Kirk Franklin – I Smile – 2011

It was one of those up and down weeks for me.
And anybody who knows me knows I play my feelings through music. 🎧

This week, I went from the ’80s to the ’2010s, worked on a couple of mixes later in the week, and ended up listening to gospel over the weekend.

Then this song found me.
Kirk Franklin.
I Smile.

And I knew what my Sunday post was going to be.

I grew up in the church, and I come from a very religious family.
Gospel music has been part of my life for as far back as I can remember.
Those roots are still there.

These days, I feel more spiritual than religious.
And yes, there’s a difference.

Religion has its traditions, teachings, and ways of worshipping.
Spirituality is that personal connection, what I carry with me and how I make sense of it in my own life.
They can exist together, but they aren’t automatically the same thing.

I’ve always been spiritual.
That part of me didn’t just show up this weekend.
And gospel will always have an important place in my life.
I need it just as much as any other music I listen to. 💜

Y’all know how much I love my R&B.
But gospel belongs in that conversation about who I am, as well.

I Smile makes room for the kind of week I just had.

The song acknowledges discouragement before it asks you to find a little hope.
There’s hurt in the words, even with all that brightness in the music.
That’s what makes the message work for me.

You can still be going through something and find a reason to smile.
Both things can be true.
Both at the same time.

And listen to how the record moves. 🎹
That piano has a bounce to it.
The beat keeps it moving, and those voices come together around a chorus that’s easy to join.

Kirk is right there between the lines, talking, encouraging, keeping everybody involved.
He gives the singers room, then comes back in like he’s making sure you’re still with him.

It feels like an invitation.
Come on in.
Bring the week you had with you.

Released in 2011, I Smile appeared on Hello Fear, which came out that March.
The credited writers are Kirk Franklin, Fred Tackett, James “Jimmy Jam” Harris III, and Terry Lewis.
Kirk produced the recording with Shaun Martin.

And the song reached beyond gospel radio.
Here’s how it peaked on Billboard’s charts in 2011.

It spent twenty-three weeks at No. 1 on Hot Gospel Songs.

Clearly, a whole lot of people needed that encouragement.
But what stays with me is the thought Kirk leaves us with near the end: joy can last beyond whatever happens to be going right or wrong that day.

After an up and down week, I can appreciate that.

I think when I post on Sundays, it’s going to be gospel.
There’s too much of my life in this music for it not to have a place here.

The music I grew up with.
The music I still turn to.
The music that can meet me right where I am. 🙏🏾

This week took me through a few decades and a few moods.
And I Smile is where I’m leaving it this Sunday. 💜

djz7

Direct Listening Links 🎧
Spotify: I Smile
YouTube: Official audio
YouTube: Official music video
Apple Music: I Smile

#TheSoundtrackofWhoIBecame #KirkFranklin #ISmile #HelloFear #GospelMusic #SundayGospel #GospelClassics #MusicAndFaith #SpiritualJourney #MusicForTheSoul