1031. IJLMI: Into Honoring

[00:00:00] What's up everybody? It's your girl Lish Speaks and welcome back to another episode of my podcast, I'll Just Let Myself In. It's the podcast where we don't wait for an imaginary permission slip or some seat at an imaginary table. We let ourselves into our God given doors. And today, I'm really excited because I just came back from the BMI Trailblazer of Gospel Awards for 2026,

[00:00:23] honoring none other than Kiara Sheard-Kelly with the Impact Award. And it was such an incredible event, an event that really did move me in so many ways because I think that as a creative person, as a person who loves gospel music, as a person who loves to highlight what's going on,

[00:00:44] not just in a faith-based space, but in inspirational spaces overall, it's always cool when you can go somewhere and be genuinely and truly inspired. So in today's episode, we're going to do a recap of the Trailblazer Awards 2026, and we'll make sure that you guys feel like you were there, even though you're just watching it through our podcast.

[00:01:05] So at this year's show, I got to do the red carpet, which this is my second year in a row doing it. And it is really something that I look forward to. It's one of the best ran carpets, in my opinion, and that's kudos to the team at BMI. They really make sure that we, as members of the press, have adequate time to set up, and they make sure that we're good and that we're checked in, that we got water,

[00:01:31] and we have people that we can go to if we have questions or need things. And if you've never done a red carpet before, which is probably most people, right, have never worked a red carpet as media, it can be very chaotic. It can be a very chaotic scene. It can be a lot going on. When you get there, they kind of give you a sheet of who is slated to come or who's been invited to come. And so you have a couple minutes to kind of get ready and think about what questions you may ask.

[00:01:56] But I try to prepare way in advance, way before I'm at the event, for who I believe will be there. So for Kiera's shit, I was pretty sure her mom would be there, pretty sure her brother would be there, pretty sure people who are very close to her, like Kirk Franklin and Donald Lawrence would be there. And so that was really, really cool to see them show up and to see them give Kiera her flowers.

[00:02:19] One of my favorite conversations was with the president of Creative at BMI Atlanta, Catherine Bruton. I think this woman is brilliant and just has a real heart for this world. Her and her vice president, Wardell Malloy, they are really close to the artists that they honor, and you can see that and you can feel that.

[00:02:42] And I was asking everyone, you know, if you could write a thank you note to Kiera for her contribution to gospel music, what would it say? And Catherine's answer was so touching. Take a listen. Because I can only ask you one question, I'm going to ask you this. If you had to write a thank you note to Kiera Shear for her contribution to gospel music, what would it say? Dear Kiara, thank you for being authentic, challenging the establishment.

[00:03:09] You come from legacy and you could very easily become status quo, but you created a lane on the shoulders of some of the greatest voices. Maddie Moss, Twinkie, her mother, my sweet girl Dorinda, and she cannot forget about Mother Jackie. So I think I would just say continue to be your authentic self. And I think this celebration of her, Wardell has been somebody who's been so close to that family for decades. And when he mentioned celebrating Kiera, to me, this was a no-brainer.

[00:03:39] And clearly, you know, the community showed up for her, including her beautiful mom. So I'm excited. Along with Catherine, I was able to speak with Karen Clark Sheard, who, you know, if you know anything about me, the Clark sisters, man, they've gotten me through some tough times, especially that Dorinda, the Rose of Gospel. But the Clark sisters as a whole, they are pioneers in the space of gospel to the unchurched.

[00:04:07] One of my favorite songs by them, You Bought the Sunshine, their classic, is literally an interpretation of Master Blaster from Stevie Wonder. And so they've always, Twinkie, Twinkie Clark has always taken inspiration from jazz, from secular music, from the streets to create gospel music that can speak to the church and unchurched. And Kiera obviously does the same thing.

[00:04:34] So it was just an honor to be able to talk to Karen about how she feels about her daughter receiving this award. And here's a little bit of what Karen and her son, J. Drew, shared about Kiera. We're at the BMI Trailblazer of Gospel Awards honoring your daughter, your sister, Kiera Sheard. You all are legends in your own right, a legend in the music industry, a legend in production. I've been asking everyone this question.

[00:04:59] If you had to write a thank you note to Kiera for her contribution to gospel music, what would it say? Thank you for making us the proudest parents ever. I mean, I can keep going now. I would love that. Yes. As a brother? Same thing. Thank you for making me the proudest brother ever. And thank you for giving me my first chance. I love it. I love it. Well, thank you guys for your contribution to gospel music. Please enjoy today. As you're giving out flowers, enjoy your own. All right?

[00:05:29] Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Thank you. I love this because when Karen got on the stage during the actual show to give a speech about Kiera, it was tear-filled. It was emotional. You could tell that her prayers for her daughter had been answered. You could tell that the vision that she had for the life of her daughter when she was rearing her, when she was taking her on stages and tours as a young girl, it had come to fruition.

[00:05:57] And so you could hear some of the emotion in her. And I'm going to give you a little snippet of it, but it was just, there was nothing like being in that room and feeling what Karen had to share. Today, our hearts are overflowing with gratitude and pride as we honor our daughter as one of gospel's trailblazers. My dream, when she was, when I was pregnant with her, I said, God, please let her blaze the trail.

[00:06:25] And it's here today, from the very beginning, she has been a precious gift from God who has exceeded every hope we have ever known. We have watched her grow into an educated woman who continues to matriculate and hire learning an amazing mother who pours love into her family and an extraordinary artist whose gifts have touched countless lives.

[00:06:54] One of our greatest joys is seeing the fruits of God's faithfulness across generations. We are deeply grateful to witness. We're deeply grateful to witness. Y'all, this is surreal right here. We're deeply grateful to witness generational blessings of our family flourishing through her life.

[00:07:19] In that speech, she thanked Donald Lawrence for being the one to encourage her to go ahead and put Kiki on an album as a child. And so Donald Lawrence considers Kiera his niece, his family. And here's what he said he'd write in a thank you note to Kiera. I'm at the BMI Trailblazers of Gospel Awards with gospel legend himself, Donald Lawrence. You have known Kiera since she was in the belly, probably, right? I've definitely known her since she was a kid.

[00:07:48] Absolute little kid. And matter of fact, I probably gave her her first professional recording. I'm sure of it. I'm sure of it. If you were going to write Kiera shared a thank you letter, what would it say? My thank you letter would be, first of all, I call her niece. I say, niece, I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud of the woman that you've become. I'm so proud of the mother that you've become. I'm so proud of the artist that you've become. And I'm so proud that with all the gifting that you have and with the legacy that you come from,

[00:08:16] you are still so incredibly kind. And to have that much talent and to still have the integrity and the kindness that just loves on people, I'm proud of you. That would be my love letter to her. Well, that's definitely going to touch and warm her heart. We're so thankful to you for your gifting, all that God is doing. And continue to do your thing. And as you give out flowers today, you see your peers, please accept some of your own. Thank you. I appreciate that so much. Enjoy.

[00:08:42] You know, on the red carpet, I got to talk to so many people who love and adore Kiera. In fact, as I was trying to edit down the content to post on social media, it was so long that I just, I could not include everyone. But so many people showed love and appreciation to Kiera shared on the red carpet. You had to write her a thank you note for her contribution to gospel music. What would it say? Can I cry?

[00:09:09] Kiera, thank you so much for everything that you have contributed to the space. I love you as a sister. I love you as a friend. Most importantly, you are the trailblazer. A lot of us are walking in your footsteps, and I am appreciative of you for having the confidence that God gave you to do what you did at such a young age, because so many of us have been inspired by it, and I can't wait to see what God continues to do through you next. Legend of Sean Mitchell here. Thank you so much for being here. If you had to write Kiera shared a thank you note for what she's done for gospel music,

[00:09:39] look in the camera and tell us what you'd say. You know what? I would say thank you for not only living a legacy from your family, but for being who you are to the world. You're my little sister, and you have changed the world. You've changed the game for gospel music and for people who thought that it couldn't be contemporary, it couldn't be this or that. You've shown everyone that gospel is alive and well because of you. All right, y'all. I'm here with Otis Kidd. If you were writing a thank you card to Kiera shared, what would it say? Oh, my God. Listen, I want to thank you for being consistent.

[00:10:08] Thank you for being authentically you. Thank you for the wonderful journey of music throughout the years from giving God your life at a young age and giving us some of the best R&B gospel praise and worship anthem music. She was doing a hip-hop R&B before anybody did it. People didn't understand it at the time, so she's definitely a trailblazer. The sound that she put out back in the day, it's actually being produced right now. So she paved the way, and we honor you.

[00:10:34] I'm here at Daryl Walls at the BMI Trailblazer Awards of Gospel. We're celebrating Kiera's share today. If you had to write a thank you note to Kiera, what would it say? Kiera, thank you for letting us know that you can do this as a kid and grow up in this and do it well and also have longevity in it. Thank you for allowing us to see that it's not always easy, but it is definitely doable.

[00:11:01] If you had to write a thank you note to Kiera shared, what would it say? Thank you for being your authentic self, for finding your voice because it's needed. Authenticity always works. I grew up with her as well, so she gave me the push to just be my authentic self. I'll say thank you for being sincere. It goes with authenticity, but we love every time we see her. She's the sweetest person, and we just love her.

[00:11:29] I would say thank you for being so genuine and so sweet. Every time we see her, she's always welcoming. I just love her spirit, and just thank you for being genuine. Thank you for not stopping. Thank you for showing us that when things happen in life, you can get up and keep going. There are moments that I've seen her succeed and stuff that she could have stopped in. So thank you for going on in spite of whatever has happened in life. I'm here at the BMI Trailblazer of Gospel Awards.

[00:11:56] With Darwin Hobbs, a gospel legend. If you had to write a thank you note to Kiara Shared, what would it say? Oh, my God. Just listen. I would thank her for being faithful. I would thank her for letting me call her my niche. I would thank her for the song You Don't Know because that's my favorite song. You don't know. Ticka, ticka, ticka, ticka, ticka, ticka, ticka. Like I know. No, listen. So I would thank her for that. But I would just thank her just for being faithful to God.

[00:12:25] You know, because she's so talented. She could be arrogant. She could be, you know what I'm saying, she could leave church behind because she could sing with the best of people in the world. So I thank you for being faithful to the local church and to gospel music. That's what I would say to her. All right. I'm here with Jordan Armstrong at the BMI Trailblazer of Gospel Awards. We're celebrating Kiara Shared today. Yes. If you had to write a thank you note to Kiara, what would it say? A thank you note. Just thank you for being a great representation of everyone that had came before you. Even just her family.

[00:12:54] You know, it didn't stop with the Clark sisters. You know, it kept going. You know, even with Jay Drew, her brother, just the love and the respect that that family has. And for her to kind of carry the torch is something I would say thank you for. Yeah. Man, I would just say thank you for being you. Thank you for your authenticity and thank you for staying in the game through highs and lows and ups and downs and everything.

[00:13:18] I'm here and I'm doing music and I'm a product of inspiration to you, to Kiara Shared. And so just thank you for all that you've given. Thank you for all that you are. It's your girl that speaks. I'm here with Tim Bowman Jr. Kiara, you are one of, a lot of people don't know this, but I'm going to tell you, you are one of my best friends on this planet. We grew up together in Detroit. Kiara, you are a living legend. You are the voice of our generation.

[00:13:47] I'm wearing this in part today because of you, because we got song of the year with a song featuring you, Nobody But God. Kiara, I wouldn't have missed today for the molt, for the world. I love you. You know that. And keep soaring to many, many, many, many more flowers that's coming your way in the future. I love you, girl. What's up? I'm at the BMI Trailblazer of Gospel Awards with Jazzy Faye. We're celebrating Kiara Shared today. If you had to write a thank you note to her, what would it say?

[00:14:14] Man, thank you for being who you are. Thank you for being an individual in spite of your great lineage, you know, and just following, you know, following your heart, following your soul, following your passion, you know, and, you know, really adding to the legacy. I'm here with Ms. Tamela Mann at the BMI Trailblazer of Gospel Awards. I know to her would be thank you for being you and thank you for being a light and her bubblingness.

[00:14:43] It's like you feel her spirit ooze, ooze out on stage. So I'm just really honored to be here to push her on today. Awesome. I got to talk to Adia, Donald Lawrence, Kirk Franklin, Tamela Mann, Tim Bowman Jr. I got to talk to Jazzy Faye. I got to talk to Lisa Noel Smith and the Brown Singers. Got to talk to Otis Kemp. I think that the overwhelming sentiment, right, and that's not even all, Darwin Hobbes, Daryl Walls, just mad people.

[00:15:12] And the overwhelming sentiment about Kiara was that she was genuine, that she was authentic, that although she has the pedigree and the last name to be all these things, she was so down to earth. And I just love that. But besides that, the people definitely gave her props on the vocals because the voice is a voice. Here's what Kirk Franklin had to say about Kiara Sheard's voice.

[00:15:41] All right, I'm here again at the BMI Trailblazer of Gospel Award with Kirk Franklin. We're celebrating Kiara Sheard. Amen. And if you had to write a thank you note to your niece for what she's contributed to gospel music, what would it say? It would be one page and it would just have two words, real vocals. Real vocals. It's undeniable. It's not something produced. It's not something that is through a computer. It is real vocals. And I would say thank you for real vocals.

[00:16:11] I love that. I love that. Thank you, Kirk. It was so great just to see so many of the people that we revere and look up to in the gospel world give Kiara her flowers, show her love. And as she walked down the red carpet, she and I got to reminisce a little bit about what growing up for her was like. And I asked her about her famous Apollo rap with her mom. And here's what she said about it.

[00:16:37] When you were a little girl rapping on the stage at the Apollo. Trying to help you feel me. I wanted to be J Maas and Missy Elliott so bad. And did. Okay. And you did that. And you did that. Only thing I didn't do was this. Me and Superfly. Okay. That was the only thing. It's not too late. Okay. It's not too late. Did you envision at that time you becoming a pioneering voice of gospel music? And how does it feel to be here being celebrated? Oh, every time I get after, I'm just grateful.

[00:17:07] I'm grateful. And I'm encouraged to keep going because I have thought about like, I'm ready to stop, you know, go ahead and take a break. I never would have thought though to answer your question. And no, I didn't think that, especially even though I've come from such a blessed legacy and lineage. No, I didn't think that because it's some people that come from rich legacy and lineage and it don't be that, you know, so, and I'm still, I just want to make God happy. And of course, make my family proud. So I'm grateful.

[00:17:37] And of course, blessed people who are listening and supporting me. So you are doing that. Having this moment with Kiara was so cool for me because I grew up listening to Kiara shared. I grew up listening to the Clark sisters. I grew up listening to John P. Key. I grew up listening to Kirk Franklin, Mary Mary, all the kind of hip hoppy, hip hop inspired gospel artists is who I listened to. And so being able to have this moment where her to laugh, to joke, to give her her flowers,

[00:18:03] to see her reminisce and know exactly what I was talking about as soon as I brought it up was so cool for me. And, you know, I never take these moments for granted. I know what it's like in a smaller way to be on the artist side. And so I'm always trying to make sure that the artists feel seen, feel comfortable, that I'm speaking to them, looking at them, treating them like a human being. On our cameras, we have a confidence monitor, which allows them to see themselves.

[00:18:30] And so they feel a little bit more comfortable because they know that their hair is good. And if somebody is sweating or, you know, I will offer them my fan or get them a tissue because I want the artists who show up on the red carpet with me in my podcast, even to feel confident in the content that we are producing. One, they're not going to repost it if they look crazy. But also besides that, I never want anything to be a distraction from the moment, whether

[00:18:58] that's a message that they're giving or something that they're being celebrated for. Or I'm always trying to make sure that they feel comfortable. So it's always an honor to me when the artist feels comfortable enough to have a real personal moment with me and share a memory with me. And I got to tell her that I had been asking everyone on the red carpet that question and let her know, you know, that she'll see this later. I said, you'll see this later. But this is what the people have been saying. And I believe that I really touched. So you guys can take a look at that here. You're going to see this later.

[00:19:28] But I've asked everyone who came down this carpet, if they could write a thank you note to you, what they would say. Almost every person said, thank you for your authenticity. So the people feel what God has put on your heart. So as we went into the show, the room at the BMI Trailblazer event is just a buzz. It is a buzzing room. And let me just say this, right?

[00:19:52] I go to a lot of events and I believe that culture is, it permeates. Good culture permeates. I can see some of these same people at other events and they're different. Not bad different, just different. I think the BMI culture, what Catherine and Wardell have created in terms of the familial

[00:20:21] celebratory atmosphere at these events allows people to kind of have their guard down a little bit and to really just enjoy and celebrate one another. And so you feel that in the room. Daryl Walls came and performed indescribable. His timing, his tone, his choices. Chances, my Lord, sing the song down. And then Doe came up and sang. Tasha Cobbs came up and sang and did a mic toss to Karen. If you have not seen it, go find it.

[00:20:50] It was incredible. Karen took us from scatting to jazz to gospel to hip hop. So it was crazy. All in a matter of 90 seconds. But it was amazing. And then Kiara, as she gave her acceptance speech, really just spoke to the fact that she wants to continue to do this for the Lord and that she's grateful for the checks and grateful for the recognition. But it really is about him. Here's a little bit of what Kiara said.

[00:21:19] I have to thank BMI one more time. Can we make some noise for BMI? I'm almost done. You make this industry worth staying in. The checks matter. Yes. Hallelujah. When I get that check, it be a surprise for me. Okay. It be like a bonus. Amen. Amen. But what matters, too, is what they represent. That somebody still believes a song, a lyric, a melody, that it's worth protecting and that

[00:21:49] it's worth paying for. And God has a way of rewarding faithfulness before he rewards popularity. He has a way of sustaining what is surrendered to him. And tonight is a reminder that if you keep saying yes, he knows exactly where to find you. She then closed out the event. So after the speech, Kiara closed out the event with two songs, sang her face off. Y'all already know. I ain't got to tell you. You know.

[00:22:15] She sang her face off and just really gave her best at that moment.

[00:22:21] It was a performance in gratitude to the moment.

[00:23:19] As you guys heard when she answered my question, she does not take this position for granted because as she shared, so many people come from legacy and pedigree and last names and it doesn't always happen for them. And so you can just see and hear her gratitude, her relationship with God, her joy in her singing. And it was incredible. She closed out the event and the fellowship felt like church. Afterwards, it's just fellowship, people talking, connecting, taking pictures with one another, having a good time.

[00:23:50] I will always do the BMI trailblazer of gospel events. I don't care what I got going on. If I can make it, I'll be there because it's such a special time to celebrate gospel music. You know, in this day and time, there's a lot of talk about gospel versus CCM versus this versus that. And, you know, and what we miss and what we love and all and all that. There's a place for every conversation. But there is nothing.

[00:24:18] And I do mean nothing like gospel music. There's nothing like it. There is nothing like someone taking the power that they've experienced in Christ, taking the pain that they've experienced maybe being in Christ, taking their experiences, their joy, their love, their affirmations, and putting it to song to encourage the spirit of someone else.

[00:24:47] I truly believe that gospel music in and of itself is the most powerful genre of music. And that event and events like it only solidify that core belief for me. I hope that you guys enjoyed this episode and that you feel just a little bit like you were a part of the BMI trailblazer awards. In the description of this video, I'll make sure that I leave links to the award show

[00:25:15] so that you guys can check it out and read up on it. But I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to celebrate and honor Kiera Shear. She is well-deserved, far from finished. She has a new single out called Shine that you should definitely check out. And she's just doing amazing things and continuing to pioneer in this space. I hope that you guys enjoyed this episode. If you've listened on Holy Culture, channel 140 on Sirius XM, 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on a Monday night, we thank you for listening there.

[00:25:43] If you've watched on Holy Culture's YouTube, we thank you for watching there. And if you're watching on my YouTube, we thank you for watching here. Listen, please make sure that you are subscribed. I know I pop up on the For You page sometime, on the Explore page sometime, on the Continue Watching page sometime, and you don't even realize that you are not subscribed. I'm going to charge it to your head and not your heart. But go ahead, subscribe, and hit that notification bell so that you don't miss any of my upcoming content.

[00:26:10] And we will be back here, same time, same place next week. I'll see you then. Peace.