EMI Gospel (2013) www.emigospel.com

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

On the final track of Tasha Cobbs’ Grace, the young artist sings about her confidence in God. 

From the sound of her stage presence, she has confidence, period.  The performance nearly sent the live recording audience at Northview Christian Church in Montgomery, Alabama into a praise break.

Tasha Cobbs is worship leader for the Young Adult Division of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship and worship pastor at the dReam Center Church of Atlanta.  Grace, her recording debut, was produced by VaShawn Mitchell, another talented EMI Gospel artist, who also co-wrote two of the album’s selections with Cobbs.

In his 1992 dissertation, Brooksie Harrington likened Shirley Caesar’s approach to a gospel song to classical drama (and, I would argue, a preacher’s pulpit technique): the introduction, rising action, climax, and falling action.  Harrington could easily have been describing Cobbs, who applies this principle to nearly every one of Grace’s selections. It is particularly notable on the hit single, the empowering “Break Every Chain,” where Cobbs rises to a squall before cooling down. 

The title track is a simple but lovely ballad about the saving power of grace and has the potential to be covered by other artists.

Although Grace is identified as an EP, it clocks in at nearly fifty minutes—more than some full-length albums.  That's because Tasha Cobbs wrings every ounce of emotion from the eight selections, and I suspect that is also why, at the date of this writing, the album is number three on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart.