“I'm a musician,” Tye Tribbett once said when a reporter asked why God chose him to be a successful musician. “I don't know why [God] chose me to be in the forefront. I can see now, maybe, because I'm a little crazy. I'll say anything He wants me to say. That's probably one reason why He chose me. We don't have the best singers, we don't have the best choreography, and we don't have the best music, so that's a daily question of mine.” However, there’s no question among his legion of young fans that have scooped up his hyperactive, boldly evangelical gospel radio hits such as “No Way (The G.A. Chant)”, “Victory” and “Good in the Hood.”

The pied piper of contemporary gospel funk was born January 26, 1977 in Camden, New Jersey where his father was the pastor of El Bethel Church of Christ and his mother was the choir director. By the age of ten, Tribbett had mastered the drums, organ and keyboard. “I’ve been playing all my life,” he once said. “Before I knew my ABCs, I knew the ABCs on the keys.” During his teens, Tribbett played with the Tri-State Mass Choir III on their Top Ten Worthy CD before forming his own group, Greater Anointing (G.A.), in 1996 – the same year they won the McDonald’s Gospel Choir competition. The next year, G.A. turned around and won the Wrigley’s Gospel Choir competition.

Over the next few years, G.A. steadily built a sterling reputation that led to them performing “Let Go, Let God” with Mary Mary on The Prince of Egypt: Inspirational CD soundtrack. After seeing G.A. perform at the “Prince of Egypt” movie premiere, country star Faith Hill fell in love with the group’s energy and style. She had them back her on various television appearances such as Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. From there, Tribbett collaborated with Philly home girl Vivian Green on a couple of R&B tracks for her Columbia Records CD debut A Love Story in 2002. James Poyser, who was a percussionist on Green’s project, would end up producing Tribbett’s own Columbia Records Life CD debut in 2004.

Not since Kirk Franklin’s debut a decade before, had a gospel artist totally revolutionized the sound and feel of modern gospel. G.A.’s stage apparel was straight out of the United Colors of Benetton catalogue while their choreography was frenetic and cutting-edge. Although Tribbett’s musical foundation was cemented by traditional church sounds, he layered it with a wide range of musical colors ranging from Beatlesque guitars and lounge jazz to tribal conga drums. Aside from “No Way (The G.A. Chant)”, the album found radio hits in “Superstar” and “Everything.”

The sophomore CD Victory Live! was released in spring 2006 and was even bigger than its predecessor. The Go-Go styled “Victory” and the rock-flavored up-tempo praise and worship track “No Other Way” propelled the album to #1 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart and earned the project a Grammy Award nomination. Tribbett’s 2008 CD Stand Out sold over 26,000 in its first week of sales. It debuted at #1 on the Top Gospel Album sales chart and hit #16 on the Hot 100 Pop albums sales chart. While various upstarts have sought to duplicate Tribbett’s style and verve, he remains uniquely one of the most influential and creative young gospel artists on the scene.