Victory LIVE!

December 1, 2006

Title: Victory LIVE!
Artist: Tye Tribbett & G.A.
Label: Sony Urban Music/Columbia
Catalog No.: 82876 77526 2
Date: May 23, 2006

“This isn’t R&B. This isn’t Hip-Hop, this is Kingdom Music.” This inscription in the liner notes of Victory LIVE! confirms that no single genre category can encompass Tye Tribbett or his choir, Greater Anointing (G.A.). Neither can any studio, for that matter. The Camden, New Jersey native’s latest release, recorded at Deliverance Evangelistic Church in Philadelphia, proves that Tye Tribbett and G.A.’s music is meant for the stage, where the choir has been at home for ten years now.

Founded by Tribbett in 1996, G.A. is as known for ecstatic worship as much as for music. “No Way,” recorded on his 2004 debut album, Life, gave the choir its boost into both the sacred and secular mainstream. G.A. performed the simple chant on various music award shows and B.E.T. performance programs. On Victory LIVE! (also published as a DVD), Tribbett leads the choir in choreographed dance moves, and also yields to the move of the Spirit, extending songs because of the atmosphere of corporate worship.

Still, performance style alone couldn’t have made this album what it is. Always on the edge of contemporary gospel, Tribbett and G.A. manage to compile all types of musical influences in one recording. Tribbett wanted this album to reflect his idea of Kingdom Music, genre-free and genre-inclusive. “Sinking” is one song that illustrates Tribbett’s gospel roots, as well as his ability to blend cultural and musical styles. The song begins with the choir singing in the deliverance style of old Methodist hymnals. After the song’s break, Tribbett incorporates lyrics from a standard in the black church, irrespective of sect, “God’s been so good to me.” Songs like “Seated at the Right Hand of God,” and “No Other Choice,” beg to be categorized as contemporary Christian music, a classification that doesn’t represent his core audience. On the other hand, songs like “Still Have Joy” and “Everything Will Be Alright” are true to Tribbett’s Apostolic roots. Finally, the title track and highlight of the concert, “Victory,” is straight go-go (a genre developed in Washington, D.C. by the school of funk graduate Chuck Brown). Tribbett contends that this eclectic mix of music is representative of the Kingdom of Heaven. Hence, the self-proclaimed genre of “Kingdom Music” has replaced the “M.U.D.” (Music Un-Defined) designation applied by Tribbett to his debut album.

Life was reflective of some of the choir’s earlier struggles, replete with questions about Christian living in the face of adversity. After a series of trials that included the death of choir member Dr. Kenneth Riddle, G.A. has since begun to answer these questions. On Victory LIVE!, the choir stands ready to recite what they have learned: worship is the balm for all wounds.

Posted by Asha L. French

Filed under: Gospel Music and Spirituals