Life Unfiltered: Gospel Music

Believe it or not, I have not always been rough around the edges.
Syke… yes, I have.

I grew up in a house full of boys—being rough was just life. But being the only girl, I’ll admit, I was a rough princess. I was Ms. Juanita’s baby girl, and she made sure I stayed glammed up. My face was always shining, and I was dressed from head to toe like I had somewhere important to be every single day.

I had the most beautiful babysitter. Her name was Ms. Edith. I thought she was Puerto Rican, but my mama believes she was Indian. Either way, she had the prettiest, silky-looking hair I had ever seen. I never really knew where she came from—one day she was just there, part of my mama’s circle, and when my mama was at work, Ms. Edith ran things.

And listen… she did not play about me.

That whole “get out of your school clothes and into your play clothes” after school? That was real life with Ms. Edith. I could not go outside and play in the same clothes my mama sent me to school in. Those Woolworth Department Store outfits were not cheap, and Ms. Edith knew my mama would lose it if she saw me in the dirt with them on.

Now, while my mother made sure we got to church—where Gospel music was real—Ms. Edith brought a different kind of Gospel into the house. The soft, soul-touching kind. The kind that didn’t have to be loud to be powerful.

She would play Mahalia Jackson while she washed dishes or moved around the house. That voice… soft but strong. The kind that speaks straight to your soul. I can still see Ms. Edith now—eyes closed, swaying side to side—when “How I Got Over” came on.

Mahalia Jackson - How I Got Over

She didn’t just listen to Gospel… she felt it.

Ms. Edith was a woman of God, and I looked up to her like a grandmother. She loved me like I was her own when my mama was working—or out enjoying life. And if I’m being real, I credit her for my love of that softer side of Gospel—the kind that carries meaning, not just sound.

Now my mama? She marched us right over to church on Grand Avenue—Zion Cathedral Church of God in Christ.

Zion Cathedral Church of God in Christ

Look at that… I grew up under the C.O.G.I.C. umbrella and didn’t even realize how deep those roots were.

We were there for everything—services, meals, holidays, all of it.

I was that little girl sitting in the kitchen on Easter Sunday mornings, getting my hair pressed with a hot comb, trying not to flinch. I was the one standing in front of the church, reciting my Easter speech like my life depended on it.

Yeah… that was me.
Ms. Juanita’s brown sugar baby.

Sitting in those pews at Zion, I was tuned into that good old Gospel. The choir sang songs that stayed with you for life—songs that didn’t just sound good, they meant something.

Even now, those songs still live in me.

Pastor Marvin Winans – I Need Thee

“I Need Thee” is my almost-daily prayer song. It prepares my heart before I even say a word. It takes me to a place where I can be completely unfiltered with God—no pretending, no holding back. Just me.

And when I listen to those songs today, it’s more than music.

It’s memory.
It’s healing.
It’s grounding.

That little girl sitting in those pews didn’t know it at the time, but she was building something. Something that would carry her through life.

And now every time I press play…
I find my way right back to myself. Enjoy the music.

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🎶 Songs that still speak to my spirit:

Shirley Caesar – Tear Your Kingdom Down


Rev. James Cleveland – I Don’t Believe He Brought Me This Far to Leave Me



The Georgia Mass Choir – Come On In The Room



The Williams Brothers – I’m Just a Nobody