Kirk Franklin’s I Am What I Am, the gospel star’s new double album, has debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart. It is his 15th No. 1 album on the chart, more than any other artist in the chart’s history, according to Billboard’s chart for the week of 14 November 2026 and reports by Worship Chronicle and The Music Universe.

The album has also drawn attention far beyond the United States: Nigerian Afrobeats star Davido sings on one of its standout tracks.

Inside Kirk Franklin I Am What I Am

Released on 30 October through Fo Yo Soul, TRIBL and Uptown Records, I Am What I Am is Franklin’s first double album. Its 14 tracks are split between seven contemporary studio recordings and seven live songs recorded in a church setting, Worship Chronicle reported.

Guests include Karen Clark Sheard of The Clark Sisters, rapper GloRilla, country singer Jelly Roll, Tobe Nwigwe and Davido. The GloRilla collaboration, “This Time,” debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Gospel Songs chart, giving Franklin his 10th No. 1 there, the most by any artist since that chart launched in 2005.

The Music Universe reported that the album also reached No. 1 on Apple Music’s Christian Albums chart.

Davido brings Lagos to gospel

On “Hope in You,” Davido keeps his Afrobeats style while singing about doubt and finding hope in God, Nigeria’s Premium Times wrote in a review. His verse includes the prayer “Make I no go enter one chance,” Nigerian slang for falling victim to criminals posing as transport operators, and Yoruba praise lines such as “Oluwa ti gbe mi leke.”

The chorus is a simple declaration: “Oh my, oh my, oh my hope is in You.” Premium Times concluded that the collaboration “succeeds as a purposeful meeting of musical cultures.”

“We as believers sometimes become judge and jury”

Franklin’s crossover work has long drawn criticism from some gospel fans, and this album is no exception. In an interview with The Associated Press, the 56-year-old, 20-time Grammy winner defended praying with R&B stars Chris Brown and Usher before a recent concert, saying he did it because they asked him to.

“We as believers sometimes become judge and jury,” Franklin told the AP. “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.”

On “Free Me Tonight” with Jelly Roll, Franklin speaks openly about his own failures, including a 2021 family controversy. “Gospel music is able to handle the raw, unfiltered truth about how ugly and difficult life can be,” he said.

Franklin, who was adopted at the age of four and was once a high school dropout and teen father, told the AP he still sees his music as a calling. “The hole that I came from was so deep that whenever I’m around light, I never get tired of feeling the sunlight,” he said.

Why it matters

More than three decades after his first chart-topper, Kirk Franklin is still setting records, and still forcing a debate about where gospel music ends and outreach begins. His choice to share songs with secular stars will keep dividing some listeners. Others will see a veteran using his platform to put the name of Jesus in front of audiences that rarely hear it.

For readers in Africa, Davido’s appearance is a sign of how far the continent’s sound now travels in Christian music. It follows other strong runs on the US gospel and Christian charts this year, from CeCe Winans at the top of Hot Gospel Songs to Forrest Frank’s best-selling year. Franklin’s songwriting also reaches beyond his own records, as in a 2022 single he wrote that was released by Tamela Mann.

As reported by Billboard, The Associated Press (via The Independent), Worship Chronicle, The Music Universe and Premium Times. Compiled and edited by the Jesus Social newsroom.

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