Nicole Symmonds: June 2007 Archives

Paris Hilton is out of the clink and millions of men and women are still in. But Hilton's freedom is much bigger news than the freedom of a man that has been incarcerated for 20-years for a crime that he didn't commit.

It amazes me how much attention the media gives to a woman who could barely serve out the full-term of her 45-day sentence when almost one year ago, rapper Lil' Kim served nearly 10-months of a year sentence with very little complaint--and no big money offers from the media to tell all (except for a BET program chronicling her days prior to lock-down). Where was Larry King when she was released? Why didn't we get to hear Kim's testimony about how her time in jail changed her life, considering that of the two--Hilton and Kim--statistics indicate that black people are five times more likely than white people to be in jail.

But this is bigger than Hilton having the opportunity to feign redemption for an hour on Larry King (which she did last night). The problem is that we--the general public and the media--deemed Hilton's story---and her mere existence---important enough to be considered nationally ground-breaking news. We rewarded a woman used to being in the spotlight with yet another opportunity to do what she does best--be in the spotlight

And we don't do it with just with her. We've been over-saturating our lives with information about people we will probably never meet in this lifetime. We have let the lives of celebrities eclipse those of our own brothers and sisters fighting extraordinary battles.

While we are busy believing that Hilton's story deserves to be breaking news, the body count in Darfur is still rising, AIDS in Africa is still spreading, the war in Iraq is still raging on, and many in our own communities are impoverished, under-represented, and disenfranchised. This isn't to say that we don't pay any attention to these issues, because we do. But little-by-little, the irrelevant news is what is splashed across the front pages of newspapers and websites while more serious issues get second-billing.

Some would argue that we need news like Hilton's release to take the sting off of what is really going on around us, but at what point do we stop anesthetizing ourselves? I think we've taken one too many shots and need an antidote.

The music industry is full of egocentric artists, so it is rare that those artists will voluntarily give their backup singers an opportunity to shine in the spotlight. But thank God for gospel music and worship leader Israel Houghton, who has put his backup group of dynamic singers and musicians--known as New Breed--in the spotlight with the release of "Freedom: Sounds of the New Breed."

"Freedom" is the first in a series of discs that will showcase the members of New Breed reworking Houghton's praise and worship classics. Initially, I thought this was a risky endeavor because I couldn't imagine that a group of seven could handle the task of recreating Houghton's songs, which, by definition, require a mass of strong authoritative voices. Sadly, I was right on one account--the "Freedom" rendition of "Again I Say Rejoice" fell flat due to the lack of people and energy. This is a problem because the message of the song overrides its lack of Grammy award-winning sound.

Fortunately I realized that real ministry was going forth despite what I thought--and heard--regarding "Again I say Rejoice." The rest of the 10-track disc reveals the true strength of the "Freedom: Sounds of the New Breed," with slickly reproduced worship songs such as the island-inspired "Arise," "I Am Free," which is reminiscent of Houghton's hit "Not Forgotten," and "Alpha and Omega"--a Houghton classic--which retained its ability to send chills up my spine and produce tears in my eyes within the first few bars.

"Freedom: Sounds of the New Breed" is full of worship songs that are as broad in sound and scope as New Breed is diverse in its membership--they are truly a multicultural melting pot. It really encourages people of all cultures to worship together "in spirit and in truth." There's no doubt in my mind that if you love Israel Houghton & New Breed, you are bound to love the "Freedom: Sounds of the New Breed" album.