The Icho Group & Agency 22 Music & Entertainment Merge to Form New Music Industry Firm, UNDIVIDED : ArtSoulRadio
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The Icho Group & Agency 22 Music & Entertainment Merge to Form New Music Industry Firm, UNDIVIDED

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On-the-rise Faith Based Agencies Combine Brand Marketing, Management and Consultation Resources to Create a Powerful Entertainment Concern

Norman Gyamfi of The Icho Group (Columbia, SC), andWalter Thomas of Agency22 Music & Entertainment(Chicago, IL), have merged their respective enterprises to create a dynamic new entertainment firm, Undivided. The novel union now represents some of the biggest headliners in the Christian-Gospel music genre such as GRAMMY® Award winner, Jonathan McReynolds; worship leader, Todd Dulaney; platinum-selling recording artist, Erica Campbell of Mary Mary fame and Chandler Moore of the Gen Z worship collective, Maverick City, among others.

Undivided will provide its clients with management, marketplace branding and long-term strategic career consultation and planning services. “The primary objective in our coming together as a unified front is to merge our respective visions, resources and expertise’s to offer our clientele a unique and differentiated presence in the marketplace,” said Thomas. His erstwhile agency managed the careers of Jonathan McReynolds, worship leader Bri Babineaux, and singer-songwriter, DOE. He adds that, “Pooling our missions expands our market share, increases profits, and extends the reach of our artists, whereby pushing the genre forward as a whole.”

“We want to become a case study on what it’s like when you partner versus when you compete,” said Gyamfi who managed and provided business direction for Billboard No. 1 recording artists such as Travis GreeneKierra Sheard-Kelly, and JJ Hairston. “We want people to look back and say that was the moment when they put their pride aside and decided that us coming together was the best thing that could happen for a genre –not for Walter, not for Norman; but for Christian-Gospel music in general.”

Aside from its faith-based endeavors, Undivided is also actively broadening its roster and developing relationships with R&B acts and sports figures as well. They recently promoted the Checking In book tour for Destiny’s Child alum, Michelle Williams. They are currently working with singer and television personality, Tamar Braxton, on her Under Constructionpodcast, and with professional baseball player, Mark Kemp, onhis annual youth music festival.

ArtSoul Radio is a 24/7, online Christian Radio Station and Entertainment news site promoting new and diverse sounds in Christian music! We highlight both indie and mainstream artists in Contemporary Gospel, Pop, Soul, Hip-Hop, Alternative, and Spoken Word Poetry.

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Mike Teezy and Jekalyn Carr’s Release New Video for Single “Hands On Me”

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If you’re looking for new music to add to your playlist, this is a single you can’t forget! Grammy award winning artist Jekalyn Carr and Christian R&B newcomer have come together for their newest collab “Hands On Me”! In just four days, their new video for the single hit 100K and the numbers continue to climb!

Surprisingly to some, Christian R&B is not a new genre. But, it has recently become more widespread outside of the Christian R&B community in the last few years due to much of the music going viral on TikTok. There have been a host of artists who have been pushing out creative music with this sound as far back as 2012 and before. In recent years, we have seen new artists jumping into the genre style with a fresh take merging Gospel and Christian R&B together!

Following in the steps of recent collaborations from artists like Erica Campbell and Jordan Armstrong and more, Jekalyn Carr and Mike Teezy are continuing the trend of Gospel + Christian R&B artists coming together for a new era of Gospel music!

Watch the video below, then scroll down further to watch clips of the artists behind the scene on the set of their video recording:

WATCH FULL VIDEO HERE:

WATCH BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE VIDEO RECORDING ON OUR IG PAGE:


LISTEN 24/7 TO DISCOVER NEW INDEPENDENT ARTISTS ALONG W/ YOUR FAVORITE MAINSTREAM ARTISTS!

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Fans Give Mixed Reviews of New Justin Timberlake and Tobe Nwigwe Collab

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Justin Timberlake and Tobe Nwigwe recently performed on Saturday Night Live debuting Timberlake’s newest single “Sanctified”. Prior to this performance, only a short portion of the song had been previewed in an NFL Wildcard ESPN commercial. Now that the full song has been released, fans are sharing their love and a few concerns. Considering the Christian references throughout the song, Christian fans are sharing their thoughts as well. While some major websites such as Rollingstone have reported the two artist’s collaboration as a Gospel release, a close listen to the lyrics from fans is bringing a new response that is correcting that perspective.

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How Are Fans Responding?

The response from fans so far depends on the audience. Most agree that musically the song hits! Everything was done extremely well! With Adam Blackstone involved in combination with all of the artists featured, that was almost a guarantee. But, lyrically is where the divide comes in from the faith based audience and the general mainstream audience.

While it’s clear that the song has a strong sexual connotation, some from the Faith based community specifically feel that the correlation to the crucifixion and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the Glory of God might be taking things too far. It has also been stated that the song might have originally been created as a love letter to his wife Jessica Biel as the lyrics also seem to point to the Trolls star feeling grateful for someone who has led him through a dark time:

“You take all of my wrongs, move right along, take mе and fix my mess / Get me up whеn I’m low, hand on my soul, like you see right inside,” Timberlake sings. “I come out a new man, no blood on my hands, sanctified.” 

– Excerpt from Justin Timberlake’s “Sanctified”

Knowing that the song might be a love letter to his wife, what do you think of the lyrical direction? Was it still too much? Scroll down to read the lyrics and to see the performance in full. Then, share your thoughts with us on Instagram via the link below: We want to hear from you!

Watch The Full Performance Here

Read the Lyrics to the Song Here

Join us on Instagram below and let us know your thoughts in the comments!


LISTEN 24/7 TO DISCOVER NEW INDEPENDENT ARTISTS ALONG W/ YOUR FAVORITE MAINSTREAM ARTISTS!

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Doe Releases New Single “Holy Hands”

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Looking for more new music? DOE just released her latest single “Holy Hands” and she shared a few words with us about what she loves about it the most!

Doe is signed to Jonathan McReynold’s label Life Room Label and has been making waves since the release of her first project under the label.

Doe continues to expand her sound collaborating with Christian artists like Wande, Donald Lawrence, Johnathan McReynolds, Orlando Palmer and more! Partnering up w/ artists from various Christian genre styles continues to expand her audience while exposing them all to new sounds in the process!

We’re excited about this single and about everything she has coming up next!

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