Anthony Brown & group therAPy have ‘Testimony’ for the ages
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Anthony Brown & group therAPy rehearsing for the Stellar Awards in January.
By DERON SNYDER
Anthony Brown has a vivid memory of singing in his parents’ church when he was 5 years old. Wearing a blazer, short pants and knee-high socks, he stood on a chair alongside his brother. That’s when he began watching the Stellar Awards, being blown away by the gospel artists he loved so much.
Fast forward to January 2014. Many of those same artists were blown away as Anthony Brown & group therAPy performed Testimony, their smash hit that was Billboard’s No. 1 gospel song in 2013. Onlookers would be shocked to learn that he created the choreography and re-arranged the song just days earlier.
“I spent two months trying to figure out what I was going to do, says Brown, who won Stellars for Contemporary Male Artist as well as Group/Duo of the Year. “Meanwhile, I had the Christmas play at church and I couldn’t focus. The producers kept calling and asking what I was going to do. I didn’t have a clue.”
But God showed up and showed out, which was the case throughout an incredible 2013 for Brown. The showers of blessings actually started in October 2012, when he got a call to join Mary Mary’s “Go Get It” tour. “From that moment on it’s been a mind-blowing experience,” says Brown, whose performances also included BET’s “Celebration of Gospel,” the Essence Music Festival and TBN’s “Praise the Lord” show. “The Bible says your gift will make room for you and bring you before great men. That’s exactly what I saw happen in my life.”
With calls coming in virtually every weekend with inviations to minister here and there, he couldn’t meet the demand. “I even got a call from BET’s ‘Sunday Best’ and had to turn it down because I was already engaged somewhere else.”
Brown got a chance to see how far his music extended – and how big God is – when he was nominated for a Dove Award. Those awards focus predominantly on contemporary Christian music, a field that doesn’t feature many African Americans. Attending that awards show in October 2013 helped open his eyes wider.
“If your only experience is the black church, you’re only getting a sliver of God’s influence,” Brown says. “I was rubbing elbows and talking to Pastor Rick Warren and other CCM artists, big names who sell out auditoriums and stadiums singing about Jesus Christ.
“It just gave me a reference point for how big and broad God is. We want to make this music thing so people from every race and every style can learn about who God is and be encouraged by this music,” he says.
Plenty of folks were encouraged by Testimony, which Brown jokingly calls “the song that wouldn’t die.” Released in May 2012, it spent the vast majority of 2013 in the Top 10. “Artists wait a lifetime to get a song that lives like that,” Brown says. “You certainly don’t expect it on your first effort.”
Brown would love some airplay for a few other songs on the group’s self-titled album. He wanted to perform a different song for the Stellars, but the producers insisted. Instead of moving on to one of the other 11 songs on the project, radio stations have asked for the Stellars’ re-mix version. “They will not let Testimony go,” he says.
He understands there are no guarantees in the recording industry. Artists put out projects all the time and most enjoy limited exposure – at best. Brown knew he had a tremendous support system in First Baptist Church of Glenarden (Md.) – where he serves as Assistant Minister of Music – and Pastor John K. Jenkins Sr. But Brown had no idea of the incredible blessings ahead.
“When I saw this music reaching out to people I don’t know, that’s when I was aware of God’s presence with that project,” he says. “God’s wind was on that. It was nothing that I could do on my own. I’m aware of His presence and I’m really grateful for it.”
