In 2002, Smokie Norful’s spiritual plea, "I Need You Now," was in heavy rotation on gospel radio stations across the nation. The song could also be heard in between finger-snapping R&B songs and head-bopping hip hop anthems on urban secular stations.
The crossover was a win-win for listeners and radio execs, and for Norful, whose song beckoned, “Lord I need you, right away.” He enjoyed repeat crossover success with his 2004 sophomore release, Nothing Without You. The single, "I Understand," off the album was a gospel and secular hit, and the CD won a best album Grammy.
The hits kept coming for the Pine Bluff, Ark. native and his latest album, Live, released earlier this month, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's gospel charts and is in the top five of the R&B/Hip Hop chart.
The pastor of Victory Cathedral Worship Center, in southwest suburban Bolingbrook, has no problem being popular on either end of the radio dial.
“I love it, I love it,” Norful told the Defender. He touted the audience diversity and financial rewards of crossover, stating plainly, “I’m able to do ministry as my business and it’s a dual joy. To hear myself on secular radio just means that the business is going well … and secondly that I’m able to reach more people with a gospel message, which is at the center and the core and the foundation of everything that I am doing.”
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