Phillip Joubert came home from a writing camp overcome with emotion. The Knoxville, Tennessee, native struggled to find the words to express to his wife what he had just experienced, he broke down in tears. He describes it as an “ugly” cry. “I had never felt so wanted as a creative. This is a space for people to go where you belong, you’re wanted and ultimately, you’re wanted by God. God is not saying [you should make] only this kind of music, these kinds of sounds, these kinds of verse setups and choruses are the sounds that I want,” Joubert says. This summed up in words how Joubert felt after linking up with other creatives within Common Hymnal, a collaborative community, and curator of songs from the underground. For Joubert, he’s proud of the space that Common Hymnal created that encourages authentic representations of people’s culture, and creating music for and from the church can be done in ways that are not conventional and not colorblind. “It’s designed to be a platform for the spaces that are not being streamed, for the people who don’t write about topics we’re not already used to hearing in mainstream Christian music,” Joubert says.
“If you consuming black art / streaming black music/ benefit from black adventures / but ignore black weeping then you’re a hypocrite / we’ve been through this cycle so many times and I’m sick of it / cell phone footage telling stories we in the thick of it” – Phillip Joubert lyrics from “Shots Fired”
After listening to a plethora of songs from their virtual library, it’s obvious that Common Hymnal has amassed music reflective of the times that gives voice to the marginalized. “Praise and Protest,” one of their albums, contains songs that fight back against racism, lament over injustice, prayers for the hurting, and a longing to see true justice for the black and brown.
Common Hymnal started by inviting songwriters from the fringes into a series of songwriting camps. They amassed a list of several hundred songs before they were ready to record their first project. After months of evaluating these songs, they settled on a shortlist of 15, identifying the gems. From there, the process of curating content evolved into an online community. Created as a virtual library, a cyber hymnal, to help God’s people prepare for the future, Common Hymnal aggregates songs, stories and, ideas from the spiritual underground. This initiative reflects the heart and vision of Malcolm du Plessis, the (referred to as “Mal”) the founder, who hails from Durban, South Africa, where he was an activist in their national political struggle. Having been a music executive in Christian music for decades, his interests stem from his desire to see Gen Z impact the future music of the church in innovative ways. He defines his mission simply, “Fuse praise and protest, Jesus and justice. Our project is based on the idea of God’s people being an independent kingdom of priests, a collaborative culture where everyone has a part to play,” du Plessis says.
“Black joy that’s the new sound of the protest” – Dee Wilson, lyrics from “Emmaus Cypher”
Dee Wilson is a singer/rapper/songwriter from Chicago. He’s achieved mainstream success in the Christian/Gospel genre, winning a Grammy in 2021 for his work on the album “People” by gospel recording artist Jonathan McReynolds. After years of worship leading and writing songs in the Christian genre, Wilson joined the collective in 2014 through a writing camp. He vividly remembers conversations with Mal about not having the ability to bring what God gave him naturally to the public sector alone. He was impacted by Common Hymnal’s dedication to prioritizing minority stories and voices in Christian music.
“Of all the songs that permeate church, [they’re about 250 of them], they are written by about 18 people.” He goes on to say, “Those 18 people are mostly white if not all white, now they’re very rich and all of these songs that permeate church over and over again, are not written by the populous, they’re written by the privileged. Common Hymnal is the opportunity for the populous to speak, to say their part and for the populous to be given dignity in a way that they haven’t been given dignity by mainstream, corporate, church,” Wilson says.
“But when Yeshua left the many for the one / I know my Black life mattered before the hashtag became relevant / This Skin is heaven sent,” – Royce Lovett, lyrics from ‘I don’t know Justice”
Not being able to pinpoint or really identify any particular “members” of Common Hymnal is one of its strengths. In fact, those involved joke that the list would be too long to name. “I think the only thing that makes you not a member of Common Hymnal is hating one another,” says Royce Lovett, a Tallahassee, native who achieved mainstream success on season 17 of NBC’s The Voice. A seasoned singer/songwriter he’s given TEDx talks across the country and has performed in front of countless audiences. He learned about Common Hymnal in 2015 and shunned the idea of joining initially, thinking it was just another band. However, the relationships of the people within the collective began to inspire him as he witnessed the creative nourishment it provided for those in the Christian underground, defined as those who are on the fringes and who don’t fit in the majority. At the time, Lovett was the only black artist on a tour with white CCM artists, performing at majority-white churches when Mal reached out to him.
“He let me know that Common Hymnal was my ally, and they would be there if I needed community or conversations and that’s when I was like, ‘yes, this is what common hymnal is all about. It’s a group of individuals that come together under this idea that God told us to create disciples and love one another” Lovett says.
Lovett admires how carefully songs are curated and how strong the songwriting team is. “Not all writing camps are dope because you get there and are paired with folks that don’t strengthen you, big-headed, there’s no common ground to be found, then you spend a week away from your family and you don’t create anything and it doesn’t go anywhere, you don’t do anything with it,” Lovett says.
He gives credit to Mal who ensures songwriters are paired in the appropriate places to create strong songs. He feels this sets Common Hymnal apart from other writing camps that are out there and that’s why it’s invite-only.
“Mal knows he’s working with dads and husbands, and folks who are adults and have careers, so he’s very mindful of our time especially because a lot of us are activists in our own communities and he doesn’t want to take us away from that if we’re not being completely productive,” Lovett adds.
This is the same comradery and consideration that moved Joubert, mentioned earlier in this story, to tears and moved others like Nabil Ince, who goes by the name Seaux Chill to find a spiritual home. A talented musician, rapper, and songwriter, Ince was invited to a writing camp after a mutual friend shared one of his songs with Mal.
“I felt I could show up as my full self in a space where people can share the truth and also people who are serious about living out love daily. I needed a community, I needed a squad, I needed a place because the church I was going to at the time wasn’t doing it for me” Ince says.
The comradery that is formed during their writing camps is one of openness, building intentional friendships and mutual bonds that extend far beyond the music and welcoming new recruits into the space. The writing camps happen about twice a year and are known to be a place where creatives can commune, pray, and hang together. Their latest release “Emmaus Cypher” is labeled as “a dinner table discussion with a beat.” It’s obvious after a few listens that artists breaking bread together yields good food and good fruit, musically. They are constantly bringing artists to the table, literally.
To find out more about Common Hymnal and to visit the online music library click here
To listen to their latest release “Emmaus Cypher” click here
Listen to their latest single “On My Way” here.
Follow on Instagram @commonhymnal
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Writer Bio:
Aasha Francis is a native Chicagoan from the southside of the city. She holds a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from Columbia College Chicago and writes in her spare time. She serves in ministry alongside her husband in the Englewood neighborhood on the southside of Chicago and is a talented artist, songwriter, and producer. Artistically known as Aasha Marie, she is currently promoting her debut album “While You Were Sleeping” (WYWS) released in 2020.
Keep up with Aasha Marie on IG: aasha_marie or visit her website: www.aashamarie.com