Unbeknownst to Crowder, his new hometown was in close proximity to Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. pastored. The community and atmosphere were unlike any Crowder had known in Texas, or even on the other side of the tracks in Atlanta. But over time, as he immersed himself into the entirety of his new neighborhood, he not only got to know this new world; it began to change him.

“My insides are different after being in Atlanta for four years. My peer set is different. My music is different,” he says. “We have to get past the things that divide and blur the lines somewhat. I mean, the banjo is an African instrument. It’s just a sight twist of the dial to go from southern gospel to Black spiritual gospel. They are tributaries of the same stream. rock ‘n roll-appropriated culture. Bluegrass-appropriated culture. To sing about death to life, I think spirituals announced the freedom in a way that understood longing.”

Over time, Crowder gradually turned that dial, the result of which is American Prodigal—a melting pot of color, history, style and tradition that is American in its truest form. Of course, with the current political climate and the tragic, inexplicable loss of life blowing up cable news channels seemingly every day, Crowder knew that this was a delicate but necessary chance to take.

“The tension and nervousness and the heightened political and social conversations  make it hard to build bridges,” David continues. “It’s rare that you  could change someone’s mind about something by simply presenting to them what’s in your mind. But if you can show them, if you can model for them a thing, if you can make visible the truth that the only real line that exists is the one between death and life and someone has already stood there for us and spanned that divide, that’s a transcendent conversation.”

Croder, CCM Magazine - image

Not one to talk and not act, Crowder got to work. The result is possibly the finest album of his entire career. Each song delivers a lyric that hits the heart, a rhythm and beat that drives its way into a soul and layers of sound that prove that harmony is colorblind.

“Harmony is beautiful. When we start to harmonize, it’s really difficult to fight with one another,” he says. “That’s all you need. Community is there.”

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