to keep from going under. That’s when we need to be encouraged to keep our eyes up, to keep our eyes on God."
Sharing the Gospel, addressing that simple, universal and personal need for God in every heart, is a passion that also permeates the group members’ recent songwriting. "Something Was Missing," Nee-C says, "is a song I wrote about that place you come to after you’ve tried everything else and found that nothing could satisfy that hunger inside. Ultimately, only God can." Likewise, "It’s All Good" is a song of encouragement to people experiencing difficulties, urging them to remember God’s comfort and hope during painful times in life.
As to the central focus of their own lives, career, and artistry, over the past few months, Da’dra says the group itself must constantly seek these themes of revival and encouragement. "For us, this season of life is filled with a lot of activity. We have our families at home, and our ministry that’s suddenly starting to take us places we never dreamed of. But what I’ve found is that I have to intentionally find time to get away from the business and music and everything else and just rest in the presence of God, and study His word. That’s where I draw strength from. That’s it for all of us. It’s through resting in God that we find the strength to continue to do what we do."
Anointed
They’re talking about beginnings. They’re talking about starting something new. They’re describing how it feels to be on the verge, like the door has just opened to the next level. And to hear the members of Anointed talking like this nowadays, you’d be hard pressed to reconcile what they’re saying with the fact that they’ve already been recording and performing together for better than a third of their lives.
"We were just teenagers in a choir ten years ago," says Da’dra Crawford Greathouse, "but we really felt like God said, ‘Look, I want you guys to come together as a group and just watch what I’ll do.’ A lot has happened in those years, but now it feels like we’re just getting started on a whole new level. It’s like that was all warm-up and now we’re standing at the starting line and the race is about to begin."
For Da’dra, Steve Crawford, and Denise "Nee-C" Walls, that ten year "warm-up" included four albums, three Dove Awards, two Grammy nominations, one Stellar Award, and numerous chart-topping singles. Crisscrossing the country in the last three years, they’ve garnered spots on the "Big Voice Tour" as well as the "Christmas Celebration Tour," made the rounds of shows like the 700 Club and Cece’s Place, and participated in numerous crusades with Billy Graham, Franklin Graham, and Mario Marillo. In short, they ought to be tired by now. But from all indications, they’re just getting primed.
Anointed, the group’s fourth Myrrh Records project (and the first record jointly marketed by Myrrh’s new Black Music Division) is a vivid exploration in seasoned songwriting, immaculate instrumentation, and music that transcends traditional barriers. An all-star production team consisting of Keith Crouch (Boyz II Men, Brandy, CeCe Winans), Tony Rich (Michael Bolton, Aaron Neville, Tony Braxton), Mark Heimermann and Chris Harris (producers of Anointed’s best-selling project Under the Influence), and Wayne Tester have added their considerable talents to the record. "When we first began thinking about this record, we made a list of producers we’ve always wanted to work with, a ‘wish’ list," says Da’dra. "It’s incredible that the top people on that list have all come together to work on this project with us."
Anointed’s reputation has long been built on premier vocals and a unique ability to move seamlessly between a wide variety of genres, proving their diversity on each of their previous offerings by interspersing cuts that alternately leaned more toward pop, gospel, and R&B influences. But it’s only with this project that Anointed feels they’ve finally made the record they have always wanted to make, a "dream record" successfully representing who they are with a consistent blending of their many musical roots. The result is a crafted, textured and accessible sound that promises to bring demographically scattered audiences together.
"Because we’ve grown up listening to and being influenced by various styles of music,’ Da’dra says, "it’s just what comes out naturally in our songs. What’s been surprising to us is that God has blessed us with a sound that is ‘trans-generational’. Teenagers will buy our music, and then their parents hear it and like it too. That’s been a pleasant discovery for us."
"It was always part of our original vision to create music that everyone can feel and be touched and changed by," Steve adds. "Anointed has always been about bringing people together across musical boundaries and across racial and denominational lines, as well as across generations."
Along with the diversity and quality of the project there’s another element, just as important though more difficult to name, that permeates the whole record. It seems to come from the personalities of the members and from their personal understanding of why they’re doing what they’re doing. It comes across in the music of Anointed as a natural buoyancy, a joyfulness, an invitation. It’s the gift of encouragement extended to others through song.
"Our purpose is to share with others the experiences of our lives as Christ changes us, helps us, and walks through daily challenges with us," says Steve. "We want to let people know that God is present and able to help them in every facet of their lives as well. That’s why we talk in our songs about our spouses, about relationships, about reconciliation when hearts have been damaged. We want people to begin to see how God is in the midst of every aspect and every moment of their lives. We want to offer the hope and encouragement that, even in a bad situation, God is at work and he can redeem it."
The album’s first single, "Revive Us," conveys those thoughts in a genre-crossing, energetic, "dancing-in-the-aisles" prayer for personal, spiritual renewal. And though the lyric is indeed a prayer, the music seems to be more an offering of praise, as if in thankfulness for a prayer already answered. The group became so attached to the song in the studio that they created two additional versions: one, a groove R&B interpretation, and the other a dance mix with rap sections added. "Revive means to bring to life what was dead or dormant," Steve says, "and this song is definitely full of life."
In fact, the entire project is filled with the themes of revival and encouragement. On "Anything Is Possible," Steve, Da’dra, and Nee-C point listeners to the fulfillment of God’s promises at the end of present trials. Da’dra says of the song, "If God gives you a dream or a vision of what he wants you to do, it may take some time for things to come together, but you have to keep the faith and believe that anything really is possible."
"Head Above Water" offers a similar message, in the context of a laid back, unpredictable, and vibey tune. "Life isn’t always consistent," Nee-C says. "You have your days when you’re happy, and you have your days when you’re frustrated and tired and it’s all you can do to keep from going under. That’s when we need to be encouraged to keep our eyes up, to keep our eyes on God."
Sharing the Gospel, addressing that simple, universal and personal need for God in every heart, is a passion that also permeates the group members’ recent songwriting. "Something Was Missing," Nee-C says, "is a song I wrote about that place you come to after you’ve tried everything else and found that nothing could satisfy that hunger inside. Ultimately, only God can." Likewise, "It’s All Good" is a song of encouragement to people experiencing difficulties, urging them to remember God’s comfort and hope during painful times in life.
As to the central focus of their own lives, career, and artistry, over the past few months, Da’dra says the group itself must constantly seek these themes of revival and encouragement. "For us, this season of life is filled with a lot of activity. We have our families at home, and our ministry that’s suddenly starting to take us places we never dreamed of. But what I’ve found is that I have to intentionally find time to get away from the business and music and everything else and just rest in the presence of God, and study His word. That’s where I draw strength from. That’s it for all of us. It’s through resting in God that we find the strength to continue to do what we do."
Originally published August 09, 2001.
