The Vine News

 Picture this: One minute there is frenzied jumping, the next -- stillness – like when everyone raises their lighters at a concert and in the midst of the hush you hear spontaneous shouts in the distance.  Spirits are high, hearts are pierced and the feeling that everything’s gonna be alright is shared among everyone present.  Such is the contrast in energy and artistry the infectious music of Israel Houghton emits; such is the effect the voice of this musical Moses has every time he hits the stage.

 While today’s news headlines are consistently blaring what’s wrong in life, Houghton says he loves encouraging people.

Recently the 37-year-old jammed for Jesus at the famous Roxy Theatre on the Sunset Strip as he performed songs from his first solo CD, The Power of One: Change the World, moving a crowd of adoring multi-cultural fans. The CD is a 14-track mosaic of cross-cultural tunes featuring collaborations with some of his friends from diverse musical persuasions (Toby Mac, Mary Mary and well-known reggae queen Chevelle Franklin to name a few.)

 “I just absolutely believe if there was ever a great time to be in the good news business it’s now,” he said.

The son of a White American mother and Jamaican father, Houghton possesses a stylistically colorful musical palette (a combination of reggae, rock, pop, R&B and gospel) that far exceeds the sound of church music. Houghton was introduced to the recording industry flanked by his background unit, The New Breed, whose collective voices contribute to the overall electrifying style he engineered. He plays guitar, piano and his primary instrument, the drum, and he prefers live recordings to capture the dynamic of God at work. As for all that jumping you sometimes see at his live performances? Well, let’s just say he’s the ring leader for a reason.

 “I’m a bit of a disaster with the dancing,” he said. “I’m half Black and half White and the White side definitely got the dancing.”

Driven to impact listeners’ one-on-one relationship with God, Houghton the lyricist admits that he has written music based on fan feedback.

 “Some of the best compliments I’ve ever received were when people say ‘you sang exactly what I wanted to say’… it’s a big driving force behind what I write, just trying to connect with people,” he said.

The gift of guiding people to a state of intimacy with God was only perfected in him after the personal demon of rejection was exorcised. 

In a 700 Club interview Houghton said he grew up feeling like he was an “accident.”  His mother was advised to abort him. But at the expense of being disowned by her family and sacrificing her future, the former concert pianist did not terminate the pregnancy. However, she did turn to drugs after moving to California with her boyfriend, not knowing that she was pregnant with an instrument for change.

Two and a half years ago, long before the presidential campaign was completed, Houghton began to contemplate the link between justice and Christian responsibility. Around the same time a mainstream artist asked Houghton to pen a song for him. He put his thoughts to paper, resulting in the lyrics to The Power of One, words the mainstream artist would never see.

When his wife, of nearly 15 years, Meleasa, co-founder of New Breed, heard what he wrote, she insisted he save it for a later time.

The title song, which was performed at pre-inaugural festivities in DC, is an in-your-face challenge that says “you can change the world, stand up or sit down. . .”

The “Power of One” especially pleads for Christians to care about social justice and activate their faith to make a difference in the world.  In comparison to his last album, the Grammy award winning “A Deeper Level,” this time the artist is out to start a global revolution to change a world wrought with poverty, racism, selfishness, and unstable politics.

Throughout his journey, the idea of the power of one was instilled in him through a triangle of powerful women who individually influenced his life, starting with the radical inner voice of his mother who decided to face society’s prejudices and keep her unborn child.

And if it weren’t for the God-sent intervention of another woman, a stranger in San Diego in 1971, the singer/songwriter may not have been born.

Abandoned by her boyfriend at age 17 while 8-months pregnant, the stranger stopped Houghton’s mother while she was walking down the street just to tell her that she had made the right decision and that Jesus loved her. Houghton’s mom gave her life to Christ on that street corner that day.

But, even being raised with the love of a Christian mother, it was hard for him to connect with God the Father in worship because his biological father and maternal grandfather had both forsaken him. His grandfather literally pushed him off his lap during their initial encounter at the age of 7, almost permanently clouding his understanding of fatherly love.  

This is how we arrive at the Israel we know today, the one using his voice shaped by a painful past to change the world when he yelps for Heaven’s help.

Houghton has testified that once God revealed to him in Psalm 138 that he was “fearfully and wonderfully made” his identity complex was resolved. 

Now the “Friend of God” singer, who is also the father of three, a son and two daughters, has no problem connecting with God and helping usher people across all ethnicities all over the world into His presence.

Israel and the New Breed are preparing for the next live recording and will be embarking on a world tour beginning this month. The Power of One is available in stores and online now

See in-depth interview with Israel Houghton online at www.TheVineNews.com

Mona Austin is a nationally syndicated news and gospel entertainment reporter. Read her gospel industry updates by visiting www.lagospel-scene.com. E-mail your feedback to info@lagospelscene.com.