ESSENCE.com sat down with James Fortune to discuss the highs, the extreme lows and the release of his third album, “Identity.”
ESSENCE.com: “I Trust You” was a huge Gospel hit. Where did that song come from?
JAMES FORTUNE: I was at one of the lowest points in my life. My family was homeless for seven months and I didn’t know what we were going to do. I was very discouraged, frustrated and disappointed with God. I had no choice but to put my trust in God. And “I Trust You” ended up being #1 for 29 weeks on the Gospel billboard charts and won ASCAP’s Gospel Song of the Year in 2009. I can remember when radio wouldn’t even play it. They said it sounded too much like Kirk Franklin. But the president of the label I was on at the time, Kerry Douglas, believed in the song so much he would not take no for an answer. I will never forget him for that.
