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Nicole C. Mullen's always been known as a pop diva of sorts, delivering dynamic dance tracks ("Everyday People") and stirring power ballads ("Redeemer," "Call on Jesus"). But she's mixed up her musical formula for The Sharecropper's Seed Volume 1 (Word). Aside from being a stripped down, understated affair, the project is also something of a concept album that traces the singer/songwriter's family tree. Throughout the ten tracks, she shares a lineage that includes a sharecropping grandfather, a pair of pastors, and unconditionally supportive parents, while simultaneously relating her upbringing—hardships and all. The more Mullen got chatting about the unique undertaking, the more Christian Music Today learned about her abusive past, how those wounds healed, and why surrendering struggles of any sort always leads to ultimate peace in the Lord.

Your greatest hits collection landed in stores about a year ago. What have you been up to since then?

Nicole C. Mullen I didn't know about the hits album, and I wouldn't have put it out now. I would've given it a few years, but that was a record label decision. On my end, I've been writing for a while, thinking about the past a lot—mostly in relation to how it affects the future. I've spent a lot of time reminiscing with my mom and friends, and I've realized a seed can be very powerful. It may not look like much, but if it's planted right, it can bring fourth tons of good. Even with adversity, it can sprout its way to see the sun.

Who inspired the title for Sharecropper's Seed?

Mullen I'm the granddaughter of a Georgia sharecropper from back in the day. My grandparents have since moved to Cincinnati and my grandpa, the sharecropper, is now a pastor, as is my other grandfather. Regardless of where you start off in life, God has the ability to use you. I'm not afraid of humble beginnings because God can still bring forth harvest and crops, which he's done throughout my life and my entire family.

What was life like for your grandparents?

Mullen My mom lived in Georgia as a young girl and she remembers picking cotton with her dad. There was a lot of hardship in that system, but God still has a way of making a way out of no way! My family is a testament that God can do great things out of small and I pray the best is yet to come.

Do you consider this CD to be a concept album?

Mullen Yes. It's a musical journey with a theme that in order to go up, you must go down. Those who humble themselves will be exalted. There's a song called "One Touch (Press)," which is about the bleeding woman whose only hope was touching the hem of Jesus' garment. She had to [physically] go low in order to do that. In the end, she found healing and he brought back her dignity, which is the whole premise of Sharecropper's Seed.

How are you able to convey these messages to a wide audience when several of the songs are specifically about your family?

Mullen I aim to do what Jesus did. He used common things that people were totally aware of to get across spiritual things. It was not his intention to tell people how to fish—there was a deeper underlying message. You probably don't care about my family, and if that's what people think when they listen to these songs, then they missed the point. Themessage is that we are all called to nurture seed around us—let me tell you my story and hopefully you can see yours through it. If God proves faithful to me, he will to you as well! It's not just my story—it's everybody's story!

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