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.

Bootsy used to go to our church back in Cincinnati. I don't know where he goes now, but one of my cousins kept in contact with him. He always asks her to give him a call when I'm going to do my next record, and he came to my live concert taping in Cincinnati and said the same thing. I had "Message For Ya" so I sent it out and said, "No pressure. If you're feeling something, great. If not, that's cool too," and he called back and said "I'm feeling it!" He played about 16 tracks on it-he played bass, he played guitar, he played keys, he sang, he talked, he did the whole nine yards-and then sent it back. He was so gracious and came out to Cincinnati a few weeks ago to play with us on stage.

How do these contacts open the door for mainstream possibilities?

Mullen: We're just seeing God really doing something with this album. It's been my hope from album one to take this message Jesus has given me into the world. I've said a thousand times that I want to keep my feet planted firmly in the church so that I can reach over to the world, pull people out and not fall in. I'm not trying to abandon my base. I need the people who've supported me. I want them to take them on the journey with me. Hold my hand, keep me in prayer, come along for the ride with me so that we can reap a harvest together!

At the same time, I pray that God opens the right doors and gives us favor in that area, so we can take the message of the gospel out there to people. Everybody's not going to listen to Christian radio, so we've got to take the music to where they are listening and make them see that the God we serve is not just a God we worship on Sunday. He's relevant every single day of the week; he understands every issue we have as everyday people. I want to show them how beautiful he is, to get them jealous that they don't have him and to encourage them to want to embrace him. It just so happens God has brought us so many people that have the same heart. These producers and these collaborators, they're feeling it. They've all said, "We want to see what God's given you go to another level." At the end of the day, let's save more souls!

Tell me about the Baby Girls Club, your ministry to teen girls.

Mullen: We get together on Wednesdays and we have a little chat time, prayer requests, dancing, sewing, eating, encouraging each other, making clothes and all kinds of things. It's about getting involved in the lives of young girls and giving them hope in Christ. We've found when they have hope in Christ, all of a sudden they don't want to vandalize people's cars anymore and they don't want to cuss their teachers out anymore because they have hope. All of a sudden, they don't want to go to juvenile detention centers because they know God's got their back: "My mama and my daddy may not be there, but God has my back. Ms. Nicole told me that I can go to Scripture and I can call on God and he can give me self-control." We're seeing the gospel being carried out in the lives of these girls, some of which are from Christian homes, others of which are straight out of the hood-no mommy or daddy at home. We have a wide range of dynamics that are seeing the gospel as relevant for today.

And your work with the International Needs Network Ghana?

Mullen: The Network contacted me and told me about slavery conditions still going on to this day in Ghana. I asked them, "Is that really still around?" It is. These women are taken as young as five years old by voodoo priests who say to families that their ancestors transgressed or committed a crime. The only way to appease their gods is for the family to give up their virgin girl. The family will surrender their girl because they're told it's the only way to rid them of this curse. So the girls become the love slaves of these priests for the rest of their lives. He can rape them, he can beat them, he can do whatever he wants. He doesn't feed them and he doesn't clothe them because they're simply property.

How is the Network helping to free these girls?

Mullen: The Network negotiates with the priests, showing them how it's in their best interest to release these girls permanently and abolish slavery. They may help the village out by building a well or schools, and they make the priest looks like a hero. He releases them and there's a ceremony to which he acknowledges to everybody around that they are slaves no longer. They build whatever that area or village needs, then they take the women and teach them a trade and they educate them. Most of the girls have five children from the priests on average and so they make sure they are fed and educated.

How can Christians here in the States relate to what's going on in Ghana?

Mullen: Even in the States, we can get tied up in slavery of our own-like the comfort zones we sometimes settle deeply into. We become slaves to addiction and insecurity, and like those girls in Ghana trapped in a situation, we also become enslaved. We all need the freedom God has given us-to be physically, spiritually and mentally committed to him every day of our lives.

Learn more about Nicole C. Mullen by visiting our artist page for her. There you'll find her latest biography, past interviews, and album reviews, including our take on Everyday People. To listen to sound clips and buy her music, visit Christianbook.com.

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