By: Tunisha Brown | Photography By: Drea Nicole | Styled By: J. Bolin
Sometimes life may take you through some things where you feel as though you might not make it through, but then you look up to find yourself coming out of the storm. You look up to find yourself going through, leaning on your faith, making adjustments, and becoming an overcomer!
You find what used to trigger you, not triggering you anymore. You are more focused. You keep the main things, the main thing! You pray for direction, understanding, knowledge. You do all of the things to ensure the mark you are pressing your way to, is leading you to prevail!
And prevail we do… because that’s the life of an overcomer! When we overcome a thing, we complete the task of a lesson learned from a thing. Completion is a beautiful goal, yet it can be so hard to attain. It’s something most of us wrestle with throughout our lives and Tamela Mann is no exception. It’s a concept that surfaces throughout her new album Overcomer, a compelling collection of songs that takes the listener on the journey Tamela has been traveling the past few years.
On Overcomer, Tamela has been more involved than ever in the songwriting, lending her input to nearly ever track. Never has her creative vision been more powerful or her heart more open than on this collection of poignant songs. During the past several years, Tamela has dealt with physical challenges including double knee replacement surgery and a dramatic wellness journey, while joining the rest of the country in dealing with the emotional stress of the pandemic and political and racial upheaval.
Tamela has sought God’s heart as she’s dealt with both the joys and challenges of life, and pours her hard-earned wisdom into her music. “On this album, I’m really putting my life into music, putting my heart and soul into words,” the Grammy® Award-winner shares. “It’s me looking at my life and the things I was dealing with and doing what I can to overcome those things.”
The result is an album filled with songs listeners will relate to that offer much-needed hope and encouragement. The first single, “Touch from You,” has already hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Gospel chart, becoming her seventh No. 1 single in the format. “We’re faced with so many different things. There are so many obstacles,” she admits. “We’ve climbed mountains and gone through valleys, but we can overcome, we have overcome.”
In addition to making new music, films, writing a book, launching an apparel line, and working on new television shows, Tamela has also been among those marching for racial justice. “It was with my son, my daughters, my grandkids, and David. We were all walking together,” she says. “I got this big lump in my throat, and before I knew it, I was crying because of how the experience was moving me. I was born in 1966. In 1968, they were marching with Martin Luther King and now we’re still marching for those same causes. Our world has changed some, but it hasn’t changed enough.”
After a year of evolution and change in her own life, Tamela has emerged as a stronger, swifter butterfly ready to take on the world. “I feel like a new vessel and that I’ve been given another opportunity to represent for Him,” she continues. “It’s not about me. My heart’s desire is to get His message out, to let people know He cares about us. There’s still love, hope, and compassion in the world. It’s the opportunity for me again to show His love and His grace. That’s my purpose in life and for this album.”
Photography: Drea Nicole @dreanicolephotography
Creative Direction: Tunisha Brown @momentswithtunisha
Creative Design: Reggie Dupree @reggiedupree
Wardrobe Stylist: J. Bolin @stylistjbolin
Makeup: Latoya Wallace-Fennell @cosmogirl_beautystudio
Hair: Cecily Wyatt @cessywyatt
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