More Than the Music
She's one of Christian music's best-loved divas, but there's much more to Nicole C. Mullen than that fabulous voice and those great songs. She's putting feet on the gospel.
by Andy Argyrakis | posted 11/01/2004
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It's been an interesting road for Nicole C. Mullen. Long before she became one of Christian music's favorite divas with the mega-hit "My Redeemer," she was literally in the background-singing backup for such stars as Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith and The Newsboys-and providing the voice for famous cucumbers (singing the Veggie Tales' "Larry Boy" theme song. She developed into a respected singer/songwriter, penning "On My Knees" for Jaci Velasquez and contributing much of the material on her three studio albums, including her most recent Everyday People, a fusion of funk, R&B, soul and pop that's likely to attract some mainstream attention. But there's more to Mullen than the music. She leads her church's teen-based Baby Girls Club and assists the freedom-focused International Needs Network Ghana. And she's a mom. The songstress shares her story from a recent in person conversation over Corner Bakery cookies.
So, why'd you frame Everyday People around a Sly and the Family Stone cover?
Nicole C. Mullen It's ironic because I already named the album Everyday People before I decided to put the song on there. It was probably three weeks before we were ending the record when I went to [husband/producer] David [Mullen] and said, "Hey, you know that car commercial that has 'I am everyday people.' Is it a good song? What are the words?" He was like "I know it's a good song. I can't remember all the lyrics, but we can look it up online." So I went online, got the lyrics, downloaded it on iTunes and I was like "this is a perfect message!" Especially as believers in Jesus Christ, we've got to come together, we've got to love each other across color lines, across culture lines, language barriers, status and economic boundaries. We've got to love each other because the Bible says people will know we are Christians by the way we love each other.
When Jesus prayed, he said, "Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven." Heaven's not segregated. The Bible speaks of heaven having people from every nation, every tribe and tongue worshiping at the throne of God. And because that's so, we need to practice on earth what art in heaven. It was just a perfect way to say all that and a reminder to everybody who already knew the song by Sly and the Family Stone. When we do it live in concert, we get a great response. People get the message, they clap to it, they sway to it, they get their groove on. Christ came from everyday people and as part of his redemption plan, he came back for everyday people.
There's a lot of diversity on the record. Where did all the genre hopping come from?
Mullen It just kind of flows out. It's like when I address a song, this is what it's calling for. For example, "Gon' Be Free" has more of an African flavor because of the content; it talks about modern day slavery. "Message For Ya" has [James Brown/George Clinton side man] Bootsy Collins, but it also has a little Spanish feel at the same time. Then you have the ballads and there's a lot of work-out songs. But at the end of the day, I pray people seek hope from it and are challenged to go out and change their world. I think everyday people make the best everyday heroes. These are things that move me, and hopefully if they move me, they'll move somebody else. Hopefully there's something for everybody.
How did you assemble such a studio dream team, from the producers to Bootsy?
Mullen It was a God thing. My husband David starts out the package. And Tommy Sims [Bruce Springsteen] is a good producer friend of ours. We then met Drew Ramsey and Shannon Sanders [India.Arie] through our record label and they live in Nashville. [James] "Big Jam" Wright [Mariah Carey] actually called my manager and asked if there was anything he could do on this album. He had seen me on television a couple of times and his daughter went to one of my concerts.
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