It is about 7:30 p.m. and I am at the Westin Hotel in Manhattan on the ninth floor eagerly waiting the presence of my high school classmate’s sister. To my surprise because of how I last saw her, in walks a slimmer (yet healthy) Kelly Price. With an air of confidence she enters with her manager & husband Jeff ready to handle business. Casually dressed in a blue denim jean outfit & iced out bandana over her tapered hair, she’s yet had a chance to change after a busy day of catch up with finalizing details for her new album, flying in her sons from Atlanta and getting in a quick shoe shopping spree in the famous Village.

We begin by catching up, and I found that we have a lot in common: We grew up in the same area. Her sister and I went to the same high school (nursing class) and we are both PKs (preacher’s kids.) We also realized that our fellowship with church led us astray until we found out who Christ was for ourselves and now we both can say that we have established a relationship. After catching up, we got right into it and trust mefor those who think that she is just singing to make her tribute to God in a gospel CD, you’re wrong and sadly mistaken. Kelly is a child of God and her message is loud and clear. She loves the Lord and commits in a very personable relationship with Christ. So don’t sleep on her. Walking with God is an everyday lifestyle for her. Not only did we talk about her up coming CD, but we talked about her place in the gospel industry, the criticisms, her beliefs and her relationship with God. Some of you may say welcome back to the Gospel world, but she makes it quite clear that she never left. We conversed like old girlfriends, both comfortable in knowing who we are in God. That confidence makes the difference. So no matter where you categorize her musically or spiritually, you must know she is The King’s Kid and He will get the glory through Kelly.

PB: Are you excited about your new CD?

KP: Yeah, of course I am, I always know that I would come to this point (in my career) to put one (gospel CD) out.. I don’t think it will be the only one, but I’m excited about it because it speaks, musically, everything I was taught growing up. It speaks what I’ve known my whole life, about God and my relationship with Jesus Christ. It also speaks a message that is quite contemporary and not necessarily everything that we (our generation) were taught growing up. We were told growing up that we couldn’t dance; we couldn’t go to the movies. We were told that that was a sin. Thank God we’ve come to realize through revelation and knowledge that that wasn’t true. I speak to that too (with this record), and I encourage people to live life to the fullest and dance a little, have a ball because that’s not going to send you to hell; at the end of the day what will send you to hell is everything that is adverse to the bible, which is something that a man or woman says.

PB: What are your feelings about your life, church, religion and relationship with Jesus?

KP: I’ve stuck to my foundation of holiness, if you will, but it’s not what people would think. The message that I speak is of Jesus Christ, the love and compassion, and for the most part people avoided it. I believe that if God didn’t say it, then I don’t have to do it. I do say that when you are a part of someone’s organization and you belong to that organization, you are responsible for representing them in the way they want you to represent them, but that is also why I tell people to be very careful about what church you join.

PB: When did you get this revelation and learn to be comfortable with your revelation knowledge?

KP: It’s only within the last three years. From the “Priceless” album and this album is where I became reborn. I’ve been in a cocoon, but I’m now in the coming out stage because I’m so free to talk about what I’ve learned. I’ve always been in the church. If I wasn’t on tour working, I was at my church singing sermonic solos for my pastor on Sunday morning and in bible study on Tuesday night. I’ve never been ashamed about it, and I also talk about it to people in the (music) business.

PB: How do you feel about life right now?

KP: I’m happy and despite what others believe, I sleep well at night because I answer to God and not man regardless of what they say or think. My balance of my work life, family, being a parent all comes from prayer. Because I still go to parent teachers meetings with my kids and if I’m on the road and they need me, I know it’s time to come home. They will never feel like this business will out weigh them. I don’t use nannies, just close friends and family.

PB: What makes you know that you are supposed to be doing what you do?

KP: I know God allowed me to do this for a reason. Would we dare say that Solomon should be condemned for all that he wrote and he wrote about other things than God. He’s given me the ability to write and a choice, and I choose to help enhance people’s lives other than inside the church. It’s for when they are with their spouses, being courted, or just dealing with issues of life & going through.

This is who I am; everything I spoke of is everything I feel. I’m mouthy, sometimes I can take things with a grain of salt and sometimes I speak my mind, (smiling) ask my husband, who learned a long time ago.

SIDEBAR
The Album: This Is Who I Am- Recorded Live

PB: Where does your sound come from?

KP: I can say I am a combination of my father & my grandmother, Smokey and deep, although I have range and can go high, it’s them that I favor the most naturally.

PB: What are some of the songs you’ve done and the inspirations behind them?

KP: Healing For My Soul: Is playing on the airwaves now and it came out years ago as an excerpt from Soul of a woman and at the time, that’s all that I had to say, I just wanted Healing for my soul and I was talking to God them. But the words that were added defines yes I made mistakes, gave my body and my soul away but only you lord can make me whole. It explains that I know what I did wrong and I want to get it out. Everyone is looking for acceptance and if I can get what I need it will do. But in reality, you give away a piece of your soul when you give your body (sexually) to someone other than your marriage partner.

No body But Jesus: I collaborated (this remake) with Vanessa Bell Armstrong. I used to sing it when I was a little girl with the Arverne Community Choir (Far Rockaway). It was always my favorite, I always loved that song. I wrote a new song Called God Is Faithful with Donnie McClurkin it has an old feel – like a Mahaila Jackson, Aretha Franklin soul sound. With the Hammond B organ, almost kind of bluesy type rawness- old gospel sound.

Joe Legon (from the Mighty Clouds of Joy) and I did an old song of his called God’s Not Dead. I remember this song from when I was a little girl and loved it, but always had the title wrong -I called it He Lives and no one knew what I was talking about in the stores back then, until I sang it to them. I listened to it and heard it for the first time on the gospel station WWRL.

Richard Smallwood wrote me a beautiful song called What A Friend. It’s a modern day classic Richard song. He blessed the mahogany grand piano. We recorded it for the DVD with the candelabras, ribbons and just let him (Smallwood) do him.

Heaven’s Best: A spin off from Al Green’s Love and Happiness

The CD has 11 songs, and a bonus track Precious Lord that was recorded live from Megafest. However, that will be out on a special promo CD if you buy it from Circuit City only. Guess what? There is the concert DVD that has 15 songs that will be out in February. It contains a full concert, extra footage of when I was a kid, a song that my grandmother and I did together and then I just let them have it, backstage, the rehearsals and interviews with artists that came Mary Mary, Shirley Murdock, my musical director and producer (and he is a preacher), Shep Crawford who also worked with Deborah Cox and others.