Shaun Martin (A Tribute)

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So it's approaching about 2 years without the late, great Shaun Martin.

Most people don't really know about him and his impact on gospel music as a whole. So all I'll say is, if you listened to Kirk Franklin's music. You've heard Shaun Martin. He was a composer, pianist, and arranger of a good portion of early 2000s black gospel music. Here are some of my favorites.


the list (in no particular order):

  1. Kim Burrell - Anything: I've been revisiting this particular album recent. And man, if you actually watched the VHS live recording. You can see a young Shaun Martin acting a fool with the circus riff, it's so hilarious you can tell EVERYONE was genuinely embarrassed by the riff bro.😭😭😭
  2. Kim Burrell - Calvary: So a little personal story about this, when I was in the last semester of 12th grade. I was taking this INFAMOUS math class. And I needed it to get into University because I fumbled most of my classes. I remember struggling so bad in this class. Spring comes along, so I go through Kim Burrell's albums during one of my study breaks. And I find this BANGER. I played it all through the spring of that year, and now it's one of my Easter go-to songs. And here, I didn't know Shaun was playing the keys/organ on this until several months after his death. So there's an added level of grief knowing I couldn't really give him the credit while he was still alive.
  3. Kirk Franklin - Imagine Me: My first introduction to the "LTD - Stranger" riff (some of y'all know it as the R. Kelly riff... for reasons I need not explain, I will not be referring it as that). But this is actually such a mood booster of a song. Shaun Martin was going dummy on that piano on the original record, this is the only part of the record where I can really hear his sound shine through.
  4. Kirk Franklin - Brighter Day: Still so trippy that he was on keys for the WHOLE record (due to it being a live record), I was hesitant on putting 'Hosanna' or 'He Reigns' on the list. But my goodness he was FLOATING on the clavinet and synths bro. I chose this song here in particular for nostalgia purposes.
  5. Shaun Martin - Madiba: This was the first record I played when I first he died, the introductory speech is honestly gut-wrenching. I can only hope he knew (and knows, somewhere in the afterlife) how much his music changed and influenced music + black art as we know it. I first heard this after going about a few weeks listening to CCM, and my goodness it was SO refreshing (no hate to CCM, it just doesn't have the soul I need to be able to listen to it). I listened to it so much on the way to work! I still love it so much. I want to visit South Africa one day and play this.
  6. Shaun Martin - Yellow Jacket: Just a song that sounds like sunshine and rainbows man, that melody is a haunting one, beautiful composition.😭

honorable mentions:


All in all, RIP Shaun Martin. You were one of the musical architects of my childhood, teenage, and young adult years. Godspeed.

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