Talented? Prodigy? Gifted? Inspired? Driven? Dedicated? Actually, there is no one word that can quite describe Micah Stampley the man, the minister, the husband, the father, the musician, and the community philanthropist. With a multi-octave voice of literally staggering power and sensitivity, and a fluent writer’s hand with both words and music, he has moved from near-total obscurity to one of Gospel’s most talked-about artists in a short time. From his birth in Los Angeles, California to his humble beginnings growing up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana as one of eight children born to Richard Stampley, a carpenter and craftsmen of fine furniture and cabinetry by trade and a Pastor, and Delmarie Stampley, a devoted mother and homemaker, to his chart topping sophomore album, A Fresh Wind . . .The Second Sound; Micah Stampley is a musical phenomenon on the rise. Destined for musical greatness from birth and with his God-given singing gift he joined his church choir at the age of four. By the age of seven he was given the reigns as choir director at his father’s church, even though he had to stand on a table for the choir to be able to see him. In order to enhance the musical side of his father’s ministry Micah taught himself how to play the piano and keyboard and at the age of 13, with his brother Nathaniel as his partner, Micah became the church’s official music minister. After graduation he continued in ministry, however, after his brother was killed in a freak gun accident in 1994, he felt devastated, alone, and adrift in his musical career. “I was so miserable, he recalls. My brother had not only been my best friend, but my musical partner for years. I still had my passion for music, but I didn’t have a clue what to do with it.” For the next few years Micah just answered the call of God as he heard it. He traveled the globe with nationally renowned evangelist, Bishop Earl Johnson, accompanying him on his numerous crusades. He also appeared in several Gospel musicals in the Los Angeles area and eventually returned to his father’s church to oversee the music department. It was at this time he met his soon-to-be wife, Heidi Jones in the college gospel choir. Heidi became Micah’s life and songwriting partner a little under a year after they met, and is now the Vice President of Levitical Records, the entrepreneurial venture of the duo; a home-school mother to their five children, a registered nurse, and Micah’s manager and biggest supporter. In 2003, Micah came to the attention of Dexterity Sounds, Bishop T.D. Jakes record label. Before anything could transpire, Micah won the “2004 Stellar Awards National Star Search,” after competing against thousands of candidates. Shortly thereafter, Micah was invited to Bishop Jakes Potters House as a special musical guest. After service Bishop Jakes called Micah to his office and offered him a record deal instantly. This divine connection led to extensive exposure nationally and abroad both in conjunction with Bishop T.D. Jakes and independently. The rest as they say is history in the making. A Fresh Wind …The Second Sound, a refreshing compendium of exuberant worship and praise melodies was self-released on Levitical Records. This comes on the heels of his chart topping introduction album, The Songbook of Micah, which hit the music charts as the second highest debut for a Male Gospel Artist in Billboard history. With this success he was blessed with the honors of: Billboard Magazine critic’s pick as one of Top 10 gospel music artists of 2005 and the online giant, AOL’s Black Voices stamp as one of The Top 11 Gospel Geniuses of 2005, Stampley being the only new artist included on the list that also included gospel stalwarts Kirk Franklin, Smokie Norful, Shirley Caesar, Donnie McClurkin, Yolanda Adams, BeBe and CeCe Winans, among others. In addition, the record-setting artist received two 2006 Stellar Award nominations for “Male Vocalist of the Year” and “New Artist of the Year.” A Fresh Wind follows this debut success by exponential bounds and is anticipated as garnering even greater acclaim and review. Personal invitations and public reviews from the likes of Aretha Franklin and others, public anointing by gospel great Donnie McClurkin as his musical heir and worldwide notability through his frequent television specials and appearances have not caused Micah to forget his humble beginning and mandate. “My vision and my wife’s as well, is to go beyond the arts as our sole means of ministry,” he continues. “We want to deal with people as well as issues. We want to address the root causes of homelessness, for instance, and at the same time actually build shelters to feed, cloth and nurture people’s bodies as well as the spirits; to offer healing, hope, and rehabilitation. The music is key to the ministry, and it’s where I’ve invested the greatest part of my life. But great songs about Jesus will not fill the stomach of someone who hasn’t eaten in days. Our dream is that these songs, and my albums, and whatever is to follow, will become part of a much bigger and multi-faceted ministry.” In keeping with their plans of reaching outside of the music to help others, the husband-wife songwriting team was selected by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to be spokespersons for their nationwide campaign “Know What To Do For Life.” The parents of five were featured in the 2005 public education campaign to increase awareness about the risk factors associated with infant mortality in the African-American community. Micah and Heidi Stampley continue to press forward with their vision, with the launching of Operation I Believe, a nationwide humanitarian movement inspired and driven by the awe-inspiring anthem I Believe, from the album A Fresh Wind, in addition to, embarking on the groundbreaking of a place of refuge for the hopeless, homeless and destitute on the Eagle’s Nest ranch, a 400 acre debt-free property in Louisiana that they have partnered with as the home of Operation I Believe. When asked, what’s next? Micah replies, God has already given me the desires of my heart, so I don’t pray for opportunities anymore. I just pray to be ready for whatever He has in store for us in the days and years to come. Conclusively, Micah is a man running after Gods heart. ....www.micahstampley.org
