Gospel singer Marvin Sapp to open Academy for Arts, Technology in Michigan

Jet, August 18, 2008 by Keri Carpenter

While award-winning, singer-songwriter and pastor Marvin Sapp is enjoying the success of his latest gospel hit, he is also busy harvesting the seeds of his next big project in Western Michigan.

Sapp and his wife, Malinda, are preparing to open up the Grand Rapids Ellington Academy of Arts and Technology, better known as GREAAT, this fall. The school, where Malinda will be the principal, has a goal to "teach our kids to be great individuals," Sapp told JET magazine.

"This is our effort to reach back into the lives of young people and teach them by having strong core curriculums, but also implementing the arts in order to better educate urban youth."

Sapp says "urban youth that have the arts as a partner with core curriculums test five times higher than kids who don't. And one of the first areas cut out is the arts because of budget crunches. It affects urban youth more than anyone else."

"Our focus is education-the arts component is just going to be an added asset to what we're striving to do," he says.

Sapp, 41, the creator of the gospel hit Never Would Have Made It describes himself as "a low maintenance, Mid-western guy who loves low maintenances."

(He admits though he does love collecting "expensive writing instruments" or shall we say, pens?)

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Sapp, who has been singing since the age of 4, may himself require little attention, but his hit song has grabbed the attention of people around the country. It has been the No. 1 gospel song on radio airplay charts for more than 40 weeks; it has reached the No. 1 spot at Urban AC radio; it is a top-selling gospel ringtone, and Thirsty, the album on which the song was released, was recently certified gold.

The father of three (Marvin Jr., 14, Mikaila, 11, and Madisson, 9) recently won Best Gospel Artist at the BET Awards '08 and was the awards show's only gospel performer.

"It's wonderful how music, when it has a strong message, it can cross genres, ethnicities, cultures," Sapp says, who also has won Stellar awards and has been nominated for multiple Grammys.

Even with the record-breaking sales and accolades, Sapp is still amazed-and humbled-by all of the attention.

After seeing his picture in a newsmagazine, Sapp pointed to it and said as he read the words: "Lord, help: 'Marvin Sapp sings his No. 1 bit, Never Would Have Made It.'" Grinning, he closed his eyes and started singing a cappella the song.

Sapp recalls that the tune was "birthed" the Sunday after his father, Henry L. Sapp Jr., died in October 2006. The song came while Sapp was in the pulpit of Lighthouse Full Life Center Church in Grand Rapids, MI. Sapp says that Sunday he thought that he would still see his father's physical body in the church, knowing he had just taken him to the cemetery that day. In tears, "I just walked into the pulpit and started singing those words, 'I never would have made it, never could have made it without you.' And the rest is history," he says.

"The truth of the matter is that everybody's had a Never Would Have Made It moment, no matter if you're a believer or unbeliever," Sapp says. "Now I see that the song was not just given to me for me but that it was given to me to help and to encourage other individuals."