Kirk Franklin has spent nearly three decades making church folks clutch their pearls with a hip-hop bounce beneath the Gospel.
He tapped back into familiar territory two years after landing a feature on rapper GloRilla’s “Glorious” debut album.
But their recent song has revived an old argument: Should gospel artists work with performers whose secular catalogs contain explicit lyrics?
Critics questioned whether Franklin was ministering to GloRilla’s audience or sending church kids toward hers.
But gospel and hip-hop veterans say Franklin didn’t suddenly discover secular music last week.
Kirk Franklin Faces Backlash for ‘Inappropriate’ Dancing Onstage In Resurfaced Clip
Salt of Salt-N-Pepa knows firsthand. She appeared on Franklin’s 1997 crossover smash “Stomp,” which caused its own uproar.
Speaking with V103’s Danie B on Oct. 2, Salt said that the resistance grew so strong that some radio stations removed her rap verse from the record.
“It got to a point where eventually, you’re listening to the radio and they stopped playing my verse,” Salt recalled. “But I’m in the video, so you can’t — you know, you can’t erase that.”
Watching Franklin face similar criticism over GloRilla took her right back to that moment.
“I feel like a lot of people have forgotten that or didn’t really know that,” she said. “But it’s funny to see him doing music with GloRilla now and all the flak that he’s getting, because he got that flak with me also.”
Growing up in the church helped her understand why some believers objected.
Still, Salt argued that today’s mainstream music is so saturated with sex, violence and dark imagery that bringing GloRilla onto a song praising God could provide a counterweight.
“So I applaud it,” she said. “I feel like we need more light.”
Pastor John P. Kee offered an equally pointed defense a day later on Oct. 3. The Durham, North Carolina native has spent decades balancing ministry and contemporary gospel.
“You know what I’m from the hood so you can’t really ask me ’cause I’m not gonna line up with some of these religious preachers that just wanna sound bite Kirk has been consistent,” Kee said at Atlanta’s Praise in the Park.
“That’s what he do, and he’s reaching some folk that are not coming to your 9:00 AM or your 10:30 AM service. Leave Kirk alone. Let him rock,” Kee continued.
Da Brat, the first female rap emcee to go platinum, also rejected the idea that GloRilla’s secular catalog disqualifies her from talking about God.
“Just ’cause she sing rap music don’t mean she don’t love the Lord and have faith in God. So I don’t see nothing wrong with this. This is what Kirk Franklin does. He attracts the youth, and I mean isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?” she said on the Rickey Smiley Show after the song’s release.
Franklin is hardly alone. Church audiences criticized Sister Rosetta Tharpe in the 1930s for taking gospel into nightclubs.
The Winans caught heat in the ’80s for incorporating R&B and New Jack Swing influences. BeBe and CeCe Winans and Mary Mary faced similar complaints, with some critics even zooming in on how the women dressed.
Over the years, Christian hip-hop has continued pushing its own boundaries. Lecrae built a career navigating the space between faith-based music and mainstream hip-hop.
Battle rappers A-Ward, Loso, Street Hymns and Th3 Saga formed the IV Horsemen, bringing their Christian ministry into the gritty world of battle rap.
More recently, Timbaland teamed with Christian rapper 1K Phew for “Seven Trumpets,” an upcoming “street gospel” project that blends hip-hop’s street sound with faith-centered messaging.
Franklin’s résumé includes collaborations with Kanye West and Lil Baby. His 2024 feature on GloRilla’s “Rain Down on Me,” featuring Maverick City Music, won the Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award at the 2025 BET Awards, marking GloRilla’s first BET Award.
Franklin also takes heat for how provocatively he dances onstage.
When DJ Envy asked about the continued backlash on “The Breakfast Club” in June 2025, Franklin stayed on ministry: “I’m trying to tell the world about Jesus. Trying to tell the world that for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish and have everlasting life. That’s where I am at.”
Online, plenty of listeners reminded critics that this argument is older than GloRilla’s career.
One Instagram user said, “This ain’t nothing new…… some of y’all should remember the hell The Winans caught for ‘It’s Time’ with Teddy Riley, ‘Payday’ with R.Kelly, ‘A Friend’ with Aaron and Damion Hall…..and Then when Commissioned came out with King of Glory and Hip Hop based gospel songs….so this ain’t nothing new.”
On WeSoToldYou, one supporter wrote, “Kirk meets us where we are he understands his role.”
