“Don’t you ever again stop your worship to sing a song!”  This is an admonishment that William Murphy III vehemently addressed to the congregation during the live recording of his latest hit album (a little prophecy never hurt anyone) All Day…The William Murphy Project.  As the Associate Minister of Music (having stepped down from the senior position) for New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta, Murphy is a man dedicated to edifying the body of Christ to the praises of our Heavenly King. 

Originally released as an independent project nearly a year ago with limited distribution, All Day is now re-released with a few tweaks, for the sake of perfection, by Sony Music this past August 16^th and is a high-octane praise fest that challenges all that have breath to stand up and praise the Lord along with Murphy and his gifted team of vocalists.

Following in the tradition of great gospel hailing from the motor city, this Detroit native has seen his gospel star rise steadily higher over the past few years.  It was not long after moving to Atlanta to act as the Senior Minister of Music for Bishop Eddie L. Long’s church, that the world heard Praise Is What I Do, as recorded by Shekinah Glory Ministries in 2002.  The lyrical precision coupled with the simplistic reverence of this ode of praise quickly brought gospel connoisseurs to a realization that there was an uncut gem in our midst. 

Murphy’s unrestrained style of praise and worship is ever-present in All Day and brings listeners to a modern-day comprehension of what the biblical Psalmist was referring to throughout passages of the 150^th Psalm.  From classic congregational praise hymns such as We Have Come To Glorify / Great and Mighty (Medley) to Let It Rise, a song initially penned by Holland Davis in the 90s, Murphy’s sonorous tenor can be heard in rasping outcries of praise.  Awesome, an original by DeVaughn Murphy and Cedric Berry is sure to become a ubiquitous praise standard, as one can’t help but feel enraptured in the experience of worship.

Set to the melody of George Benson’s hit “On Broadway”, Good is devoid of Benson’s jazzy edge, replaced instead with funkafied, bass-heavy tones embedded with the zealous declaration “I just came by here to tell you that God is good”

In keeping with the contemporary edge is the impetuously upbeat All Day featuring Warryn “Baby Dubb” Campbell, in a pulsating musical feast sure to please those who favour the ingenious creations of this producer-extraordinaire.   Showing the multi-faceted aspects of exaltation, Crazy Praise, featuring DeVaugh & DeJaughn Murphy in boisterous hip hop verses, is sure to bring young and old to their feet.

Not just a collection of congregational choruses, Murphy also provides great chorale music on this project in Hear My Prayer.  Here the organ proves its worth as a staple in gospel music as it drones out its melancholic jubilation to the words of Psalm 143 and the choir resonates in Southern Baptist symphonic discourse that speaks of a heart in earnest prayer.

William Murphy III teams up with his father (Jr.) and grandfather (Sr.) in Be Strong, a generational testament of faith as the wise voices of three generations of Murphy men encourage each other with staid and solemn faith with the words “Be strong, in the power of His might, be strong”

You can hear the emotion in Murphy’s voice as he realises he is part of the heavenly cohort in Created To Worship which he follows up with the testimony that despite being borne of a teenaged mother and the consequent stigma, that his true life’s purpose is to worship God. 

“One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned… is to be willing to hear the next Word from God and not be stuck on the last word you received.”   This appreciation that life’s positive and not-so-positive circumstances are in God’s leading are the basis for the autobiographical Changes, wherein the songwriter comes to realize that he a masterpiece still in the making, in the hands of The Heavenly Potter.

Healing Worship is a manifest portrayal of the intimacy of worship, leading into a reverent ministration of Praise Is What I Do.  This passionate anthem which revolutionized the worship experience of the Body of Christ across the nation defines the ministry of William Murphy III.  As said in his own words “I am a minister of worship… I’m not an artist; I’m a minister of worship.  That’s what I do, that’s what I am, and that’s what I’m always going to be.

There is a common thread weaved throughout the songs on this album: Praise & Worship.  Not in the sense of a rhetorical label used to categorize music, but as one man trying to do God justice with the gift conferred upon him.  Whether in flamboyant, hand-clapping, foot-stomping locution or in the serenity of prayerful supplication, All Day brings the listener into the manifest presence of The Most High.  In William Murphy III’s own words, “Great musicians touch the hearts of men… but worshippers touch the heart of God.”