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JJ
Stephens has established himself as a versatile singer in different music
genres. His talent is recognized both in South Africa and Internationally.
He
is a religious family man and the release of the Gospel album has been a
dream of his for some time now. After surviving a series of heart
attacks, JJ wanted to show his gratitude in the only way he knew how,
through his voice and ultimately to the recording of his Gospel album.
What
separates this album from others is the fact that there was no regard
given to a specific style or genre and therefore: Blues, Rock, Jazz, Pop,
Country as well as some ballads and narration make up this 18 track
bilingual gem of an album.
In
recent memory, JJ Stephens is the first artist to successfully capture all
these on one album and this effort should catapult him right up there with
the best.
Musically this album is brilliantly produced and the finishing touches
come with JJ’s rich warm voice and wonderful interpretation which lends
itself to the in-depth meaning of the lyrics.
JJ Stephens’s story - Then
till now.
JJ
was born in Benoni and is fondly referred to as: The boy from Benoni by
his fellow artists. He started singing as a young boy, played in amateur
theatre productions did ramp modeling as well as some movie and TV work,
but his first love has always been singing.
JJ’s velvet voice can
be heard on more than 56 CD’s of which some claimed gold, platinum and
multi-platinum status.
JJ is no stranger to
success and has had numerous no 1 hits on various radio stations. The
title track of JJ’s previous album, JY IS DIE ROTS, lifted Steve
Hofmeyr’s song Pampoen off the no. 1 position and then successfully
stayed at no.1 for ten consecutive weeks at Overvaal Stereo.
The same song was
entered into the World Song Festival 2005 and was nominated no. 30 in the
world giving JJ some international recognition. The Vonk magazine awarded
JJ as the third most popular solo artist in South Africa, with Steve
Hofmeyr second and Dozi as the winner in 2005.
JJ also received
international recognition when he wrote and recorded a song for the
American people after the 9/11 tragedy entitled In Memory Of, this
song was played on radio stations worldwide.
When JJ is not singing he keeps himself
busy writing CD reviews and
designing things for earthmoving equipment (his other love engineering).
JJ Stephens has
paid his dues over the years and can now hopefully reap the benefits. With
his beliefs deeply anchored, JJ’s first gospel album, GLO VAS, is
musically warming and like a breath of fresh air.
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