It’s been a minute — six years, in fact — since Carvin Winans released his debut solo album, 2019’s In the Softest Way. And now he’s back with sophomore set Cool Gospel — and his first No. 1 on the Gospel Airplay chart this week with lead single “God Still Working on Me.”
“I just want to get out the music that God has given me and in the form that I believe he’s given me,” declares Winans of the 11-track album being released today (June 27) through Blackground Records 2.0.
That declaration is something Winans has focused on essentially all of his life as a member of gospel’s famed Winans family. Alongside siblings Ronald, Marvin and Michael, he co-founded The Winans whose engaging style of gospel and R&B earned the Detroit quartet five Grammys. The group also provided backing vocals on Michael Jackson’s No. 1 single “Man in the Mirror.” On his own, Winans has moonlighted as a songwriter over the years for artists such as Whitney Houston (“Love Is”) and Regina Belle (“Make It Like It Was”).
For his second solo project, Winans teamed with collaborators including songwriter/producers Sean Garrett, Carlos Battey and Gregg Pagani. The recording was also a family affair with Winans tapping the songwriting talents of his wife and the album’s co-executive producer Chérie Winans, daughter Laylah and sons Carvin Jr. and Juan.
The result is a contemporary mix of up-tempo, mid-tempo and ballads, set off by Winans’ soulful, spirited falsetto. Notable tracks include moving second single “Shining Star,” power ballad “You Gotta Believe” and the vibey “He Who Know God.”
Next up, Winans will be joining Fred Hammond, Marvin Sapp and The Clark Sisters on the Detroit Gospel Legends Tour beginning Oct. 18 in Stockbridge, Georgia. “I think people are becoming more receptive when it comes to gospel music,” he says. “And I want to be a part of that bridging between gospel and the whole world; being accepted as much as other genres of music.”
How do you define Cool Gospel?
It’s not your regular gospel-sounding album. Back with The Winans, churches didn’t agree with a lot of our songs because of the contemporary beats. But the lyrics were always sound. I like a good beat. I like a good rhythm. So this album is also very contemporary with very strong lyrics … something a younger audience might listen to and say, “Let me check this out.” I’m very excited about this body of work and reaching a younger audience through the song selections and producers that we had the chance to work with. I want people to understand that yeah, you can enjoy the music, you can clap to it, you can move to it, you can do all that. But this music is also very important at this time because it carries the message of hope. We need to be lifted up.
Inspirational versus gospel. What’s your take on those genre designations?
It’s kind of putting it in a box. Gospel music is basically saying good news. That’s all it is. I just want my music to be heard around the world. “God Still Working on Me” is a song for the whole world to hear because God ain’t just working on me because I’m a Christian. And he ain’t finished with me yet because I’ve still got a ways to go. But whether you do Christian music or not, God wants to work on all of us.
How has Carvin the artist changed since releasing your first solo album?
I really didn’t want to sing after Ronald passed because he was such a big part of the group. But God let me know that he didn’t give me my gift to sit on it. So I had to continue my journey. That first record expresses what I’ve always felt as an artist because when you’re part of a group, it’s hard to really express your own self. It was about getting a consensus of what everybody wanted to do. This time around, Sean started asking me what Carvin wanted to say. And I had never really approached writing and being in the studio that way in the past. It was you go in kind of knowing what you want to do. Sean and I spent like two days just talking. That was different for me, but I loved it because at the end we captured what I was looking for.
What was it like working with Michael Jackson?
That was a highlight and a pleasure. He was a very shy guy. When he was teaching us the song, he would whisper to Quincy [Jones], and Quincy would tell us what he wanted. And we were all in a really small room, right? He did that a couple of times and then the third time Marvin said, “Michael, we’re right here. Just tell us what you want.” He laughed and that broke the ice with him.
The album ends with the song “Sing Forever,” which calls to mind the Winans family’s ongoing multi-generational musical legacy. How would you frame the Winans’ legacy?
Growing up, I just thought that we were the norm. That everybody had their kids around the piano singing. It ididn’t really hit me until I got into this business. I looked at what God was doing. He really called us to this music business; called us to try to make a change through the music he’s given us. We’ve been blessed.
