Grammy-winning artist Hezekiah Walker will appear at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 13 at The Mall at Stonecrest in celebration of his new CD, “Azusa the Next Generation.” The appearance will be nationally broadcast on the radio.
Following the performance, Walker will hold a CD signing event at the DTLR store in Stonecrest, open to those who purchase the CD. “Azusa the Next Generation’’ will be available for purchase at DTLR Stonecrest beginning June 11.
Walker, celebrating a three decade-long career, has collaborated with Justin Timberlake, P. Diddy and Whitney Houston; recorded more than a dozen chart-topping albums; and has become the face of the black Gospel choir with his classic hits “Souled Out,” “Grateful” and “I Need You To Survive.”
On his new release, Walker is pondering the past generations of believers who influenced his life, among theme Bishop Kenneth Moales (to whom the CD is dedicated), while also imparting the wisdom of those elders to the next “Azusa generation” through his music and mentoring.
The first Azusa generation was a pioneering multi-racial sect that gathered at a rundown horse stable at 312 Azusa St., in the heart of a Los Angeles ghetto in spring 1906.
There, preacher William J. Seymour kicked off a Pentecostal revival that lingered for almost 10 years and gave birth to a national Pentecostal Movement.
“Azusa is about unity and collaboration in expressions of faith,” said Walker. “When I think back on the revival of 1906, there were all walks of life; every denomination; many nationalities, all under this one roof.”