Hezekiah Xzavier Walker Jr. (born December 24, 1962) is an American

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

artist and the pastor of Love Fellowship Tabernacle in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. Walker has released several albums on

Benson Records Benson Records was founded by Bob Benson and John T. Benson, who formed the John T. Benson Music Publishing Company in 1902. The record label started out as Heart Warming Records, creating house labels such as Impact Records, Greentree Records, R ...

and

Verity Records Verity Records is an American gospel music-focused record label, founded in 1994. The Gospel group operated by Provident Label Group, which in turn is owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Artists * 21:03 * Crystal Aikin * Deitrick Haddon * DeWay ...

as Hezekiah Walker & The Love Fellowship Crusade Choir.

Biography

Hezekiah Xzavier Walker Jr. was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He attended

Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university with two main campuses, LIU Post and LIU Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It offers more than 500 academic programs at its main campuses, online, and at multiple non-residential. LIU ...

, majoring in Sociology. He also attended Hugee Theological Institute, and the New York School of the Bible. Walker became a bishop in the

Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith The Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith is a Oneness Pentecostal church with headquarters in Manhattan. It was founded in 1919 by Robert C. Lawson. The church's mission statement is: "To evangelize the world for Jesus Christ; ...

in 2008, and transferred to the Pentecostal Churches of Jesus Christ later that year. Walker became the Presiding Prelate of the Pentecostal Churches of Jesus Christ in 2010. In 2001, Hezekiah & The LFT Church Choir were nominated for an

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

for Best Gospel Artist, Traditional on the strength of the album ''Love Is Live!'' Walker has won

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for Best Gospel Album By Choir Or Chorus twice: once for ''Live in Atlanta at Morehouse College'' (1994) with The Love Fellowship Crusade Choir, and once for ''Love Is Live!'' (2001) with The LFT Church Choir. Separate from The Love Fellowship Crusade Choir, Walker's LFT Church Choir released two albums entitled ''Recorded Live At Love Fellowship Tabernacle'' in 1998 and "Love Is Live" in 2001. LFT Church Choir was more youthful and hip-hop leaning ensemble than its predecessor and its album hit the Top 5 of Billboard's Gospel Chart and was nominated for a Grammy Award the same year. In 2021, Pastor Frank Santora, of Faith Church in

New Milford, Connecticut New Milford is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town is in western Connecticut, north of Danbury, on the banks of the Housatonic River, and it shares its border with the northeastern shore of Candlewood Lake. It is t ...

, and Hezekiah Walker joined together to start a church in

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

, New York City, called Every Tribe Church. Hezekiah Walker was inducted into

Phi Beta Sigma Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. It was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students with nine other Howard students as char ...

fraternity as an honorary member at their 2023 Conclave, held in Houston, Texas.

Discography

Albums

* ''I'll Make It'' (Sweet Rain, 1987) * ''Oh Lord We Praise You'' (Sweet Rain, 1990) * ''Focus on Glory'' (A&M, 1992) * ''Live in Toronto'' (Benson, 1993) * ''Live in Atlanta at Morehouse College'' (Benson, 1994) * ''Live in New York by Any Means...'' (Benson, 1995) * ''Live in London'' (Verity, 1997) * ''Recorded Live at Love Fellowship Tabernacle'' (Verity, 1998) – by Hezekiah Walker & The LFT Church Choir * ''Family Affair'' (Verity, 1999) * ''Love Is Live!'' (Verity, 2004) - by Hezekiah Walker & The LFT Church Choir * ''Family Affair, Vol. 2: Live at Radio City Music Hall'' (Verity, 2002) * ''20/85 The Experience'' (Verity, 2005) * ''

Souled Out Souled Out was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in January from 1997 through 2000. The 1997 and 1998 WCW Souled Out PPV events were held on Saturdays due to the Super Bowl played ...

'' (Verity, 2008) * ''Azusa: The Next Generation'' (RCA Inspiration, 2013) * ''Azusa: The Next Generation 2 – Better'' (

Entertainment One Music MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch", formerly known as Koch Records and eOne Music) is a New York City-based independent record label and music management company. It was formed in 2009 from the music assets of Koch Entertainment, which had b ...

, 2016)

Compilations

* '' Gospel Greats '' (Benson, 1995) * '' Nothing But The Hits '' (Verity, 2003) * '' Divine Voices: Pastors of Praise '' (Mack Avenue, 2015)

Singles

* "99½" (Benson, 1995) – Cassette Single * "Let's Dance" (Jive/Verity, 1999) – CD Single/12" Single * "Souled Out" (Verity, 2008) – Digital download Single * "Every Praise" (RCA Inspirational, 2013) – Digital download Single

Trivia

*Walker is sometimes affectionately referred to as "the Hip-Hop Pastor" due to the number of high-profile secular hip-hop recording artists who attend his church, such as

Lil' Kim Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper and reality television personality. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, she lived much of he ...

and

Sean "Diddy" Combs Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...

. *Sony Music recording artist

Carl Hancock Rux Carl Hancock Rux () is an American poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, recording artist, journalist, curator and conceptual installation artist working in text, dance, ritualized performance, audio, video, and photography. Described in the NY T ...

and Aaron Hall, lead singer of the R&B boy group, Guy, are among several artists who originally sang with Hezekiah Walker's Love Fellowship Choir and went on to record secular music.

References

External links

Love Fellowship Tabernacle
Official Website
Verity Records
Official Website * American gospel singers 1962 births Living people {{christian-music-stub