By Winnie Caldwell

He was adopted. He was abandoned by his biological parents. He was homeless in high school. He is, who we know as Kirk Franklin. Tune in to TV One as Kirk Franklin get’s real on Uncensored about his very human experience before fame.

Franklin was adopted by his great great aunt, Gertrude, when his mother, who had him at 16, didn’t want to be a mother at the time. “Gertrude was a place of hope for me, on so many levels,” states Franklin as he reminisces his childhood. “She use to collect cans and newspapers to recycle and that’s how she paid for my piano lessons.”

Franklin noticed at an early age that he was gifted in music. But more-so in secular sounds rather than gospel. “Except, I had one big problem,” Franklin exclaims. “I can’t sing! How can you make music if you can’t sing?!” He laughs.

Later in life, Franklin met a someone by the name of Jon Drummond who invested five thousand dollars in him to take his music talents to the next level and record. Franklin gathered a choir and called them ‘The Family’ because that’s something he’d never experienced.

Franklin has his eyes on another choir shortly after a fatal ten foot fall he survived. Once he recovered, he went on to record, Stomp. I don’t know about y’all, but Stomp changed my perception of gospel music forever. I remember my god mother, who basically lived in the church, blasting Stomp in her old school Pontiac Grand Am sedan and I’d be dancing in the backseat and SO happy to sing about Christ. But Franklin was discouraged because of fear how Stomp would affect him in the industry.

Tune into TV ONE tonight at 9pm CST/10pm EST to experience Kirk Franklin Uncensored for yourself!

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