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Smokie Norful's Uplifting Message: From 'I Need You Now' to Today | SWAY’S UNIVERSE
Jun 12, 2024
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Join us as Smokie Norful, the renowned gospel artist, shares his uplifting message in this heartwarming interview on Sway In The Morning. From his iconic hit 'I Need You Now' to the release of his new album 'I Still Have You,' Smokie opens up about his journey, faith, and the powerful impact of music.
In this candid conversation, Smokie reveals the personal stories behind his songs, discusses his experience working with his sons, and offers profound insights into maintaining hope and resilience in challenging times. He also shares his thoughts on the influence of hip-hop and gospel music on society, making this a compelling watch for fans of all genres.
Don’t miss out on this inspiring session filled with faith, music, and heartfelt testimonies. Watch now and connect with the soul-stirring messages that continue to resonate with audiences worldwide.
Stay tuned for more from #SwayInTheMorning and follow us on social media for updates and exclusive content! 🌟
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CHAPTERS:
0:00 - Smokie Norful
2:18 - How to Reach Non-Believers
4:46 - Smokie Norful Never Fell Off Course
7:37 - Impact of Rap Music on Our Community
0:00 - Smokie Norful Performs “I Still Have You”
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
I want to welcome you today. He got a new album he's promoting after nearly a decade
0:04
It's called I Still Have You. I Still Have You. Beautiful song
0:08
The one and only Smokey Norfo is here. Say this, say this. We got him. And Snow
0:12
We got him. And Snow. And Snow. Ebony, Mark, they're all here
0:18
Come on, man. Come on, man. Why do we start with you
0:24
Man, I don't know. Why do you not believe? I'm amazed, man
0:28
That people who work on these type stations will play your music. You know, I know that
0:33
You know, as a matter of fact, 20 years ago when I Need You Now came out, they used to close the club with I Need You Now
0:38
Yeah. You know, the lights come on and I Need You Now start playing. Everybody's like, all right, time to go
0:45
But so I knew that, but it's just always, it never ceases to amaze me, man
0:50
how incredible a force, first of all, music is, but then a message of hope
0:55
a message of hope, healing, and empowerment. There's not a person that doesn't need it
1:00
So you know that, but then the confirmation of it, like when you come down
1:04
and you say, man, no, I've been playing your stuff. I'm like, what? Me? What
1:08
Yeah. I'm watching you get, you know, jacked by Kanye. Oh, wow
1:15
Snow's like, dad, for real? No, he said, dad, don't do that, dad
1:20
Dad, don't do that. Look at Snow is so embarrassed by him
1:24
I told you, no. But guess what? But guess what? That's the seat he sat in
1:29
Wow. He was right there. What you going to do with it? You going to yell at me, dog
1:33
No, no, man. I'm going to pray with you. I'm going to pray with you. I'm going to pray with you. That's not my thing
1:37
Okay, man. But even in that, the context in which you're functioning and where you flow on a regular
1:44
basis, to have a person who is, you're literally bombarded with everything on all these different
1:51
sides but to know that you have a foundation of hope that you know how to go back to god that you
1:57
guys are in here celebrating truth and really you know honoring god by helping and sowing into other
2:02
people's lives and that means everything to me i'm blown away like i'm literally sitting over
2:07
here freaking out like is this real wow come on man that's how god works right um i'm curious
2:16
Because I have folks, friends who listen to the show, and when we do our Good News Thursday
2:23
when I have conversations with them, they're surprised by it. And some of the folks I know, they don't believe in God, right
2:32
And I always tell them, well, you know, they say, well, how do you know
2:39
How do you know? And we'll do a segment, and I say, did you hear that segment
2:43
Yeah. What did you feel? Man, that felt amazing. Wow. That felt different
2:49
Man, how did you feel afterwards? Man, I felt great, man. My entire day changed
2:54
Wow. I said, you know what that is? Set up. You know, how do you, do you tolerate folks that don't believe or how do you communicate with those
3:08
First of all, you know, I think all of us have to come to the table with an understanding that we're human. Yeah
3:13
And that we are all in a process of becoming. And so for me, you know, the Bible says with loving kindness have I one D
3:21
You don't win them with rejection. You don't win them with judgment. You don't win them with condemnation
3:26
You know, you win them with the love of God. And so what happens is even in what you just described, when they feel God's love, when they experience God's love, you can't deny it
3:37
Like it's one of those moments where they literally will have to step back and say, I don't know what this is, but I like what this is
3:43
This is incredible. That's your moment to say, hey, let me introduce you to the person that made that feeling, that outcome possible
3:52
And that's when you actually bring God into it. But for me, you know, I want to be around people who don't believe
3:58
You know, we weren't sent. Yeah, we weren't sent to the church. We were sent to the people that don't know God
4:03
You know, and I have to remind my congregation all the time that church is not for us
4:07
Church is for us to, you know, refuel, to be fed, to learn more
4:12
But really the church is for the lost, the unsaved, the unchurched. That's who it's for
4:17
And so by all means, man, I have welcoming and loving and open arms for everybody
4:23
And I'm around folks that smoke weed and, you know, do all kind of other stuff
4:27
And they feel comfortable enough around me to say, hey, you know, hey, Rev, you know, I'm struggling with this over here
4:33
And I'm like, yeah, I know. Keep struggling. just as long as you're struggling because when you stop struggling
4:37
you've given in and you've given up. So let me help you in your struggle and let me give you some tools
4:42
and give you some things that you need to know. Smoking Norfolk. This is going to go on the whole interview
4:47
I'll just get ready. I was reading. I'm always, you know, we've had Kirk Franklin
4:53
We've had a lot of folks here. Yeah, Marvin Sapp. Marvin Sapp. Yeah, Mervyn
4:57
Mervyn Mayo. They've all been here. Kirk, you know, I think because of the time he became popular
5:04
and became a celebrity, and the way he ministers, he always was, as great as he is, there's always that scrutiny
5:14
You know what I mean? And he's been open. We've seen his family go through things
5:18
and he's come up here and talked about all of it, but still stayed on course, right
5:24
But people in your position, it got to be difficult because everybody got these expectations of you
5:30
You know what I mean? Like you can't even sneeze. Yeah, no, seriously. Lord, you can't burp
5:35
Did the pastor just burp? Did he say excuse me? But I read an article once, I believe it was
5:42
where you said you'd never been swayed or you've never been tempted to fall off course
5:49
That's true? Like you never fell off your path? No, I don't know what you read and where you read that from
5:54
Oh, that ain't true? No, let me be very clear. I'm human. I am human
5:59
And so I don't know a man that has not fallen off course at some point along the way
6:04
Yeah. You know, the key is to make sure that you realign yourself
6:07
and get back on course. And so that, I think, literally that
6:11
you hit on something very powerful because that is the challenge with ministry, with church
6:17
and with people having a relationship with God. We have created this cynical believer
6:22
or this cynical non-believer by creating a picture of perfection. From the pastor to the pew
6:29
there is not a person that has not fallen that won't fall and that may not fall and that may fall again you know and so when you have this
6:37
unrealistic expectation then the moment there's a fall the moment there's a failure the moment i go
6:43
off on somebody or i lose my cool or i slip up or anything happens then now you're saying see that
6:49
i told you that's that god stuff that church those church people that church thing i knew it wasn't
6:55
real i told y'all it wasn't real no what what happened is you got a chance to see our humanity
7:00
you got a chance to peek in and peer in and see the side of us that is our humanity but it does
7:07
not diminish god's divinity you know and all of us need to be elevated and to be raised up
7:14
at some point and that's why we stay with god so you know i've never gone you know i ain't go catch
7:20
you at the casino or nothing like that you know pastor club well you know they do have good food Now don play Come on Swayze come on Don do me like that man They got buffets Buffets what Buffets bro
7:35
Okay, okay, okay, good, good. Okay, so let me ask you this too
7:39
because maybe you could give us your perspective on it. You know, we often have this discourse about rap music
7:46
hip-hop, and its impact. You know, a round of applause for the culture
7:51
coming out of a necessity from disenfranchised people who didn't have any representation and needed to express themselves
7:58
We battle on the dance floor instead of battling with guns and knives. We battle with the mics instead of battling with our fists and pipes, right
8:07
But as it became more commodified or it became more of a business
8:13
messaging and all of those things became less important. So what we see is we see, you said earlier, you didn't realize the power of music
8:22
Music holds a lot of power. If these redundant messaging, if the redundant messaging continues to be derogatory without enough balance, then you're creating the ulcer, you're creating the cancer, right
8:34
I'm not saying that's true to rap music as a whole because I know a lot of beautiful rap music that speaks, you know, in a positive vibration
8:43
But when you look at the rap game and you see what's popular and mainstream, what are your thoughts about rap music and its impact on our community
8:51
Well, honestly, and it's, you know, I don't know how candid I can be on here. You could be open
8:55
That can be me. Yeah, man. You could even use profanity, Pastor
9:00
No, I'm good. I'm good. We're trying to upgrade our language around here
9:04
No, but it's crazy because I grew up a fan of hip-hop just like most people in my generation
9:12
So, I mean, I can go all the way back rapping Duke. Da-ha, da-ha
9:16
Da-ha, da-ha, like Kumo D. What? I'll go to work. Yeah. All right
9:20
All right. So I am a proponent of that generation that really fell in love with Run DMC, the Beastie Boys, I mean the Fat Boys
9:31
I mean, so I remember the messaging. I remember hearing it. I remember being able to sing it
9:36
I remember saying it. But the stuff that I'm getting now, I just got to be real
9:41
All of it I can't say, can't repeat, and a lot of it I don't even understand. It takes my son, Snow, and Trey to actually say, Dad, don't say that
9:48
I want to get up in the pulpit and I'm trying to be hip and I want to say some things
9:52
Don't say that. You don't know what that means. When we get to that point
9:58
and I think exactly what has happened is exactly what you said, the commercialization, the monetization
10:05
has become the priority instead of the consciousness of bringing a message
10:09
to people that causes them to be inspired, causes them to be empowered
10:14
causes them to be uplifted in courage or any of those things, or even to just be entertained
10:18
You know, what is entertaining to us, you know, our brother was in Congress testifying
10:25
You know, they were trying to bring him down. I don't bring up names because I want to get in trouble on you
10:29
But but, you know, defending his words, his lyrical content, where now the stuff that is is out here, they're not only not having to defend it
10:38
It's being advocated. It's being promoted. Promote violence. Promote this. Promote lasciviousness
10:43
promote all of these things that bring the culture into a scrutiny itself
10:49
the entire culture into scrutiny by outside forces. Who was saying, see there
10:54
I told you about those hip hoppers. I told you about these black people. I told you about this cultural context
10:59
So I think we have to really step back and be very conscious about the narrative
11:03
that we're creating with our music. And let me be real. It's not just hip hop
11:08
No. It's music. Speak on that. Including gospel. Including gospel. Including gospel
11:14
We all have to take a step back and say, like you said, be true to our authentic selves
11:21
What do you mean by that? Including gospel is purpose. Soul purpose is the word
11:26
Say it again. Gospel, soul purpose is the upliftment, the word, right? The gospel, the music of gospel is to spread the gospel
11:34
Yeah. But anytime commercialization becomes the priority or the precedent and you're more consumed with being, you know, entertaining
11:42
and you're more consumed with being famous or you're more consumed with being, you know, rich or wealthy, whatever it is
11:49
then you are telling people that there is hope and there's this guy named Jesus that if I introduce you to him, he will change your entire life
11:57
And I've seen, and I'm not going to ever call names like this, but, you know, I've seen where there are artists who lose themselves
12:04
So it's not just hip hop. It's music. Music is the vehicle, but the message carries the weight
12:10
literally if you don't if you don't keep the message authentic to what it what our main purpose
12:16
and goal is then you're going to get lost with the music because the music draws it brings money
12:22
it brings fame it brings acclaim and i think sometimes we get lost in it smoky norfolk is
12:27
here heather b you don't want to introduce the team to introduce the radio to go ahead talk to
12:32
him he's here well thank you thank you thank you thank you heather i appreciate you so much
12:38
Absolutely. We don't even have the words to describe what Good News Thursday has meant for us
12:45
It started during the pandemic in 2020. We were not together. This team that you see here, we were all in our homes
12:52
And Sway was just driven by trying to do something with the Sway in the Morning show to help people release
13:00
We were all losing a lot of people. We were all uncertain. and I think at times afraid
13:05
because you just didn't know what was going to be on the other end of that phone. And Sway wanted to come up with something
13:10
where people could just share one good thing that's happening in your life during this time
13:15
And it just grew and grew and grew. And so your music, along with Marvin Sapp and Tamalyn Mann
13:22
and so many people that we've played, has been a soundtrack for the past four years
13:28
And we continue to do it. Even though we're not in quarantine anymore
13:32
We continue to celebrate the good news. And so I'm excited to have you here today just so you know
13:38
as Sway pointed out, your music, you doing the work. You sticking to what you knew what was right to do at that time
13:45
and let your spirit guide you because the song spoke to so many of us
13:50
And even the messages, the clips that we get on Pandora, God is my manager
13:55
I've taken them and sent them to Sway, sent them to my girlfriends. Like, listen to this
14:00
You need to listen to this. You're going through a storm right now. You don't have to tell me. I can just feel it
14:04
You need to hear this right now. And so I just wanted to say thank you
14:09
And I'm excited for the citizens to call up and get to tell you that
14:12
and give you your flowers today, too, because it's been amazing. It has been amazing
14:17
And so when Sway told me, Smokey Norfield was, I said, where? He's like, I missed him
14:22
He's like, no, he's going to come up on the show. I've been so excited. She's been excited, bro
14:26
She wore that hat for you, bro. Don't do that. this is so hard
14:32
but yeah no thank you because I think people you should hear
14:37
what your words have done wow people calling up 888-742-3345 we're gonna let you
14:43
speak to Smokey momentarily Tracy G has been eager to ask you
14:47
some questions yeah absolutely and eager to have you here in the flesh
14:51
when Smokey came I was like I've met you a gazillion times through your music so it just feels like I saying it good to see you again but the presence that you have and with your entire family being here And you can feel it energetically
15:06
But I also have to point out aesthetically, like, the wardrobe is fire
15:11
Strippy! Yeah, man. Y'all a little too fly to be passing. Let's just be real about it
15:17
Preaching the word, huh? Let me try to do your point, though, Sway
15:21
And I would say... This dude got a chain on and everything. Smokey, you're a rapper
15:26
But the shirt still says Jesus. Yeah. The shirt still says Jesus
15:32
And something I've noticed in recent years, and personally, I embrace it in terms of a lot of pastors just being very fly
15:41
Sometimes it can go to the extreme where I can understand where it can warrant a side eye, some criticism, some concern
15:47
But in a lot of ways, I feel like it signals to a new audience, to those like you said, you're catering to that you want to speak to
15:55
Hey, come as you are. You know, although a relationship with God, spirituality in your life will transform you
16:03
It doesn't mean that you have to shed every single aspect of personal expression, you know, in order to be held by the Lord
16:12
In your opinion, what is the benefit of putting energy into your appearance, into your wardrobe, into your style as a pastor
16:26
So let me just speak for myself. I can't speak for every pastor. That's not my experience
16:30
But for me, I grew up Methodist. And my dad was an AME pastor
16:35
He's retired now, but he was an AME pastor for 45 years. Wow. In Methodism, it is very methodical
16:42
It is very, we were very high church, very polished. We did hymns
16:46
My daddy wore a robe every Sunday. I had to put on my suit
16:50
You know, so I grew up that way. And I appreciate the value and the foundation that I have
16:56
But once I started my church or our church, you know, once I launched our church, I had decided that I wanted to create an atmosphere that was not apprehensive or there were no obstacles or hindrances for people hearing Jesus
17:12
Because a lot of times people can't get to Jesus because they can't get through the church
17:16
Yes. You know, there are so many things and barriers and rules and legalities and things we put in place
17:22
And people, they're longing for hope. They want something to hold on to, but they don't have the right outfit
17:28
They can't wear the right thing. They don't feel comfortable. Their outfit is not polished enough or it might be a little bit more loose because they just left the club or they just got off of a pole
17:37
But they really know that they need something. well, I don't want anything or anybody to be a hindrance obstacle for them getting there
17:45
So, you know, for me, I never tried or I'm not intentional. Like, I got to be fly for the people
17:49
I got to look like. No, I dress now like I've always dressed my entire career, my entire life
17:57
This way checking you out right now. I always dress like I'm looking at his shoes
18:01
You got to rephrase that. Thank you. They don't say pause it
18:07
Come on. That's what I'm talking about, Swing. We're going to keep it in the holy right here
18:13
Keep it in the holy. No devil. No, so for me, I'll..
18:18
No devil. I caught that. I caught that. No devil is funny, yo
18:28
That's what you say instead of porn. No devil. No devil. Snow is like that
18:35
Don't say that either. Exactly. He looking at me like, don't do it
18:41
Don't do it. But yes, please continue. So for me, you know, I just dress like me, and I want everybody else to
18:49
and your expression, as you said, I thought that was beautiful, might be a hat
18:54
You might want to come suited and booted, and it's fine. So in my church, you literally have everything
18:59
Come as you are. I love it. Yeah, everything. Come on, Smoky Norfolk is here
19:04
He got his sons here, too. Snow, you work on music as well, right
19:08
Yeah, I'm a producer and a songwriter. That's cool. So you worked on this project
19:12
I did. Yeah, my dad, you know, had me a part. So I'm thankful for that
19:17
That's fire. That's great. Did you work on the song, I Still Have You? Yeah, so I wrote that with my brother, my dad
19:23
and then we just sat down in the pandemic, and we came up with that song. Shout out to Trey
19:27
Shout out to Trey, because he's not here. So I got to make sure I get it. Where Trey at? Trey, where you at, bro
19:31
Trey, you tripping, Trey. Trey is working on his Masters of Business Administration
19:34
and he's in school right now. Trey, stay where you are. Good call, Trey
19:39
Yeah, because he's going to law school right after that. So daddy need a new lawyer. Come on
19:43
Come on. You never know. Well, we're going to play this song. You mind introducing the song
19:48
So this song is called I Still Have You. It was the lead single for the project. And here we go
19:53
How did we get there? You can tell them when we come out
19:57
Snow a hyena, man. You got a mean pin game, bro. Heaven's hyena
20:04
Wow. This is amazing. Smokey Norfolk was here, and he was just telling us an amazing story about this song
20:10
but he juxtaposition of the song I Need You Now, which came out in 2002
20:16
Yeah. Tell us the story and what that has to do with this young man, Snow, and your other son
20:21
Trey, yeah. So in 2002, I sat down. My dad had open-heart surgery
20:26
My mother was paralyzed. Her whole right side. They said she'd never be asymmetrical again
20:31
Then my wife was diagnosed with tumors once. She had a myomectomy
20:35
It came back again. They said, we got tumors. This time it looks like cancer. They told us, they said, we don't think you're going to be able to have children naturally
20:42
And so, of course, you know, at that point, I'm about to lose my mind. I sat down and said, God, I need you now
20:49
Most people think it was just me being a songwriter. No, that was a prayer
20:52
That was, God, please move right now. Then, fast forward 20 years, my dad's still doing, he's doing well, doing 100
21:00
My mother, you can never tell she's been paralyzed. Not only did we have a child, I had two, two boys
21:05
So Trey and then Snow, two beautiful boys that were born in spite of that
21:12
And now they're two grown men. And we sit down together and write the song, I Still Have You
21:21
So we went from I Need You Now to God, I Still Have You with the miracles
21:28
With the two miracle sons. With the two miracle sons. Come on, man. I love that story
21:33
And that's our first testimony. For Good News Thursday. All right. We got plenty of people on the line that are going to give you their testimony
21:42
Absolutely. Okay. We got the pastor himself, Smokey Norfolk, is here. G is on the line from Kansas City
21:48
Hey, G. G, welcome to the show, G. Hi. Hey. Good morning, Slade, Tracy, and Heather
21:54
Hey, hey, hey. This is Gia from Kansas City. Hi, Pastor Smokey. Gia
21:58
What's up, girl? You know her? Yeah. How are you? She's like family. Wow
22:02
Yes. What the? I wanted to tell you how much just you have blessed my life
22:09
I know when we all see each other, it's maybe not always in that setting
22:13
But you have blessed me so much from I need you now to now that I still have you
22:19
But I wanted to say that the old school prayer that you did online
22:24
Wow. Some mornings I wake up and I like man Wow You know sometimes you just don even want to get get out of bed And I start it and you haven even got into the prayer You like my head bowed and my body bent and you go on
22:40
And I promise you, I know it's word for word, but I promise you every time I hear it, it's like I feel something like I get another message of God speaking to me
22:50
And, you know, I love the songs, all the songs, love to hear you sing
22:53
but something about that prayer is really really special and if any of the listeners have not heard
22:59
it you can just search it on youtube smoky norfolk old school prayer like it's 19 minutes but you
23:04
don't even know it's 19 minutes because through the whole thing i'm praying and i'm praising god
23:09
and i'm just you know it gives me that motivation sometimes that i need to even just get going and
23:15
you know start my days and um i just i just want to say thank you like i really do i just want to
23:22
say thank you. Like, I really, you've really been a blessing to me and to my
23:26
family. Thank you so much. I appreciate that. I want to say thank
23:30
you, and I'm ended by my youngest son is playing football, and he came home
23:36
a couple of days discouraged about where he was on the depth chart, and I was talking to him
23:42
and, you know, and telling him, you know, you got to keep going, show him what you can do, and he's like, Mom, I'm doing that, and I'm doing
23:48
that, and so the next morning when I was getting dressed, Justified came on
23:52
and I was like, oh, my goodness, I need to play this for my son
23:56
And then the next one was Don't Quit. And I was like, oh, my God, this is God speaking to me to tell me what to say to my child
24:03
And so I just sent the songs to him, and I said, you may not understand everything, because he's 15, that he's saying
24:10
but the key words is going to help you to succeed, to continue to go on
24:13
not just in football into life, but listen to what it is that he is saying in these songs
24:18
and it's going to bless you tremendously. Wow. Thank you so much, Gia
24:22
I appreciate you. Thank you. And thank you for your testimony, Gia
24:26
And you are officially a citizen. I swear you the morning. You are your son
24:32
Wow. Gia took the whole song, huh? All right. All right. Let's go to the next call
24:41
You got sway. No devil sway. No devil, baby. Okay, my bad
24:49
Smokey, I couldn't help myself. You wasn't here? I'm really on my best behavior
24:56
We got someone on the line. Seven. Who is that Kalani? This is Elizabeth
25:00
Elizabeth. Welcome to the show. Hey. Good morning. Good afternoon, everyone. Hey. Yes
25:08
Oh, where do I start? I've come before. Oh, why am I crying
25:15
Seven years ago, I lost my husband in a car accident. He was the only one that didn't survive
25:22
I was in a mess. I was hurt. I was distraught, destroyed, asking God, why is all this happening
25:32
And I tried to take my life that day or a couple of days later
25:39
And my best friend from the Marine Corps, who's now a government official by the name of Kevin Williams, shout out to you
25:48
For some reason, he called me that day. And in the background, your song, I Need You Now, was playing
25:58
And when the police officer showed up to take me off the edge of the bridge
26:06
I couldn't even talk. I couldn't say anything to him. But he told me, have you ever heard the song by Smokey Morphill, I Need You Now
26:18
And I sat in the car with him and I listened to that song, crying and just heartbroken, asking God, why me
26:28
Why us? Why my family? So I want to tell you from the bottom of my heart, thank you, Pastor
26:37
Thank you. Okay. To God be the glory that you're here, and thank you for sharing that with me
26:46
You messed me up. I'm over here trying to fight back my tears. Don't fight them
26:50
Man. Man. God is faithful. God is so faithful. Thank you for sharing that with me
26:55
I appreciate that. Absolutely. Such encouragement for me. Elizabeth, you're something else
27:00
Yes, you are. And you're powerful for even getting that story out. People listening are going to heal
27:05
People go through similar things in life sometimes. They're going to be able to heal from your story
27:09
And I'm glad you made the decision to keep going. And I'm glad that song was the fuel to help you get to where you are, man
27:18
Smokey is over. Heather, get him some tissue. Get Smokey some tissue. Everybody crying
27:22
I told Smokey we used to have to stop. We'd all be crying. Elizabeth, you are officially a citizen
27:28
You're on your side of sway in the morning. Absolutely. Thank you, guys. Yeah
27:34
Come on. Come on, Smokey. Welcome home. This is your church, too
27:42
Wow. You the pastor Go and get on that pole, big brother
27:47
Come on, play that song Awesome ruler Wow My great redeemer God, you are everything I need
28:03
Cause even in my weakness I'm grateful that in my weakness
28:19
Thank you Lord That even in my weakness I still have you
28:40
Yeah. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Right. Right
29:01
Give this man a round of applause. He knows not his reach
29:07
I got a ton of these calls. We got another show after this. Unfortunately, they were here real quick. Wow
29:12
That's so amazing, man. Wow. Wow. Sometimes you got to just, you know, embrace it, receive it
29:20
Yeah, yeah. You know what? I don't take it for myself. I just say, God, who am I that you would use me like this
29:27
You know, in a posture of humility, it's like I'm amazed in awe of him
29:32
Not of my music, not of me, not of my gift, but of him
29:37
Because God gave me the gifts. God gives me the songs. God, you know, gave me this
29:41
He allowed me to go through the situation and even brought me out so that I would be able to testify of it and tell of his goodness
29:47
So who am I that are mindful of me? Yeah, you take the time to even visit with me
29:53
And so to hear that that God is using me and the music to do all of these things in other people's lives, it really
29:59
It's validating because not because of again, not because of the gift is validating because it's like, OK, that pain was not for nothing
30:09
And I think everybody out there needs to understand that that pain, that circumstance, that situation, it's not for nothing
30:15
But God trusts that you're going to be able to get through it and somebody else is going to need your testimony in order for them to be able to make it
30:23
You know, we overcome the enemy by the power of the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. your testimony is somebody else's encouragement i need you now was my pain but it became somebody
30:33
else's lifeline yeah you know so i think everybody that's going through should hear that should know
30:38
that that what you're going through right now is because god has a great deal of trust that you're
30:44
going to be able to get through this lean on him and on the other side of it somebody else is going
30:49
to need your story because it's going to be the only way that they make it my brother man give him
30:54
a big round of applause. Smokey Norfolk's new album, I Still Have You
30:59
is out the seventh. It's out the seventh. Yeah. This single is out now
31:06
Yeah. Make sure you support it. It's a family affair. Simone in New York said
31:13
your music helped her through hard times. Wow. Another caller said he played your music
31:18
It means a lot to him. Good News Thursday got him back on track
31:22
Wow. Wow. Oh, wow. Might as well take him. Right after him
31:26
Got him back on track, man. Who was that? Which one? What's your name, man? Tell me your name
31:31
What's up, Sway? This is CJ in L.A. What's up, CJ? Hey, CJ
31:36
Hey, what's up, y'all? Good morning. Yeah, I'm the same dude that you met at the movie theater that one time
31:41
Willing Hills, man. I called up a couple times. Oh, my gosh, yo
31:45
Sway, we meet people at the movies and everything. Sway, you everywhere
31:49
You're everywhere, man. Yo, CJ, I met him on the escalator, right? No, we was coming out
31:55
We watched that trash horror movie We were two other people That was my partner, King Tech
32:00
And his lovely wife, Andrea Smokey, this is the real sway But man hey CJ You been rocking with me since then Man salute CJ man That my guy CJ How you get up on Good News Thursday
32:19
Yeah, so I got a crazy testimony, man. It's heavy, but I got to get this off my chest
32:25
So I was working graveyard back then. I would get off of work, and it was around 6 o'clock
32:33
so I would turn on Shade 4-5. And I didn't even know Good News Thursday was a thing
32:38
and I'm a military vet. I was in the service for about eight years
32:43
Thank you for your service. Absolutely. No, I appreciate it. Thank you
32:46
And during that time, I should say really afterwards, a lot of my brothers that I served with ended up dropping like flies
32:55
taking their life, and I felt like, you know, it was real appropriate for me to call because it is June
33:02
It's mental health month and whatnot, And I grew up in the church
33:08
My dad was a pastor, actually, a New Old Christian Fellowship out of East L.A
33:12
And, you know, growing up, going to church every Sunday, I played drums for the worship team, all that stuff
33:21
So when I say I was on the path, I was on the path. You know, God was with me
33:24
And somewhere along the line, I fell off. You know, like you were talking about earlier in the interview, we human
33:30
I fell off the path, and I knew my relationship with God wasn't what it needed to be
33:37
So around the time when I turned on the radio, Good News Thursday was coming on
33:41
and just hearing these testimonies and that song that spoke to me, I remember at that time in my life I felt a lot of guilt
33:49
because one of my boys who took his life, his name was a PFC private first class, Quincy Jones
33:55
Quincy Jones. I had a heavy sense of guilt that I could have did something
34:00
Me and him were like brothers, real close. and I lived with this guilt for so long
34:08
and my heart was so heavy, and you know, it's that saying where people say
34:13
just because I carry well doesn't mean it's not heavy, and that pain was insane
34:20
and I remember when I heard that song when I heard it on Thursday it gave me the strength to actually pray and talk to God And it became a routine
34:33
And it wasn't just every Thursday I was tuning in. It was like Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, on weekends, I was talking to God
34:41
And, you know, I just want to say thank you, Pastor, because, like you said, the gospel is powerful
34:51
wow the word of god is powerful and i just want to you know i hope that this word reaches people
34:57
who are going through something mainly men who who are afraid to you know speak their pain because
35:05
they feel like it's going to make them not feel manly enough whatever the case is talk to somebody
35:10
yeah talk to somebody whether it's god whether it's your your best homie or whoever because
35:16
that pain ain't worth it. God is here to take that pain off of you. And I just
35:22
wanted to give my flowers to you. Keep doing what you do. Sway, team Heather B, Tracy G
35:26
for having this platform because y'all real, man. And I appreciate y'all wholeheartedly
35:32
Oh my gosh. God bless you, CJ. Thank you for sharing that, man
35:37
I'm encouraged. I know a lot of other people are encouraged by that as well
35:42
man. Thank you. Salute. You honored your friend. His name was Quincy Jones
35:48
Yeah, two that were real close to me. It was probably first class Quincy Jones and Sergeant first class McKenzie Stave
35:55
Can you say the names three times? Say the names three times for you. Yeah, McKenzie Stave, McKenzie Stave, McKenzie Stave, and Quincy Jones, Quincy Jones, and Quincy Jones
36:06
We honor them. We are honoring them now. You can feel good about that, brother
36:11
Absolutely. Feel great about that. We appreciate you. CJ, I got your information
36:15
You're going to get a text from me later today. Lock me in, and we can go to the movies
36:19
I'm going to be in there later last week. We'll see a good movie this time, Sway
36:24
All right. We're going to see a good movie. I want to see Planet of the Apes. All right, man
36:27
The Bad Boys out tomorrow. Definitely, man. I appreciate y'all. All right, brother. You're a super citizen, man
36:32
I'm going to tell Tech and his wife I saw you. They'll remember you, too. All right
36:36
All right man Wow Y say easy man Wow Smokey Wow That what we do We can make it up Smokey Like you see we can make it up
36:46
That's what happened when Good News Thursday started. And probably when I was explaining it to him, I know he was like
36:51
what is he talking about? What is this about? What does he mean? How is this even possible
36:56
Now you see it, brother. Yeah, I feel it. You feel it. Yeah, it's not just see it
37:00
I feel it. Come on. It's one thing for you to tell me about it
37:04
But for me to actually be in it and feel, because the emotion that's coming through, man, it is palpable
37:10
It's literally like gripping. And you can feel that people, you know, have desperation and now they have hope
37:16
And you're giving them an outlet and a platform. Man, shout out to Sway
37:20
And the team, man. Like you, we give it to God. I ain't doing nothing
37:27
I'm a vessel. I'm a conduit. I understood that early. and so when I see people that understand it
37:34
that's why I look at you like the way I look at you I know you on that frequency
37:38
keep going you a soldier for us brother stay up front but you got allies you don't even know
37:44
your army is huge come on man come on man I want to thank you
37:51
please come back whenever y'all in New York come see us we gotta come to one of those
37:58
20 churches you pastor alright Don't let Suede get up and sing a solo, though
38:05
Smokey, I'm trying to lie to sing, man. I don't know how to sing at all, but I know if Snow writes it and Trey and Snow write me a song and you duet with me with good money
38:14
That's a good deal. And as a matter of fact, you know, we'll let him do what he do
38:18
Okay. Just talk. Yeah, he can talk. He can rap. We let him do his thing
38:23
Thank you, Smokey. Thank you, man. Yeah. Thank you, Smokey. I'll be the hook. You'll be the hook
38:28
You'll see the hook. There we go. You know he ain't lying
38:32
No devil. No devil. No devil. We're going to take it on now
38:40
Smokey Norfolk. Give Smokey a big round of applause. Give Snow and his old team a round of applause
38:45
Thank you, big boy. We got Will Smith and Martin Lawrence tomorrow
38:50
Yes. Oh, my gosh. Y'all stay on the right side of positivity and enjoy
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