So the Stellar awards 2010 went down this past weekend in Nashville. Da T.R.U.T.H won Best Rap / Hip Hop album for The Big Picture edging out the long expected winner Lecrae's Rebel. Since late 2009, Da T.R.U.T.H took a break from recording due to what he termed as "moral indescretion in his personal life". Read the whole statement on his personal site. Hezekiah Walker won big as did Mary Mary, who won in every category they were nominated in. Hey, I'm following Mary Mary on tweeter so check the "Artists' menu tab to get the latest tweets from Mary Mary. Actually, you also get any tweets from anyone that mention them. Also check Lecrae's tweets. Here are the complete results - the winner are in red (from gospelflava)

Artist of the Year

Vickie Winans, How I Got Over, Destiny Joy Records

Song of the Year (Songwriter; Song - Album; Label)

Group Duo of the Year

New Artist of the Year

Philip Carter & SOV, Songs from the Storm, Sounds of Victory Ministries LLC

Producer of the Year

Traditional Group/Duo of the Year

Lisa Knowles & The Brown Singers, Experience The Evolution, Independent

Contemporary Male of the Year

Troy Sneed, In Due Season, Emtro Gospel

Contemporary Female of the Year

Philip Carter, Songs from the Storm, Sounds of Victory Ministries LLC

Traditional Female of the Year

Vickie Winans, How I Got Over, Destiny Joy Records

Contemporary CD of the Year

Urban/ Inspirational Single / Performance of the Year (Artist; Song - Album; Label)

Contemporary Choir of the Year

Instrumental CD of the Year

Kim Ruff, Ready To Live, MacKim Records

Praise and Worship CD of the Year

Recorded Music Package of the Year [art credit / artist - album / label]

BET's ever popular gospel show Sunday Best held auditions in Nigeria for the upcoming new second season. It could be the first time that a music themed program, similar to American Idol has had auditions outside the U.S. The show is hosted by Kirk Franklin and the judges are Tina and Erica of Mary Mary as well as Bebe Winans. However, this season, it looks like Bebe is out and Donnie McClurkin has replaced him, judging from pictures from the show. Check out pics of the Nigerian auditions (Kirk was there and he missed the BET's Celebration of Gospel last week though he sent out a recorded message from Nigeria)

My heart goes out to the Haitian people. They experienced a 7.0 magnitude earthquake and possibly the most destructive one we've seen in decades. Let's all try to help by giving what we can. Right now you can text the word "HAITI" to 90999 and you will automatically donate $10 to the Red Cross. Now, Pat Robertson said something on the 700 Club that's got the attention of main stream media. He tried to offer an explanation for the earthquake, blaming Haiti’s own people for once making a “pact to the devil”. Watch the video below to hear it for yourself. Also worth noting is that previously he said that the then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had a stroke in 2006 because he was “dividing God’s land” and claimed that God sent Hurricane Katrina as punishment for the country’s sins, such as legalized abortion.

In the month of January, there are numerous Gospel awards shows. Starting with the Holy Hip Hop awards that takes place in Atlanta, Georgia, this awards show / showcase of gospel rappers has been in the running for about 10 years. The show will stream live on Ustream and also in JCTV.Then there is the Stellar Awards. This is definitely gospel music's main awards show though they have been known to have some slip ups especially in the hip hop category where they nominate artists who just had one rap verse in their whole album! This year's show is the 25th and is hosted by Kirk, Donnie and Vickie Winans. The reggae/ dancehall community also honors its own and have the EME Awards (Excellence in Music and Entertainment). It's mainly for Jamaicans and they have a gospel category (26) where several artists featured on the Mixshows have been nominated.

I attended the DWYL (Don't Waste Your Life) tour when they hit the north east in the Summer of 2009 and this is the song that sold the tour. Kept ringing in my head all summer and glad to see this typography video that I stumbled upon on youtube. Finally I get the words that I missed out in the song especially on Dwayne Tryumf's verse. Straight up true talent and the best lyrics. Once you start watching, you will be glued. Love typography videos!

Thanks for visiting the new site. Its been a while since this site was up and I thank God for it's completion. Funny how time flies where months have turned into years. Hope you like the fresh (no pun) design. I decided to go for a simple look. Tell me what you think about the site in the comments section below. The mixshows have been re-uploaded. I will be adding new mixes quite often and keep you dancing. A cool addition will be video mixes and I will have a section on the menu where you can see this.

Picking up from where I left off, so much has happened! Remember there was the news section? Granted that I've been very busy (and consequently the site's been down!) and so much gospel news passes me by, why not have a collection of the best news stories and gospel blogs from one place? The news section will guarantee that you don't miss anything from Christian sites such as dasouth.com, rapzilla.com and holyculture.net among others.

I will also have exclusive news stories and interviews that I will keep on the blog part of the site. Apart from that, I will try and post regular blogs and give you accounts of the gigs that I attend.

Finally, remember to subscribe to my Facebook page by becoming a fan or follow me on Twitter. Once again I welcome you to the new site. Enjoy the ride.

DJ Fresh