NEW YORK (AP) — Gospel legend Kirk Franklin is getting tired of defending his musical decisions.
He isn’t apologetic for praying with Chris Brown and Usher before a recent concert, a moment that drew social media criticism.
He isn’t sorry for teaming up with GloRilla for his 14th studio album, “I Am What I Am," despite the explicit content of her music catalog.
What Franklin is is a 56-year-old, 20-time Grammy winner who overcame a tumultuous childhood after being adopted at 4 to achieve a rarefied fame in music and collaborate with a mix of artists — whether they’re associated with piety or not.
“Why do you think historically there’s always this challenge with what I do and who I am?” asked Franklin, questioning what he describes as an elitist, holier-than-thou attitude among some gospel music fans. “It's far beyond my understanding.”
Franklin says his decision to pray for Usher and Brown, R&B megastars known for their sexually charged music and performances, was a simple one: because they asked him to.
“We as believers sometimes become judge and jury,” the “He's Able” artist told The Associated Press. “The decision to determine what needs to have the harder penance is where we find ourselves lost in how we miss reaching those that need us.”
That message permeates throughout “I Am What I Am,” Franklin's first double album, out Friday. Its 14 tracks are divided between contemporary songs and live-recorded traditional selections.
Karen Clark Sheard of the legendary Clark Sisters is featured, along with popular mainstream artists like Afrobeats superstar Davido, Jelly Roll, and GloRilla, who's on "This Time.” That single extended Franklin’s record-holding mark to 10 No. 1s on Billboard’s hot gospel songs chart.
Franklin's musical relationship with rappers has always ruffled feathers, resurfacing a debate about working with artists whose music frequently comes with parental advisory labels.
“You start trying to play in other people’s sandboxes, it is going to come with scrutiny,” said Franklin, who’s worked with rappers like Ye (the artist formerly known as Kanye West) and Lil Baby. “There’s no way I can pay these artists what they normally get in these mainstream spaces, so why are they doing it? There’s a deeper reason that they feel pulled and called to want to do it.”
“I Am What I Am” is among the most introspective works from Franklin, who’s not a traditional lead vocalist, but mainly a songwriter, producer and musician. Honored with the icon award by the Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective last year alongside Pharrell Williams and Brandy, album standouts include “Hope in You” with Davido and “Welcome In — Live,” which finds him feeling forgotten by God at times, but expressing gratitude for God's steadfast presence.
But the most compelling song may be “Free Me Tonight” with Jelly Roll, referencing Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight.” Performing spoken word, Franklin reflects introspectively while acknowledging his imperfections and public criticisms. He even mentions his 2021 controversy in which his estranged son Kerrion leaked a recording of his father threatening him and cursing.
“The Bible is a collection of these horrible, beautiful, painful, inspiring, challenging stories of people’s lives and journeys,” said Franklin, who found creating the song cathartic, once worrying the recording would end his career. “Gospel music is able to handle the raw, unfiltered truth about how ugly and difficult life can be.”
The Texas native is known for gospel classics like “Melodies From Heaven” and “Something About the Name Jesus,” along with crossover hits like “I Smile” and “Looking For You.” But it was 1997's “Stomp (Remix)” featuring Salt of the legendary rap duo Salt-N-Pepa that catapulted him into the mainstream. The smash found heavy rotation on radio and music video networks, propelling the “God’s Property from Kirk Franklin’s Nu Nation” album to No. 3 on the Billboard 200, and topping the R&B albums chart — a first for a gospel project.
Franklin, once a rebellious high school dropout and teen father, has no plans to slow down. Within the industry's atmosphere of glitz and glamour, he says his art is not just entertainment, but a lifelong calling.
“The hole that I came from was so deep that whenever I’m around light, I never get tired of feeling the sunlight,” said Franklin. “That makes me very proud that when the question or the conversation of the bigger purpose of life, and does God really exist, I’ve been able to be included somewhere in keeping that a relevant conversation.”
Follow Associated Press entertainment journalist Gary Gerard Hamilton at @GaryGHamilton on all his social media platforms.
Gospel singer Kirk Franklin poses for a portrait on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Gospel singer Kirk Franklin poses for a portrait on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Gospel singer Kirk Franklin poses for a portrait on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The top federal prosecutor in Alaska confirmed Friday the existence of a criminal investigation related to an alleged scheme to confuse voters by putting a Senate candidate on the ballot with the same name as the Republican incumbent.
The investigation has been ongoing for several months, but revelations this week from The New York Times that Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign appeared to be involved in recruiting retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan have resulted in a “significant surge of law enforcement assets to Alaska,” U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman told reporters.
Separately, and days before Tuesday's ranked vote general election, the U.S. Department of Justice — as part of an ongoing lawsuit filed last week — asked a federal judge to order that state elections officials isolate ballots ranking Dan J. Sullivan to investigate potential voter “confusion” with the two-term incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan.
Assistant U.S. Attorney E. Bryan Wilson in Alaska, in a filing, said the government “seeks to preserve and segregate all ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan for the purposes of investigating whether such ranking was the product of voter confusion, should such an investigation become necessary.”
The Department of Justice also filed with the court a list of proposed questions it seeks to compel the Peltola campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee as part of the civil case seeking to block certification of the Senate race if the incumbent loses. President Donald Trump has said he told the department to file the case.
Peltola denied Thursday that she knew anything about the effort to put Dan J. Sullivan on the ballot. Democrats, including the DSCC, have repeatedly denied that they were involved in any campaign trick. Dan J. Sullivan has long denied he was running at Democrats’ behest.
The race is among a handful of Senate contests expected to determine control of the chamber.
The Department of Justice request to segregate the ballots in Alaska comes after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Justice Department’s request for California to set aside disputed ballots received in the midterm election sent to some 20,000 people the administration contends may not be U.S. citizens. California officials argued the list is highly unreliable and most likely includes many people who are U.S. citizens.
Department attorneys in the Alaska case said there is a “substantial risk” that Dan J. Sullivan's candidacy “will mislead voters and ultimately result in an electoral process that lacks integrity.”
“To guard against this danger, the United States seeks an order directing Defendants to preserve and segregate all ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan for the purposes of investigating whether such ranking was the product of voter confusion, should such an investigation become necessary,” the filing states. It requests a decision by Monday.
Attorneys for the state have argued that Alaska elections officials already took steps to distinguish the two Sullivans on the ballot. The senator is listed as Dan S. Sullivan, Republican and incumbent, while the challenger is listed as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., with no party affiliation. That's the same way in which they appeared on the August open primary ballot.
They also have argued that the state’s ranked voting system further addresses concerns about potential confusion by allowing voters to rank both Sullivans.
Heyman on Friday would not say what potential crimes authorities are looking into or the targets of the probe, but asked members of the public to come forward with tips that could help investigators.
It’s highly unusual for Justice Department officials to publicly discuss a criminal investigation or even confirm its existence. The timing of the press conference is particularly notable given the Justice Department has had a longstanding practice of avoiding taking public steps in the weeks leading up to an election that could be perceived as attempting to influence a political outcome.
At a campaign event in Juneau late Thursday, Peltola began her speech by saying she wanted to “clear the air.”
“I knew nothing about any other candidates on the ballot except for me and the incumbent. That is all I have ever known about," Peltola said. "I am not interested in tricking voters.”
Federal prosecutors this week issued dozens of grand jury subpoenas and requests to preserve records, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
Separately, Republican Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said, following The New York Times' reporting, that he'd ordered an investigation into whether any violations took place.
Durkin Richer reported from Washington. Bohrer reported from Juneau, Alaska.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Matthew Schlegel of the Anchorage field office participates in a news conference on a criminal investigation related to an alleged scheme to confuse voters by putting a Senate candidate on the ballot with the same name as the Republican incumbent, at the James M. Fitzgerald U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building, Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska Michael J. Heyman holds a news conference on a criminal investigation related to an alleged scheme to confuse voters by putting a Senate candidate on the ballot with the same name as the Republican incumbent, at the James M. Fitzgerald U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building, Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska Michael J. Heyman holds a news conference on a criminal investigation related to an alleged scheme to confuse voters by putting a Senate candidate on the ballot with the same name as the Republican incumbent, at the James M. Fitzgerald U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building, Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
FILE - This combination photo shows Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, left, in Palmer, Alaska, Aug. 17, 2026, and a candidate in Alaska's Senate race, Dan Sullivan, right, in Petersburg, Alaska, July 3, 2026. (AP Photos/Mark Thiessen/Becky Bohrer, File)
Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola speaks during a campaign event Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, in Juneau, Alaska. (AP Photo/Chloe Anderson)
A sample election ballot is displayed in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)
