THE GOSPEL CHART-TOPPING COO
Shot by Derek Blanks
Words by EJ Jamele
I had the immense pleasure of sitting down with chart-topping, history-making Gospel sensation Titus Showers. Titus has received two BET Stellar Award nominations, released two number one gospel albums, and had five top 30 songs throughout his career. I was blown away by how Titus is able to balance his thriving music career while serving as the COO of community based mental health agency O&M Family Care and also taking time to stay connected with his family.
-EJ Jamele
EJ: What pushed or inspired you to go solo after being in The Showers group with your family? What was the catalyst to that?
Titus: Wow, it definitely was an experience. What pushed it was my family all having their business here in Hammond, Louisiana. There were six girls in the group [my sisters], all of them were married and spending time with family was of the utmost importance. Being in that role was for them, they needed to be there with their children to get them prepared for school, they needed to be there with their husbands, and I was just wanting it all more. They all just got behind me 100% and pushed me out there to go solo.
I was definitely waiting in the wings, I started with the family and I wasn’t the lead singer all of the time. My big brother tutored me, then he became a pastor and the reins fell on me. My family was like, “Let’s go get it - we’re behind you!”. So that’s pretty much how it all happened.
They are my biggest supporters out there, I’m excited to have them on my side.
EJ: That’s dope, that’s really nice. I saw in January you had a virtual listening party for fans, close followers & supporters. How did that go? What was the response like? Is that something you always do, or was that something you were trying out for the first time?
Titus: We did it in the midst of the pandemic. We also always bring out the content before it releases to hear the people’s thoughts of what the Lord has given you to say to their ears. You’re nothing without the consumers, so it was important for me to share that moment with them. Indeed, it was a blessed experience, and all of them came away nodding their heads and giving me kudos and thumbs up for what the Lord has given me to say through song.
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EJ: Is that something you’ll continue to do? You think every time you have a project you’ll test it out in that way?
Titus: Absolutely, it’s very important to do so. If it’s something that you can fix and if someone can just be totally honest with you when they don’t like something, then you can do and research the disappointing dislike and try to fix it before the world hears it. I will definitely open up to that in the near future, and will always let the people hear it before it really releases to the world.
EJ: And I think to this day, unless I’m wrong, you also still somehow fit in being the COO of O&M Family Care, a community based mental healthcare agency, is that correct?
Titus: That’s where I’m at right now, absolutely. Just being here to be a servant to the kids, to the community. Let them know there’s a better way. We deal with kids from the ages of 5 to 24 and show them a better way before the system gets them. We try to create a new path for them to go down so they won’t be another statistical mistake. We’re trying to do the best that we can do.
EJ: What’s next music wise for you? I know artists are always creating, so I’m guessing that’s what you’re doing too. What’s next for you in the future?
Titus: Definitely creating more great music for the people of God. You never stop because he's always speaking to you. Throughout your day you see something that comes across your path. You can be driving down the highway and more creativity, more content comes to your head. What’s in the near future is creating more content, and to never stop working because there's always your album. And then there’s a dead period, but you want to always remain busy in the midst of the dead period so you can stay relevant to the people of God. Always creating good content is very important.
EJ: I know you shot with Derek Blanks not that long ago. How was that experience?
Titus: I know Derek through his content and social media, my team reached out to his team and we wanted to create a great photoshoot for this great upcoming album. His work speaks for itself - that’s how the connection occurred. And then, being in his presence and capturing what I wanted to capture was a dream come true for me. I was definitely honored to be in the building, and I want to thank my team. I also want to thank Derek for capturing everything that needed to be captured in that photoshoot moment, Man, what a blessing and what a dream come true!
EJ: What’s your dream collab? What artist would be a dream to have, either as a feature or a collab?
Titus: I got that collab with the amazing Fred Hammond, so I’m excited about that. What a blessing!
EJ: Have you ever been starstruck?
Titus: Wow, that’s a great question! Each of the opportunities where I’m able to minister, I’m all in. So, not necessarily by a person, but by the gift that the Lord has given me, I’m starstruck that I’m able to minister to His people if that makes sense.
I’m definitely a fan of so many others and to have an opportunity to capture a moment with a photo is definitely a blessing that I love to have in my archives. I’m always starstruck when I’m able to minister to those who support me. I'm starstruck, being able to travel, going on planes just to share my view. That's my starstruck moment, if that makes sense.
EJ: What do you think people who are up and coming in the industry should know?
Titus: Not everybody is welcoming, some people have attitudes. First and foremost, you need to have the business right. Without the proper business being held up the correct way, you can get millions of followers but you don’t have the resourcing coming into the right bank account because you didn’t handle your business properly.
There’s someone out there on the street with better talent than me, but their business isn’t in order. You definitely have to have your life in order and the business in order so you’re successful down the road.
EJ: What do you wish you knew at the start of your career in music?
Titus: We came up with an independent project and were doing great in Louisiana, but no one knew your name. Then when my sister researched the business, we became Stella nominated and began traveling. Then everyone began to know who we were, because of the business research and the resources to connect with different people. We learned what to do and what not to do to the image we carried.
All of those things are so important to have the business in order. Had we known that in the beginning we could have definitely been on the right path without any stumbling blocks in the way. We thank God for them, the stumbling blocks were teachable moments that we learned from.
EJ: How can the music industry do better for artists like you?
Titus: Especially in gospel, no one likes to take someone under their wing. They like for you to do it yourself. I notice how people can pay for certain things and get features from artists on the rap side. They have a genuine bond, they have connections.
Unless you’re at the top in gospel, you need to have a certain amount of streams, album sales, and ticket sales in order to be in the conversation in certain rooms. We’re supposed to be working for our Lord and Savior, but that seems to be forgotten a lot in the gospel industry. No one likes to open the door for newcomers. No one likes to open the door for someone who didn’t have to go through the same path as someone before, because there’s shortcuts that can be taken with social media. We don’t have to do what other artists did, but there must be a welcoming, loving embrace that needs to be held in the gospel community.
EJ: What else should we know?
Titus: I love the Lord, I love my family. I love activities with my son, just going to the movies with my family, dancing with my wife and being there for her. I’m a big LSU fan - go Tigers! I love LSU football, I’m a Lebron James fan, I love doing different things in the community to keep myself busy and keep myself known with people all over the world. I’m a big lover.
A HUGE & SPECIAL THANKS TO MORE FOLKS yo͞o SHo͝od nō
THE CREDITS:
Starring: Titus Showers, @IAmTitusShowers
Photographer: Derek Blanks, @MrDBlanks
Executive Producer: EJ Jamele, @EJ_Jamele
Executive Production: crowdMGMT, @crowdMGMT
Words: EJ Jamele, @EJ_Jamele
Wardrobe Stylist: Keith Reed, @SirKeithington
Graphics: crowdMGMT, @crowdMGMT
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