Style: R&B/live gospel; compare to Michael Jackson, Mary Mary, and Fred Hammond
Top tracks: “Yahweh (The Lifter),” “You Hold My World,” “Surprises”
Serving up a musical feast of electronic techno-pop, jam band hits, and rhythmically killer background vocals, infiltrated with heavy-hitting guest appearances by Fred Hammond and Kirk Franklin, R&B worship artist Israel Houghton is the current administrator of gospel music milk and honey. Incorporating easy melodies into intricate band tracks, Houghton exhibits technical proficiency without forfeiting each song’s accessible catchiness—exampled on a hip, dance-leaning remix of modern worship favorite, “Our God.” Lyrically, he uses infectious hooks to highlight social justice themes and encourage Christians to exercise true acts of worship by serving the “least of these.”
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