Soror Kelly Price - Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.

much a part of who I am. I never believed that being an R&B singermeant that I couldn’t be a Christian because I don’t think that myjob dictates that. I think that you can be anything and have any job,but if you don’t live your life right, you’re just not who you say youare. If I wore a clergy collar and I lived a riotous life, then I’m notwho I say I am. But I can be a Christian and I can be somebody wholoves God and loves Jesus Christ and sing R&B music. I don’t dodrugs and crazy things. It’s just a set standard that I have for myselfand I believe that anything that I can’t do in front of my children orputs God or my grandparents to shame, I don’t need to be doing atall. And I feel that if I live by that, then I’m doing all right.We are coming to a time where there is a deep rooted cry frompeople all over the world for truth. Anyone that is not willing tobe truthful and be transparent in their ministry or whatever it isthat they want to call it… It’s gonna come to an abrupt end. Whenyou have people who by age 20 have experienced death up close,misery, turmoil, who have lived a life in 20 years that people beforethem never lived in 85-90 years, they need someone who is willingto be truthful and transparent with them about the things they’vebeen through. They need to understand that even though they’vebeen through all this hell, that they can come out of it and be okay.I can’t get that from you if you want me to look at you and seesomeone who’s smiling all the time and happy all the time, who saysthat they’re saved and believes in Jesus Christ and because of that,nothing will go wrong in their life. That’s not realistic and that’sthe reason why you have a lot of people that won’t even bother withchurch because they feel that church people are phony, which is whyI go overboard to tell people that I’m just human like you are. I amby no means perfect. I sing R&B, I believe in Jesus Christ, I’m aChristian, I go dancing, and I have a good time. I think people havethe wrong perception of what life is supposed to be and it’s my intentionthat if I can change somebody’s mind about that, by who I am,hence the album “This Is Who I Am”, then I have done my job.Soror Passé-Rodriguez: I read your letter addressed to severalchurch leaders where you share your thoughts regarding the unethicalways you feel musicians are sharing the Lord’s word, like musicianswho are known for singing R&B and hip-hop, cross over tosing hit gospel songs. Do you see a remedy in the near future andwhat do you think will help these musicians be honest with themselvesand their ultimate purpose for delivering the Lord’s word?Soror Price: I think that the standard first has to be set inside thechurch. I’ll never make any excuses for anybody that does anythingwrong, but if my example of Godly living is you because you tellme that you live this everyday and you’re a preacher, a minister oran evangelist, and I can clearly look at you and see that it’s in wordonly and you really don’t live it, then my attitude becomes “who areyou to judge me?”I don’t want to misquote the Bible, but I do believe that judgmentstarts in the house of God. A lot of times people will take that andmisconstrue it and think that that’s their free pass to judge everythingand everybody and that’s not true. It starts with those whocall themselves believers. We have to judge ourselves first and if youcan find something in you that’s not right, then it’ll keep you fromputting your mouth so fast on other people.I think that there has to be more love shown to people so that theywill be willing to hear you. You can’t go to a homeless man who’shungry and the whole time you’re feeding him, you’re berating himabout how he ended up homeless in the first place. Our methodshave to change.Being able to grow up in a preacher’s family has given me the opportunityto understand things from that side and while being a partof mainstream entertainment, I can talk about it from this side ofit too. I’ve gone into churches where people didn’t know that I’m apreacher’s kid and saw the way they treated me. I know how peopleshould be treated. I know what it feels like to be mistreated, misjudged,and to be labeled. It’s just not a good thing and if nothingelse, people ought to get love from us and I’ve felt like that from thebeginning of my career. Whether it was gospel or R&B, I wantedto make music that people can feel and felt did something for themafter they heard a song. I always think about people like MarvinGaye and his song “What’s Goin’ On?”. It had a wonderful groove,but when the song was over, you heard something too and I alwayswanted to make that kind of music. I call it the gospel of life.Soror Passé-Rodriguez: Because God has truly blessed youwith the gifts of singing and speaking so articulately, have you everconsidered acting or doing Broadway?Soror Price: I want to do Broadway so bad. That would be atriumphant return to New York. If we get the right opportunity,I’m gonna come stompin’ my way back to New York.Soror Passé-Rodriguez: What about modeling?Soror Price: Yes. We need somebody that looks like me on therunway. I fluctuate between a size 14 and an 18. I know what to doand how to do it. I’ll never let myself get to where I was before. Ipromote healthy living for men and women. A healthy body imageis not trying to be what everybody else looks like, but we do needsome positive full-figured role models who are healthy.Soror Passé-Rodriguez: In addition to working with yourhusband/manager and raising 2 children, what you do in yourspare time?Soror Price: I don’t have much spare time, but I love to cook. Ihate to talk about myself like this, but I cook like an old Southernwoman. I’ve been cooking my whole life. Growing up and beingin the house with just the girls and my mother working two andthree jobs, I was cooking dinner for the family at 7 and makingThanksgiving dinner by the time I was 13. The only thing I lovemore than cooking is watching people eat my food. I get high offof watching people eat my food; where they get so stuffed that theycan’t move.Be sure to visit Soror Price’s website at www.kellyprice.com toobtain information on “This Is Who I Am,” her books, and herphoto gallery. Before you leave her page, show this Soror somelove by dropping her a line and joining her fan club. Yes, shereads every single email that comes her way.Spring/Summer 2007 • The Aurora 17