- 1 week ago
The week's episode features gospel singer Jonathan McReynolds. He is joining us LIVE to perform songs off his EP, PEOPLE, and more!
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00:00Hello, Facebook and Twitter. I'm Joy Marie McKenzie, Essence, the senior entertainment
00:12editor, and I have a treat for your Monday. If you want to be awoken, if you need a jump
00:18start to your week, Essence, we've got you. We have a very special guest today, a dose
00:24of inspiration, maybe a Sunday part two for some, but his name is Jonathan McReynolds.
00:32What's up? How you doing?
00:33Hi, Jonathan. How are you?
00:35I'm pretty good. I'm pretty good. It's great to see you.
00:37Yes, I love your shirt. What does it say? Delivered from?
00:41From people.
00:42I know that.
00:42You know, their opinions, their actions, their faces, their expressions, all of that.
00:49Yes.
00:49I understand about what God feels about me.
00:51Yes. Praise God. Well, listen, I'm a PK, really a BK.
00:54So I feel like, you know, I'm in the right spot right now talking to you. But Jonathan,
01:00I have to let you know, because you're actually making history right now. I don't know this,
01:06but you are Music Monday's very first gospel artist.
01:09Hey.
01:10Yes. And I think it's so necessary to talk to artists who have that extra connection, that
01:16extra connection to Jesus, because we all need just a little bit more of them these days.
01:19How has it been for you just with everything that's going on in this crazy world of ours?
01:24Yeah. Crazy is the perfect word for it. You know, everything feels a little less certain.
01:31Everything feels like, how do we plan for the rest of the year? How do we plan for next year?
01:36Everything's kind of like up in the air. We're just waiting for something to be sure,
01:40even if it's not the greatest something. But we're just waiting for something to kind of be like,
01:45okay, this is what we're going to be doing. And so, you know, that's for everybody,
01:49whether you are a believer or not. I just know that at the end of the day, God is in control of
01:56all of this. And at the end of the day, he has a plan. And so, I'm just trusting it. And even if
02:01I don't see it all right now, I'm just trusting that I'll be all right and all things will work
02:06together for me.
02:08Yeah. Jonathan, you seem like you're the strong friend in your circle. And I feel like I am that
02:14too. For a lot of people who are the strong friend out there, they're finding it hard to deal with
02:19so much uncertainty. What would you tell those people who might just be having a difficult time
02:24dealing with the uncertainty of the times? Well, you know what? I, you know, my therapist
02:29once told me life sometimes is about grieving rather than fixing. And sometimes just for us
02:36strong folks, we got to learn how to be okay with not being okay sometimes. Now, that doesn't mean
02:42marinate. That doesn't mean let it take you into a pit that you can't get out of, but have all the
02:47necessary feelings, have all the human feelings, have all of the, you know, normal day-to-day
02:54up and downs. That's okay. It's long for me as you give them to somebody that can actually
03:00handle them. I can't. I don't have a cape on, but I have a guy who does. And so, you know,
03:06he can take it. He can take the terrible stuff. He can take the questions. He can take the good,
03:10bad, and the ugly. So, I'll just try my best to feel it and then give it away.
03:14Yes. And before we talk about BET Sunday's Best, because, you know, we see you every week,
03:21judging, finales coming up, but I have to congratulate you because you're doing something
03:25super special at the Stellar Awards later this month. Tell us about what you might be doing.
03:31Yeah. So, on the 23rd on BET at six o'clock Eastern, we're going to be doing the biggest
03:37night in gospel, which is the Stellar Awards, the 35th annual Stellar Awards. I'm really excited
03:42about it. I'm hosting this one. So, while I judge on Sunday Best, I'm actually going to be co-hosting
03:47this one with Kirk Franklin and Corinne Hawthorne. We had so much fun taping it. Of course, we had to
03:52do kind of a virtual thing, and so it's going to be different, but it's really going to be dope.
03:56It might be doper than ever. You know, on me, I thought the BET Awards was better than ever this year.
04:03Yes.
04:04With all that virtual stuff, and so I'm really excited to see how, you know, doing this whole
04:09virtual thing has allowed all these gospel artists to, you know, be more creative and to think out
04:15of the box when it comes to how they present their songs. It's going to be really amazing,
04:19and plus me, Kirk, and Corinne had a whole lot of fun.
04:21Yeah, I'm absolutely sure, and I know you work with Kirk on Sunday's Best as well, finale coming up.
04:27I know that you can't, like, spoil it for us, but, like, is there anyone that you might be
04:32pulling for, or maybe that you have a favorite?
04:37You know what? I really don't. People, you know, speculate sometimes that I do all the time.
04:42They come up with a lot of conspiracy theories, but I really just want the one that can be,
04:50you know, a teammate. I think of it like a team. You know, I love basketball. I just want somebody
04:54that if I have to pass the ball to, I know they can make the shot, and I'm just really
04:59excited about both, or all, you know, all three of them that, you know, we just narrowed it down
05:06to two last night, and now it's not up to me no more. We're done without judging. It's up to
05:12America. They vote, and I don't find out until everybody else finds out who actually is.
05:17Oh, really? Okay. Okay.
05:20The contestants don't even know until it actually airs, so it's really cool.
05:24Yeah. Is there something to be said about, you know, during this and COVID, everyone's sort of
05:29like doing their own thing during this time? Does it change any of the elements? I mean,
05:34I'm like, usually Sunday's baths are in there, praise, and like, have you had to shift, or have
05:40the performances been received in a different way because you are, you know, dealing with COVID?
05:45Yeah, you know, it's definitely different, and I really can't even estimate how the actual
05:51competition would have turned out differently had we been in normal circumstances. Maybe certain
05:55people that shined, maybe they would not have shined so much in front of people, and vice versa.
06:01So, you never know, and we absolutely miss the music, the live band. We miss the churchy
06:07reprises at the end. We miss the audience, you know, taking over the song. You know, we miss all that
06:13stuff, but I'm really proud of BET and JCE on how they pulled it off. Very innovative. We managed to
06:20find TV studios and get TV studios in everybody's home so that we can pull this thing off, and it's
06:26still been a very watched and enjoyed show, and so I'm just glad to be a part of it.
06:31Yeah, shout out to BET for having that budget, and I want to just tell everyone who is watching right
06:38now. If you have a question for Jonathan, please drop down in the comments and ask your questions.
06:43I will be asking him your questions at the end of this live stream, so just drop down in there.
06:50We'll make sure we tackle you guys just a little bit later, but before we get into that, Jonathan
06:56has some very special songs that he wants to perform for us, so without further ado, because
07:02y'all not here to talk to me, y'all here to listen to him. Jonathan, what do you have for us?
07:06You know, I'm going to do a couple songs, maybe one from the new record, but this is the one that
07:12really, it fits where we are, kind of in a weird way. Matter of fact, when it first came out, people
07:23were blaming me for the quarantine, as if I prayed for it, but I pray in this time when people are not
07:34around as much, everybody's at least six feet away, God can deliver us from people.
07:46They are the best and the worst you've created, loving and hating and opinionated, loners and
08:02basements and those congregated, deliver me. Far from the peaceful shore I was sinking, deep
08:16in the ocean of thoughts they were thinking, don't know what validation I was seeking, deliver me from people.
08:32People, when you said you could heal me from anything, did you mean people? People, deliver me.
08:48I can't point them out. I won't say the names. I don't know the damage or which one to blame. It's just people. People, deliver me.
09:06Oh, cause the hurt are hurting. And the broken are breaking. And the ones who had their joy taken away are out here taken from other people.
09:28People, people, people, people, God, heal me from people.
09:38Deliver me from people. Deliver me from people. People, help me to forgive people.
09:48Oh, teach me how to love people. Teach me how to serve people. Even when they get on my nerve. People, people, crazy people.
10:06People, trolling people. People, self-righteous people. People, entitled people. Oh, people.
10:21Hating people. Lying people. Disrespectful people. But forgive me when I'm one of those people.
10:34People, people. Deliver me. Deliver me. Deliver me.
10:52Somebody said, from people on Twitter. Deliver me from people.
11:02People, people, people.
11:07You know, when Jesus was on the cross, being crucified and people were, you know, just mocking him. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
11:18He said something really amazing that's really been blessing me. He said, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.
11:27Sometimes, most of the time, the people that you're probably thinking of when I sing this song, they know not what they do. They know not what they do. Hey.
11:43They know not what they say. Oh. They know not what they post. Oh. So deliver me from people. People. People. People.
12:02Help me to forgive people. Maybe ignore and block some people.
12:07ս me in mind.
12:13People.
12:14People.
12:15People.
12:20People.
12:24Don.
12:26Hey, didn't I conquer this last year?
12:51Tell me what I missed.
12:54Cause I fear that it's coming back up again.
13:00Must be something I ate.
13:04Some song, some show, some hate.
13:09The devil wants to extend the game.
13:13Free throws.
13:16When it ends, he wants to make the sequel.
13:21One, cause if he has another chance, he feels like he can take my joy, my peace, my faith.
13:32Oh, see the devil, he learns from your mistakes, even if you don't.
13:43That's how he keeps you in cycles, cycles.
13:51He tries to keep us in cycles, cycles.
13:58But I'm not going in cycles, cycles.
14:03Oh, so Lord, help me be free from all of my past sins.
14:22See, your, your love is enough to make me new and help me in these cycles.
14:38Help me break these cycles.
14:41Lord, get me out of these cycles.
14:45Mmm, cycles.
14:48If this is what you had to do, to help us break some cycles.
14:54Pull us out of our normal, normal routine.
15:00Just help us break some cycles.
15:03Help us break some cycles.
15:06Lord, get us out of these cycles.
15:10Oh, cycles.
15:12Oh, of depression, these cycles.
15:16Of sin, these cycles.
15:19Of loneliness, these cycles.
15:22Oh, dependence on people.
15:24Oh, why?
15:25Cause there is power in the name of Jesus.
15:31There is power in the name of Jesus.
15:36Oh, there is power in the name of Jesus.
15:44To break every cycle.
15:48Cycle.
15:50To break all these cycles.
15:53Cycle, I don't want to go in cycles.
15:59Cycle.
16:02Cycle.
16:03Yeah.
16:04Yeah.
16:06Yeah.
16:10Yeah.
16:11Yeah.
16:13Yeah.
16:16Mm.
16:16Music Monday.
16:22Essence, I love y'all.
16:25Lizzie, you better do that, Ron.
16:28It's your turn now.
16:29Let's do it.
16:30I love that, Jonathan.
16:33I know exactly what I'm going to be streaming.
16:35I hope you guys stream Jonathan McRenna Cycles.
16:39People download his music, buy his music.
16:43We just need more of this and more of you.
16:46One of the commenters asked, where can I buy your shirt?
16:49They're loving this shirt.
16:51This is Unapologetic Urban Gear, so U-U-G-A-T-L.
16:55If you go there, they have all these shirts, these Deliver From People shirts.
16:59We got Moving On shirts for the song that I have with me and Molly Music that's on radio right now.
17:05There's a lot of really cool stuff there, so go to U-U-G-A-T-L.
17:10Awesome.
17:11And then Vanessa is asking, what can we expect from you in the next coming months?
17:17Oh, y'all can expect a lot.
17:18You know, if anybody knows me, all the people that have been following me for a minute, they know that I'm a workaholic, and I'm always coming up with something to do.
17:26And so we have some new music that's going to be coming out of this camp.
17:31I'm not saying that it's all mine, but, you know, we have some really cool things coming up down the pipeline, some really, really good music.
17:39We have some new content that we're going to do.
17:43We have some signature guitars that are coming out.
17:46We got a whole bunch of stuff that's going to be happening in this last quarter, so just stick with us.
17:51Yes, I love that.
17:53I mean, and Alicia is asking, what do you do for self-care, especially for people like you who are workaholics or they feel like they need to be productive during this time?
18:02How do you maintain self?
18:04Yeah, pray for us.
18:05Pray for us.
18:06Pray for us.
18:07That's probably the most effective thing is prayer.
18:11And here's the thing.
18:12If you don't, you know, there are some times when, you know, I've gotten sick and my mother growing up would tell me, that's your body telling you to sit down.
18:21And so, you know, sometimes, you know, we work our way into God and life having to tell us to sit down.
18:30So I think sometimes for me, self-care is literally just being okay, again, with not being a Superman.
18:35I can feel things and I can not do things, practice not doing some things.
18:42And practice, this is what I've been writing down lately.
18:44What, to me, is not doing something?
18:47Even if it is doing something, what, to me, is not doing something?
18:50So then, when I say today I just want to rest, I can still do those things.
18:55It's just that those things in my heart and my brain don't amount to a lot.
18:59So watching TV, that's doing nothing.
19:02But I can make that an activity.
19:04You know, playing golf or something like that, hooping, that's an activity.
19:09But to me, it's not working.
19:10It's not accomplishing something.
19:12And so that's really good to kind of know those things that, you know, give you rest.
19:16Yes, and I just want to draw y'all attention to something he said.
19:20He said, when I'm writing down, and I just think the act of writing things down in your life is so transformative.
19:26I journal as a practice.
19:28So sometimes just writing it down and writing down your intentions, your goals for the day definitely works for self-care.
19:35Jonathan, that is honestly it for us at Essence.
19:38But is there anything you want the people to know before we say goodbye?
19:41No, just keep me in your prayers.
19:43Keep the country in your prayers.
19:46You know, prepare for the best and the worst.
19:50Lord, help us.
19:51You know, stay close to God.
19:53Make room for him.
19:55Sometimes obedience means success.
19:58But sometimes in these times, obedience means safety.
20:01And so make sure you stay close to God and pray for all his people.
20:05I love that.
20:06Thank you so much, Jonathan.
20:07Make sure you guys check out the season finale of Sunday Best when it airs on BET and Jonathan at the Cellar Awards.
20:16I'm Zora Marie McKenzie.
20:18Bye-bye, guys.
20:19Love y'all.
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