No. 1 gospel song<\/a> for two weeks,\u201d he said, \u201cbut because I wrote it, I was the No. 1 gospel song writer in the country as well.\u201d<\/p>\nFeaturing his smooth singing style, the song was written several years ago as something of a self-affirmation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d been doing music and singing in church for a long time, and sometimes you can forget that what you\u2019re doing is unique and purposeful and relevant,\u201d he said. \u201cIn a lot of ways, the song was a self-reflection, that God gave me these musical gifts and they are making a difference in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
But last year, he says, the song took on new meaning as humanity was gripped by a deadly pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all need a reminder that we are not in this pandemic alone,\u201d he said. \u201cSo many are suffering, grieving the loss of loved ones, experiencing higher rates of anxiety and depression, maybe contemplating suicide. They need to know their lives have meaning and that they are loved because we all are loved.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Rock Hill native comes by his gospel roots naturally, having grown up performing at New Mount Olivet AME Zion Church and at Souls for Christ Church, where his father is pastor.<\/p>\n
As a child of avid music lovers, he began singing at the age of 3 and started piano lessons at 6, performing with his younger brother (stage name Mykal Star) at family reunions, church functions and other local events. That grew to include bigger gigs such as singing the National Anthem at sporting events like Charlotte Hornets games.<\/p>\n
The brothers even appeared on Showtime at the Apollo, he said, performing the Boyz II Men hit \u201cIt\u2019s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n
At Northwestern High School, Currence was deep into chorus and band. Later, he won a scholarship to study classical voice and piano at Furman.<\/p>\n
Currence has fond memories of his days at college, where he learned to play guitar and study music seriously, performing with the Furman Singers and in talent shows, even trying his hand at German lieder and operatic pieces.<\/p>\n
\u201cFurman has a very prestigious music program. And I\u2019m grateful for the opportunities I had while there,\u201d he said. \u201cFurman broadened my horizons. It really stretched me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alumnus Craig Price, now a professor of voice at Furman who knew Currence when they were undergrads, recalls that he was always a featured singer when they were in choir together.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a fabulous voice \u2013 a pretty wide, impressive range,\u201d he said. \u201cHe would come and play the piano and sing and he always stole the show.\u201d<\/p>\n
Price says the two reconnected after he saw one of Currence\u2019s songs pop up on Facebook. And he\u2019s not at all surprised by his friend\u2019s success.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis career has really been taking off in the last year or so,\u201d he said. \u201cHe always had a star quality for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even as a Furman student, Currence spent weekends in an Atlanta recording studio. Afterward, in addition to performing on the Quincy Jones album Soul Bossa Nostra with Ludacris, Currence said he has sung on the \u201cThe View\u201d as well as several outlets on BET, and had a song in the movie \u201cThe Bourne Identity.\u201d\u00a0 He also was a producer on Lecrae\u2019s album \u201cGravity,\u201d which won a Grammy and a Dove award.<\/p>\n
Based in Atlanta, Currence says it\u2019s been a blessing to be able to live out his dreams, and credits his family and friends for his success.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a great support system and community of people who love me and believe in me,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m grateful to have them.\u201d<\/p>\n
With an appreciation for all types of music – pointing to such eclectic influences as Michael Jackson, Prince, the Bee Gees and James Taylor \u2013 Currence believes that music has a healing quality, and his goal is to use it to build bridges in a divided time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a big reason why I started doing faith-based music,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a business, and of course you want to be successful. But my priority is to inspire and change the world through music.\u201d<\/p>\n
Follow Currence on YouTube, Instagram and Twitter @Rudy_Currence, on Facebook @RudyCurrence and on YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"He\u2019s recorded with music royalty like Quincy Jones, been to the Grammy Awards, and even played at the famed Apollo Theater in New York. But Furman alumnus Rudy Currence \u201902 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":389,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,3,70,39,23,30],"tags":[270,697,698,699],"class_list":["post-9190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-academic-department-page","category-alumni","category-diversity-equity-and-inclusion","category-music","category-religion","category-top-stories","tag-alumni","tag-gospel-music","tag-music-alumni","tag-rudy-currence"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/389"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9190\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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