The last three years have been a whirlwind for Atlanta, GA-based, Dove and Stellar Award nominated songwriter, Darius Paulk. Singer Vashawn Mitchell recorded his tune “Nobody Greater” and watched it rise to #1 on Billboard’s Hot Gospel Songs chart and spend a solid year in the Top 10 in 2010-2011. “Darius wrote a song that captured and changed the hearts of so many lives, and he’s only scratched the surface,” Mitchell says. “The world will soon experience more of his heart of worship.”
That experience is coming August 14th when Paulk will release his first digital EP, “Lyrics & Melodies”, a five-song cyber album that will be available on iTunes and other online music stores. It may surprise some that Paulk is a singer but he’s been doing it all of his life. “God has invested so much into me and I want to exhaust every area of gifting that he’s blessed me with and singing happens to be one of them,” he says. “I’ve always admired singer- songwriters such as Walter Hawkins, Thomas Whitfield, Twinkie Clark, Andre crouch, and Donald Lawrence so this is me living out the dream I’ve had since I was a child.”
Those influences are evident on songs such as the majestic ballad “He is God” that’s cut from the same cloth as the best songs by Crouch and Whitfield. Paulk’s tenor warmly fills the nooks and crannies of the tune rather than overpowering it, allowing the lyrics and melody to shine instead of having them overshadowed by vocals. “It’s a worship ballad that is dear to my heart,” he adds. “I wrote it a day after I got held up at gunpoint after the Stellar Awards last year. It kind of falls in line with the current trend.”
The up-tempo “This I Give” employs a charmingly sophisticated urban AC and smooth jazz vibe that makes it a refreshing vehicle to express the inspirational lyrics. Paulk, who wrote “Deeper” for Marvin Sapp’s current #1 CD “I Win”, is asked whether he feels pressure to deliver another massive hit like “Nobody Greater” and his response is definitive. “I never gauge my songs off of one another because they all come from different experiences and the true success for me is not how well it charts but how well it provokes the listener to change for the better,” he adds. “Nobody Greater was massive but I didn’t write it with the thought this is gonna be a radio smash. I wrote it with the thought that everyone that hears this will know there’s not another power Greater than our God.” For more information on Darius Paulk, visit him online at www.dariuspaulk.com.
