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HEZEKIAH WALKERBiography.He’s affectionately known as the “ Pastor of Hip Hop†and counts among his congregation attendees the likes of Sean â€P. Diddy†Combs, Lil’ Kim, Foxy Brown along with a “who’s who†list of the industry’s finest including Emmy award winning television producers, record label executives, fashion designers, entrepreneurs, lawyers and lay people alike. He’s a two-time Grammy Award-winning gospel artist who also infuses his music with the secular sounds of R&B, soul and rap. He is as comfortable preaching to the drug dealers on the tough urban streets of Brooklyn, New York as he is in welcoming political dignitaries as Senator Hillary Rodham-Clinton to his church.Such is the life of this 2002 Grammy Award recipient, Hezekiah Walker, a Pentecostal Minister who utilizes such diverse ways and means to spread the good word among his ever-growing flock. His music, his community involvement, his preaching – all are the elements of a recipe for spiritual healing that has been embraced by a worldwide assemblage. Often sought after industry moguls for prayer and counseling, Walker is linked to the likes of DMX, Missy Elliott, Charlie Ward, and India Arie, to name a few. Having appeared in Vibe, Essence, Sister 2 Sister, Heart and Soul and Ebony magazines, as well as being interviewed by Peter Jennings and an appearance on The View, Good Morning America, the Today Show and the first ever televised Gospel Performance on the 2002 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles at the Staple Center, Walker is as humble as a lamb. He is an author, a father, a role model and a living inspiration.A native of the Fort Greene projects in Brooklyn, Hezekiah somehow survived growing up in an environment where the majority of young men were destined for either jail or an early grave. Raised by a widowed mother (who died when Walker was 21) and two loving sisters and a younger brother, the young Walker resisted the temptations of the streets by finding a haven in his church and gospel music. He began singing at church at the age of eight, and by his early teens (when he had decided to give his life to Christ) he was writing songs for a small gospel ensemble--the beginnings of the Love Fellowship Crusade Choir, which he formally founded in 1985.
Today, he is the founder and Senior Pastor of the Love Fellowship Tabernacle Churches in Bensalem, PA, Brooklyn, NY – the “mother†church he began in 1994 – and currently Newark, NJ. Walker oversees a musical and ministerial empire that continues to reach new souls around the globe including Japan, the Caribbean, Africa and Europe. “I remember sitting in church as a child and trying to keep my eyes open,†Walker says, “and although I always loved the music, I never thought I would be preaching the gospel. But once I became a minister I wanted to have a church that was full of excitement.†Indeed with his fire-and-brimstone sermons and the glorious sounds of the choir filling the air, there’s not a sleepy eye in the place.Walker’s “church†extends far beyond its four walls and the building is used for much more than weekly prayer services as quoted by the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times in recent articles. “The church should not be afraid to go outside and show people what we have,†Walker has said. “It’s time for churches to take a stand and do their share to help save and revive our communities.†Practicing what he preaches, Walker can be seen almost daily talking to the folks in his neighborhood, he often invites young people from a local house of detention to attend services; he provides food to the homeless and he counsels those who have drug dependencies and makes referrals to local, private and government agencies. His work is both recognized and appreciated by those who live near his church. A civilian worker in the Community Affairs unit of his neighborhood once said, “Reverend Walker is God-sent. His work has helped reduce crime. We love having him here.â€The Love Fellowship Crusade Choir – initially envisioned by Walker as nothing more than a weekend outlet for his talents – is also recognized and appreciated for its innovation and musical artistry. The choir first began performing in local arenas and halls, as well as churches, hospitals, prisons and even the streets. “We began as a concert choir but changed to a ‘ministry choir’â€, says Walker. “I had no idea when we started [the choir] that it was ever going to reach the international notoriety that it has.†To date, Walker has performed with Celine Dion, Patti Labelle, Brian McKnight, Enrique Iglesias, Kenneth “ BabyFace†Edmonds, and numerous other stars; he has also recorded with Sean “P.Diddy†Combs, Brandy, Kelly Price, Faith Evans, Luther Vandross and others.Walker’s musical accomplishments include 9 hit albums on the Verity label. His recent recording is historical being the only Live Gospel Recording to ever take place at the world renowned Radio City Music Hall – February 2002. To his credits are also 2 Grammy Awards, 10 Grammy nominations, among countless other Dove, Stellar, NAACP and privately recognized awards and nominations. The choir released two independent albums in 1987 and 1990, and in 1992 Walker signed with Verity Records. The release of Focus on Glory that same year catapulted the Crusade Choir to national prominence.Over the next seven years the Crusade Choir would release an album a year-the “Live†performances from Toronto, London, Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York, and then the smash hit Family Affair in late 1999. Live in Atlanta at Morehouse College won the Grammy Award in 1996 for Best Album by a Choir. He again won the 2002 Grammy Award for Love Is Live in that same category.Hezekiah Walker has become a one-man institution leading an ongoing battle to save souls. By sharing the fruits of his church, his music, his community efforts and his ministry - armed with his favorite saying: “And Because God Is the Greatest Power We Shall Not Be Defeated!†– he’s definitely winning the battle! .
