The tradition of Gospel music runs as strong as a river and singer-producer Deitrick Haddon navigates the genre with an innovative style reminiscent of top secular artists.
A native of Detroit, MI, Haddon is rooted in the church, being the son of a minister and former pastor of High Praise Cathedral of Faith Church in Michigan.
“I started out just wanting to represent the city of Detroit, looking at what the Clark Sisters were doing, and seeing what the Winans were doing, Vanessa Bell Armstrong. These were great contemporary Gospel artists that were taking Gospel music to a whole other level,” said Haddon, who labels his music as “gospel to the core, but edgy and progressive.”
Haddon explained, “[My music] is not your normal foot stomp, hand clap, repetitive recycled lyrics. I always try to express God and be creative within my expression of Gospel music.
“I would say it would be my style of how I approach song writing. If everyone is going right, I’ll go left, and find a way to get that same message across.”
In addition to making music, Haddon co-hosted the ‘85 South Gospel Street Show’ that aired on The Word Network in 2006, and starred in the movie, ‘Blessed and Cursed’ in 2010.
Current projects include ‘Blessed and Cursed 2’ starting production this summer and a new reality show, ‘Pastors of L. A.,’ a docu-series premiering this fall on the Oxygen network.
Describing the show, Haddon said, “It’s going to redefine the public’s perspective on what and who a pastor is, what a pastor should be, or what a pastor should look like.
“I think this show will be very important for people to look at. I think that it is fantastic that Oxygen would take this type of risk and allow us to go into millions of homes like this.”
Musically, Haddon is not slowing down. A new single, ‘Have Your Way,’ from his latest album ‘R. E. D. Restoring Everything Damaged,’ will be released later this year.
“I love Gospel music. I live Gospel music. I think about how Gospel music can be redefined to a new generation,” said Haddon, who also mentors up-and-coming gospel artists including ‘LXW, League of Extraordinary Worshipers,’ his 150-voice choir.
“That is my contribution to a lot of artists that aspire to be in Gospel music,” he added. “It’s more than just teaching them songs and recording records. It’s about sharing all that I have experienced down through the years with them.
“We just recorded a brand new record that is coming out in the first quarter of 2014 and on that record are a few of those artists that I feel like are going to really make a name for themselves in the Gospel music industry.”
To learn more about Deitrick Haddon, visit deitrickhaddonred.com.
