21:03
Three clean-cut Christian young men, that can sing, dance, are single and have fun personalities… it’s a no-brainer to me. That spells success. 21:03 has become increasingly more and more popular on the Gospel scene ever since the release of their debut CD “PAJAM Presents: 21:03.” But, what can you expect when you have the well oiled machine of PAJAM behind you!
This was my first interview with a group that was substantially younger than many of the other artists I had interviewed. To my surprise this twenty something trio is focused, intelligent and know exactly where their going with their ministry. Don’t let the peach fuzz fool you…they have some wisdom behind their young years!
How did 21:03 get together?
TORRENCE: 21:03 was actually supposed to be a 5 member group. But after the auditions and the PAJAM boot camp, that number was dwindled down. There were actually 5 of us until we got to the photo shoot. Evin, Shawn (former member) and I were the only ones that showed up, so that’s how we ended up becoming a trio. EVIN: I didn’t want to be in a 5 member group anyway. I believe things work out for a reason and you have to walk in God’s purpose. Some of the other guys felt it wasn’t right for them and this business isn’t for everyone. We went through a very arduous program. It was kind of like the MTV’s “Making the Band.”
Speaking of “Making the Band”, do you guys have drama like “Day26” did on the show?
EVIN: I’ll say this…the show is very real. Now we never argued to the magnitude that the guys did, but the rigorous schedule, the rehearsals, the traveling, the sleepless days, all that is real! The rest of that stuff is a lot of editing to highlight and expose all the drama.
Do you guys disagree a lot?
JOR’EL: The things we disagree about have the least to do with 21:03. We know the 3 of us are together for a reason, so when you know there is a greater purpose it keeps the drama to minimum. If we disagree about something it’s about what we’re going to wear as far as like the color schemes, but that’s really it. Our calling is ministry so we focus on that! We may argue about where we’re going to eat for the night too (lol), but that’s no biggie!
The first single, “I’m Sorry”, from your debut album was recorded by the former R&B group “3rd Storee”. Had you heard the song before?
EVIN: We absolutely had heard the song before. When 3rd Storee recorded the song, it never was commercially released. PAJAM thought it would be a good intro song for us, since it wasn’t a typical Gospel song per say.
How was it recording your first album? Did you guys have creative control?
EVIN: The first album we were pretty much told what to do and what songs to record. We had some say in the arrangements and who sang lead, but that was about it. By the time our first CD came out, it was old to us. We signed our deal in ’04 and the CD wasn’t released until ’06. We had heard it a million times by the time the public got their hands on it. We were definitely ready to start working on our new project. I think a lot of people slept on our first album. The Gospel industry didn’t quite get us. Surprisingly, we won a Stellar Award though, so it was an interesting time for the group.
Do people mistake your music for J. Moss’ material?
EVIN: Yes we get the J. Moss comparison a lot. When you’re a family and you’re around each other a lot, naturally you develop a sound similar to theirs. I think people sometimes misjudge us as dancing, singing J. Moss clones. We’re so much more than that. We play instruments, we compose, we write screenplays, etc. We even did a sketch comedy the other day! We understand it takes time to develop your own identity as a group, but sometimes it gets hard.
What do you think of the new crop of young artists and groups like “God’s Image” that are starting to make some noise?
EVIN: There is no competitive spirit at all. We’re all in the same business and ministry is the primary focus for all of us. 21:03 supports all of our peers that are doing good music and bringing souls to the kingdom. God’s Image, those are our brothers. We were good friends with them before all of this. We hang out with them as much as we can.
Let’s talk about “106 & Gospel” for a second. Jor’el what do you think went wrong?
JOR’EL: Well the biggest problem was our time slot. It came on at 12 in the afternoon on Sunday and most people are at church at the time, so no one was home to watch it. Therefore the ratings weren’t significant enough. But big ups to BET for even putting a show like that on the air! Angel and I had a good time, unfortunately it just didn’t work. But it’s not over. I made a lot of great connections and there are more things to come in the very near future. We need positive programming for young believers and there’s a market for it.
“Total Attention” was released in ’08. What was different about recording this album? And what are your favorite songs?
ALL: This album we had a lot of more say in the whole process. We were allowed to conceptualize the album, pick a lot of the songs and really talk about some of our experiences. You are getting a true extension of 21:03 on this CD. JO’REL: My favorite song is our first single “Cover Me.” When I listen to songs, I listen closely to the lyrics. “Cover Me” is a song about what is going on throughout the country. Gas prices are high, companies are filing for bankruptcy, homes are going into foreclosure and millions of people are unemployed. The message is so much larger than you might think. This song is about everyone praying for each other. TORRENCE: I actually listened to our album not too long ago and the song that used to be my least favorite is now my favorite, “Brace Up.” I like up-tempo songs that I can dance and groove to. The message has to be good too! EVIN: My favorite is “Holding On to You.” I love that song because it’s a pop track, but it’s still worship. The song talks about God’s character. When we recorded this song, I experienced God’s anointing in the recording booth. That had never happened before. My mother passed in ’06 and the day before we recorded that song I found out my father had brain cancer. He eventually passed away on Mother’s Day in ’08. I was crying out to God in the booth. Even though my father hadn’t passed yet, it was still an emotional experience for me. “Holding On to You” has a horizontal message. What I mean by this, is that a lot of times in Gospel music it’s either my problems or I’m gonna make it. This song is different. It talks about a person’s season and letting the baggage go.
What is the hardest thing about being in the Gospel industry?
TORRENCE: The hardest thing about being in the industry is compromising some of your life. I mean sometimes you just want to hang out with your friends or family or just go to a party and chill, but because of who you are you have to maintain a standard of professionalism at all times. EVIN: Being young is the hardest thing about being in this industry to me. In every other genre of music a new, innovative, youthful sound is looked at as a good thing, except in Gospel. In Gospel music, the gate keepers decide when you are no longer a new artist. You have to pay dues a lot longer. JOR’EL: In general the church can be very close minded and non-accepting unless you do it their way. That’s one of the reasons we released 2 singles at the same time. “Cover Me” is the more churchy song and “You” is more for the youth. It can be a hard balance trying to please everyone.
Now that you guys are becoming more established, do you have artists giving you their CD’s all the time?
JOR’EL: Yes we get it all the time! I think a lot of people approach us because they see us on the road a lot or they see us on YouTube just acting silly, so we seem very approachable. Nowadays, EVERYBODY has a project they are trying to push. Some of the stuff we get is really good and sometimes it’s just funny. I think it’s important for people to know that in order for your demo to get heard, you need to put it in the right hands. The artist is not the best person to hand it to. Like in the PAJAM camp, Walter Kearney is the man you need to get your music to, not 21:03. We really can’t do anything for you, but he can!
Is everyone single?
ALL: We’re single and ready to mingle!!
Being a relatively new group how are the finances?
TORRENCE: Money is good and I like it! We are starting to make more these days because we are traveling more. EVIN: I thank God for publishing! The Lord said when you don’t have any dates and the album sales are slow, I’m going to bless you when you walk outside to the mailbox! Every artist needs to be aware of the business side. The great thing about being in the PAJAM camp is that they are always doing production on other projects. So that gives us an opportunity to write, do background vocals and collaborate with other artists. That also means you have the opportunity to branch out and have money coming in from other areas.
So what’s next for 21:03?
ALL: We are definitely going to be working on another CD. We all love to sing and perform, but we have different interests and know that this won’t necessarily last forever. EVIN: I have my degree in Communication and I love to write. So I want to do more writing in the future. JOR’EL: I’m in college right now and I’m studying music business management. TORRENCE: I’m not in school at the moment, but I will be.
21:03’s 18 Random Truths (You know the drill (lol)…I couldn’t read what I typed on two questions, so I had to delete them!)
- Torrence: favorite subject in high school? Math.
- Jor’el: Favorite reality TV show? “Making the Band 4.”
- Jor’el: Who did you want to win “Sunday Best?” Jessica Reedy.
- Evin: Favorite animated movie? “Finding Nemo.”
- Torrence: Favorite Tyler Perry movie? “The Family That Preys.”
- All 3: Mary Mary, Virtue, Trin-i-tee 5:7 or Zie’l? Mary Mary.
- Evin: Last book you read? “Twilight Eclipse.”
- Jor’el: Favorite cereal? Corn Flakes w/ Equal.
- Torrence: Favorite TV show? “One on One.”
- Evin: Faith Evans, Kelly Price, Shanice or Beyonce? Beyonce!
- Jor’el: Gospel release you’re anticipating? Jessica Reedy.
- Evin: Dream car? Range Rover.
- Torrence: Least favorite song on the new album? “Power of Christ”
- Jor’el: Men of Standard, Commissioned, Take 6 or God’s Image? Men of Standard.
- Torrence: How many kids do you want? One. Two is the maximum.
- Evin: Favorite Fred Hammond CD? “Pages of Life 1 & 2.”
- Jor’el: Favorite female R&B group? Destiny’s Child.
- Torrence: Stuck on an island, what 3 CD’s would u take? Brandy’s “Full Moon”, George Benson’s“Breezin’” and “Waiting to Exhale” soundtrack.
