Darlene McCoy

Darlene McCoy

    Singer, songwriter, minister, wife and mother of three. That's quite a lot of titles, but Darlene McCoy is quite a woman, with a string of successes behind her and a bright future in front of her. For several years she's been singing in support of America's most popular ministers and performers, from Darwin Hobbs to Byron Cage. Currently she serves as the praise leader at Bishop Eddie Long's Missionary Baptist Church, and is the voice behind Atlanta's "Spirit of Hip Hop" radio show. Darlene is also the CEO of JENIMAC, a company that ministers to the needs of girls and women.

    Amidst all of her other activities, in 2006 and early 2007 McCoy recorded her EMI Gospel debut album. For the self-titled disc, she collaborated with an amazing cast of Gospel's biggest hitmakers, including PAJAM, Fred Jerkins, Dallas Austin, Myron Butler,Tommy Sims, PJ Morton and Antoinio Neal. Nifty contributions from Jerkins ("I Believe") and PAJAM ("If There Were No You") deserved attention. And the dance remake of Alicia Myers' "I Wanna Thank You" was an inspired choice. But perhaps most pleasing were the string of collaborations between McCoy and labelmate Neal -- melodic, infectious gems such as "Fallen In Love," "Finally," "I Adore You" and "Simply Because" that found a welcoming audience among adult soulheads. 

    It was a few years before we heard again from McCoy, who issued the single "I Shall Live and Not Die" in 2011 and "Not Guilty" in 2012. 

    By Chris Rizik

    Available Music