G-Zone Interview: Maurette Brown Clark-Making Beautiful Music

 

It’s been over 4 years since the release of her first project Breaking of Day which I still enjoy on a regular basis. When I heard that a new project was scheduled to be released I could barely contain my excitement.

Well, I’ve purchased and listened to the By His Grace project several times today. My intention was to pick out a couple of songs that I really liked and mention them here on the site. 

Of the 15 tracks on the CD, I’ve managed to knock my ‘List of Favorites’ down to 14 and since track #15 is a reprise, I guess it doesn’t count on my list anyway. 

To sum it all up, this project is Phenomenal!!! With songs like the heart lifting ‘Even In The Rain’ to the soul stirring ‘You Saved My Life’ you are guaranteed to run head on into a life changing experience. With the remake of The Winans classic ‘Restoration’ and the hip hop flava of ‘You’re My Everything’ you’ll be bouncin and boppin and giving God some crazy praze! My only regret is that there isn’t enough space to speak about every song on the CD. Songs like ‘You’ve Been Good To Me’, ‘Since He Came’ and ‘Lean On You’. Maurette has managed to reclaim the importance of combining powerful lyrical content along with the anointing. Her incomparable vocal styles compel you to listen, and yet encourage you to become an active participant at the same time.

Warning: This project is intended only for those who are seeking a true Music Ministry Experience!Maurette Brown Clark was born in Long Island NY on May 5th (maybe we can get her to tell her age next time). She and her husband Mark presently make their home in Maryland where they are raising their two children Jada and Jaylen. She and her twin brother Maurice (who resides in Detroit) are the youngest of four children. They have one older brother and one older sister. Now, for those of you who may have been on a gospel music hiatus and have never heard the name Maurette Brown Clark, let’s take a look at who she is:



GZ: Maurette, tell us a little bit about how you came to sing with Richard Smallwood & Vision.

MBC: Richard had a dream about the group, and the Lord placed everybody in the group in that dream and I’m really grateful that I ended up in there somewhere. He had heard me sing with another group before and I was doing some solo work on my own and he called right when I decided that I wasn’t gonna be singing with anybody else, I was just gonna focus on myself and my career. And it wasn’t even a week later when someone called me and said Richard Smallwood is looking for you. And I was like (Loud Gasp) OK! So I talked to him and he was like I’m starting a choir and I wanted to know if you could come to rehearsal? So I was like uh okay, ’cause how do you say no to Richard Smallwood? That was about six years ago and I’ve been running with him every since. I told him that he’s gonna have to throw me out if he wants me out...



For those few folk who may not be familiar with you, I don’t know how that’s possible, but what are some of the songs that you’ve sang lead on with Vision?

I sang lead on a song called Angels with Vanessa Williams, on Live In Detroit I sang lead on You Did It All, and on Live in D.C. I led a piece of Calvary and I sang lead on Oh Lord We Praise You.



How involved were you with the creation of the new project By His Grace?

I wrote the bulk of the songs, actually I wrote 9 of the songs and I did a remake of The Winans Restoration.


Did you really? I may be a little partial because Marvin Winans is my pastor.

Really! Oh lovely (laughing), well tell him that I did a remake of ‘Restoration’ and hopefully it won’t make him cringe too much!



You are currently on tour with Richard Smallwood right?

Oh yeah, thank you for asking. We’re on the Alliance Tour and it’s Richard Smallwood, Karen Clark-Sheard and Donald Lawrence are the major headliners. And then the minor headliners, I like to call, are myself, Vanessa Williams (also from Vision) and Ted & Sheri. And it runs until the first week in November. It’s pretty exciting, I kept pinching myself all last week during rehearsal cause I was like okay I’ve already been pinching myself for six years cause I sing with Richard Smallwood who is like the Man. But then to sing with Karen Clark and Donald Lawrence you know to be a Tri-City singer for a couple of months is just really kind of crazy and then to be able to step out and sing songs from my project is a very very lovely thing.



Now with all of that traveling and singing, it must be a strain on your vocal chords. What do you do to keep your voice in good condition?

The only thing that I’ve found that really helps is to go to bed and get enough rest.



What’s your proudest moment?

Winning the Stellar, having my whole family there in the audience to see it. That was kind of crazy cause my husband was there next to me and I was pregnant and my parents were there and my brothers. And then when they called my name the audience like roared like they really meant for me to have it!



Do you have any personal beauty tips for the female readers?

(laughing) Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize! You know when I was younger it was like whatever soap I had in my hand that’s what I used on my face, and whatever lotion I had I would just put wherever. But about four years ago my face went through a crazy stage and I had to stop using whatever on it. But right now I use a good cleanser and a MAC moisturizer, but it depends on the season. Just go by what your skin tells you to do, don´t get stuck on one product. And buy everything MAC makeup!



Oh Yeah me too! I should invest in MAC!

I used to use all kinds of stuff and then my girlfriend was like use this and now it’s like I can’t use anything else. You go to the drug store and refuse to pay $5 for lip gloss, but will happily skip into Nordstrom’s and spend $13 on some lip gloss from MAC without thinking about! (okay we’re both laughing hysterically now, but it is so true MAC: Rules!)



What’s your most embarrassing moment in life?

(groaning) Oh God, when I was a teenager and I was serving orange juice to the choir during youth day. And let me just say I’m a born klutz, if anyone is gonna trip it’s gonna be me and it’s okay cause I don’t embarrass easy...but this lady in front of me bent down to pick up something and I put the tray over her to serve someone some orange juice and she stood up and the juice went everywhere! That was before I didn’t embarrass easy so that was really bad. I decided that I would never be waitress or serve anything ever again. And I stuck to that, I don’t serve nobody nothin!



Really?

Oh God! Oh please, if it could be dropped or spilled that is me. Oh God it’s the worst! No more...