The Harlem Gospel Travelers "Accepted The Assignment" To Bring Praise Music And Pride To The Masses
Ifedayo Gatling knew they were going to get a GRAMMY nomination. They prayed for it, wrote it down, and told their mother. Gatling all but manifested it with the help of Harlem Gospel Travelers bandmates George Marage and Dennis Bailey, declaring after a studio session that this song would lead to a nomination at the 2025 GRAMMYs.
As if God had a telephone, the vocal trio did get that nod; their third album, Rhapsody, was nominated for Best Roots Gospel Album at this year's Ceremony. The 10-track album of reimagined gospel covers from Numero Group's Good God! A Gospel Funk Hymnal series melded the Travelers' interests in '60s and '70s funk and soul with a contemporary view of gospel.
"So many people have a certain view of what church is, a certain view of what gospel is. And sadly, it's not always the positive side," Gatling tells GRAMMY.com. "I think that when people see us, they're able to see a whole new side of what church, of what gospel is about and what the experience of being loved by God can be. And that is a greater calling than we could even say."
Although Rhapsody lost to Cory Henry's Church, their nomination was historic: The Harlem Gospel Travelers are the first openly queer — and Gatling the first openly nonbinary — artists to be nominated in the Category. While HGT were never actively hiding their identities — their performances and stage dress often had an element of flamboyance that could be read as queer — Rhapsody is the first album cycle where its members were officially out.
Sharing that side of their story was a leap of faith, particularly in a field that many consider conservative. "That leap of faith has led us to be GRAMMY nominees…but also to be beacons of light and representation for so many other people. To show them that they can have their dreams come true is beyond anything that we could have ever imagined," Gatling continues. "Now queer people get to see us, young Black people get to see us, Christians get to see us. And that's busting down doors and breaking glass ceilings."
The Harlem Gospel Travelers first coalesced in their namesake neighborhood in 2014, when musician, producer, and mentor Eli "Paperboy" Reed was auditioning singers for an afterschool music education program for teens. Their voices rising from the choir, the quartet of HGT (then with Asher Bethune) worked with Reed to release their debut album He's On Time, and soon disbanded for college. When that Colemine Records release struck a chord, Reed encouraged the singers to gather once again; the result was Look Up!, an album of original material.
Several years and singles later, HGT reconvened to record material by Chicago’s Pastor T.L. Barrett, Cleveland’s Shirley Ann Lee, Brooklyn’s Jonah Thompson, and others. The result, Rhapsody, was recorded with the rhythm section from Look Up! As well as with legendary gospel organist Gregory Kelly. When the Travelers learned they had been nominated — Marage in the middle of the street, Bailey in the middle of moving apartments, and Gatling in a North Carolina airport — it felt like the culmination of a higher purpose.
The Harlem Gospel Travelers spoke with GRAMMY.com about God's plan, authenticity and how they're bringing the good news to Christians and non-believers. HGT will support Reed on an Australian tour in May.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
What does a GRAMMY nomination mean to you as artists and as people of faith working in your genre?
George Marage: Ever since I was little, I wanted to be recognized for my voice and whether by myself or with a group. So it's really a surreal feeling, and for me, I'm so glad to be able to do it with two of my best friends. I didn't even think this was possible at this stage, but God does things in mysterious ways and it's our time.
Dennis Bailey: There is that numbness until someone goes, "Hey, you're GRAMMY nominated." And then the sparks start flying again and I get giddy again. It feels like the first day all over.
Ifedayo Gatling: I keep telling my mom, "I can't believe it, but I can believe it." And I say I can believe it because we've worked for this and we prayed for this. And George would say to us all the time, "We're next, we're next. It's going to happen." I was in the studio and I was like, I'm going to the GRAMMYs next year. I don't know who I'm going with, but I'm going. After we recorded one of the songs, I texted our producer, I was like, "We're getting a GRAMMY nom for this." God was like, "bet."
You all shared more of your personal stories with this release. How much about your identities was already out in the world with your previous releases?
Gatling: The one difference between Rhapsody and our other two albums is the fact that we decided to share with the world that we are queer. And it made [our audience] feel seen because they saw queer people in a space that they didn't feel they would see themselves or be accepted in.
And when we saw that, we said we can't limit ourselves or limit the people that need to see us. We have to open the door. We're choosing to reintroduce ourselves to the world where anybody can experience God or gospel or joy through us and our music, and the way that we present ourselves. Whether you're queer or not, or whether you believe in God or not, you could still get down with HGT.
I think that one of the beautiful things about music sung by people who have strong faith and beautiful voices is it brings in all sorts. I'd love to hear a little bit about the creative process behind Rhapsody.
Gatling: We all picked songs that were going to showcase different sides of our voices, or different sounds that we enjoy, or different parts of our personality. As we started working together, it really just started to inspire us to try different things, try different approaches vocally, creatively.
When we recorded songs like "Get Involved" with Dennis, we went into it knowing that we were going to bring in a hip-hop flavor. And as we kept working on it and as we continue to perform it live, now it's blown into a full-blown rap.
We decided to call it Rhapsody because it is a transformation. It's a sonic experience of a transformation, but also a physical and a life experience of a transformation.
I really like those Good God! comps and, to me, it makes sense that HGT would be interested in gospel music with a heavy soul influence. What about that era appeals to you?
Bailey: The far outness of it all; the chill love that was being spread, or at least trying to be spread. The sense of community is what I love.
Marage: In the early '60s, '70s, it just seemed like everybody was just pure and what they were feeling, that's what you got. We don't use a lot of pitch correction or Autotune for our thing. What you hear for the most part is what you hear on stage. Bringing that type of rawness and realness into our time now, not a lot of people are doing that.
Gatling: We enjoy that music of that era because you had no choice but to sing, you had no choice but to play. You had to give everything or nothing at all because nothing else was acceptable. And that's what's also pushed and fueled us in this new era because that's the artistry that we grew up on, that's the artistry that we admire.
Was any of this era of gospel music that you also grew up listening to? In your bio, you've said secular music like Juvenile was also a big part of your youth.
Gatling: My mom is in her late 50s and my dad is in his mid-60s, so I grew up with all of their music plus everything that my grandparents were listening to. And that's informed everything that we've kind of done.
I come from a Baptist church, so that's all of the gospel music that I've been introduced to. But then you have George, who comes from the Catholic church.
Marage: Gospel music wasn't in my early ages at all. I was definitely more secular, like R&B, Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey. But until the time I met Ifedayo, we were in a gospel program. So that's how I was able to start getting the idea of the gospel music and the quartet style music. I just wanted to open my horizons to more gospel music.
Bailey: God just kept his hand on me. I wasn't a church kid, but I was in the church. So I spent a lot of time around the music, around the style. And then as I got older, I realized, Hey, they be singing. But I also liked the John Legends and the Mariah Careys; the secular stuff. And then by the time I got to college, I was on a spiritual journey of reconnecting with myself, reconnecting myself with God. It really was just a stroke of luck that it all came back to gospel.
Is there a song on Rhapsody that you're particularly proud of?
Marage: One of my favorites will always be "God's Love." I sing in falsetto for the most part, but when I originally heard the original singer, I was like, "I'm supposed to go how high right now?" So it just gave me that extra push [to] reimagine what was already an amazing song.
Bailey: "Get Involved" pushed me to become more comfortable being just a chill dude. It has that vibe that just encapsulates my personality to the T.
Gatling: "Searching for the Truth" was a song that I finished and I said that we were going to get a GRAMMY nom for, so I was right. God is good. The song I'm most proud of is "God's Been Good to Me." I wanted to have the spirit of artists like Aretha Franklin and Patti LaBelle; they sing as if the sky is not the limit. And so when I was in the studio, I wanted to have that energy and it wasn't until after I listened to the recording, I got all the way up there to that E-flat. I said, "Amen."
My favorite song, "Have You Tried Jesus," that song right there has oil on it, and I mean all of the oil. I don't care if you don't believe in God or not, there's something about that song that's going to make you lift your hand.
There's another song we ate up: "God's Love." If you listen to the harmonies in the background, we are one voice, one band, one sound.
Although there's a notable history of queer and trans gospel artists and contemporary Christian musicians who are queer, I imagine that your church communities might not have been as welcoming to your true and most authentic selves.
Gatling: I'm born and raised in church. The church loves the gays. They don't want to say it, but they do. There are so many of us in the church. And even though sometimes it's very hard for people to embrace what they don't understand, church is such a beautiful space of love and worship when you find the people that get you.
That's why you have to find your church home. And HGT is a form of a church home because we're bringing the experience of church, the experience of gospel and that energy, to you wherever you are — whether it be a club, a festival. Wherever we meet you, you're going to experience this and be able to carry that love with you and create your own church family wherever you are to worship or to love and to experience whatever you want to experience. You are the church.
Is bringing gospel to the masses — and to people like me who aren't of the same faith or aren't religious — something that you're consciously thinking of?
Gatling: It wasn't on purpose, but it happened and we accepted the assignment. I don't think that any one of us thought that we would be professionally making gospel music. And this is something that has fallen into our laps and we've decided to take the mantle and God continues to show us that this is what we're supposed to do.
We know that these are not church people. And it's okay because, first of all, we love that you give your praise with your tequila shot. I'm churchy, no matter what. That's why in our bio it says, "On the way to church, we going to say give God the praise. On the way back from church, it's 'Back That Azz Up,'" because it's the balance of it all.
I think that when people see us, they're able to see a whole new side of what church, of what gospel about what being loved and the experience of being loved by God can be. And that is a greater calling than we could even say. It's bigger than our mission, it's God's mission.
George or Dennis, do you have any thoughts to add about the appeal of gospel music to folks that didn't maybe come from that space?
Bailey: I feel that we're displaying a dichotomy of humanity that people forget exists in gospel music. We're still human. We still trying to go hit the club and have a little fun, but we're God-loving. So the fact that I can show you I'm a regular dude, but I'm a regular dude who's really deep in love with my Lord and Savior, is beautiful and humbling to say the least.
Marriage: We're not promoting queerness; we're just showing our authentic selves; we're being truthful about it, and we're God-loving people. We try to live righteously. Gospel means bring good news and that's what we do. We bring good news, good vibes, good energy, and I believe we're doing the right thing.
I read that you guys were somewhat shunned by the traditional gospel industry for being simultaneously too out but also too sonically traditional in your sound. Can you expand upon that, if it's accurate?
Gatling: What mainstream gospel music looks like is a very specific niche and look. We are somewhat in the gray because we don't identify as gospel artists. We choose to make gospel music because that is what inspires us and infuses us and is a part of us. But we can make a pop record tomorrow and still tear it up and still say "in Jesus' name" at the end of it.
It's not about being shunned, it's about people being ready to experience and see a new form of music and a new form of artists. I think that it's taken people time to understand who we are and what we're presenting, but it's also taken us time to figure out who we are and what we're presenting. So ain't no shun over here; it's sun over here.
Your non-album singles "It's My Business" and "Fight On" are praise songs that are also protest anthems. Can you share a bit about the intersection of gospel and social justice, and where that intersection lies for your music?
Gatling: Gospel calls for you to speak to the problems and speak to the people, and encourage them and to speak love and positivity and empowerment. Historically, the Black church was about building community and about creating a safe space for Black people. Sundays were the only time that slaves were allowed to not work and to be able to be with their families.
After slavery was over, that did not stop. The church was still that place for everybody to come and to meet. When the civil rights movement happened, that's why churches were so involved and why gospel music was also so involved. And so that's why you have songs that have inspired and change that have a gospel feel to them, or there are gospel songs that are straight up about changing the world.
The beginning of "Fight On" is a traditional hymn, and that's what inspired the rest of the song. [It says] We need to have a meeting of the minds and come together because what's going on right now is foolishness and love needs to take hold. "It's My Business" is a song that talks about the violence and social injustice that trans people are facing, not only here in America but in Europe as well.
Are you working on anything else that you would like to promote or hint at?
Gatling: We're working on another album. We just finished making all of the demos. This is going to be our biggest album yet in terms of the amount of songs, the production value, the singing that's about to go down.
As musicians, you can be historians and we are the Harlem Gospel Travelers. Our first record was very inspired by the '50s and the '60s. [Then] we moved into the '60s and the '70s. What's next? The '70s and the '80s. So that should give you a hint on what the sound is going to be giving.