Deitrick Haddon UpClose

0:00Hey, now it's your brother, brother Marcus, Mr. elements of inspiration that right here on the element of inspiration show and guess who we have in all America we have Dietrich hadn't you know who he is you know what he's he's been preaching since 11 years old and he had a lot of mainstream visibility from the preachers of LA his breakthrough album came out in 2002 lost and found number one on the billboard charts and you know what the billboard charts ain't nothing new for him but he's all about God ladies and gentlemen Dietrich hadn't how you're doing man my bro brother Marcus how you doing bro man I'm good I'm I'm glad that we were able to get you you got a lot going on man man never too busy for my people man never too busy to talk to my people doctor what happened man listen first of all I was before I started getting that you're calling everything a young lady in South Jersey by the name of Vanessa she's one of your biggest fans she wanted me to tell you wow yeah so I have to

1:02Vanessa shout out Vanessa thank you so much for supporting your brother be happy you're supporting the world to me yeah she absolutely loves you man and I want to get right into it because I know you have a very busy schedule you're on a tour I call it a radio tour right now but we know you busy right so I want to ask a few quick questions let's talk about your faith in spiritual journey what was the defining moment that made your faith real and not just you know inherited oh now that's a big question man I think there's many defining moments that's validated or confirmed my faith in God I remember one time let me let me just now you got my wheels turned in my mind I remember since in line with this new choir song I have called the King of Glory I started out with the choir you know in my dad's church I became the minister of music when I was 13 years old and I grew up with the choir and that's how I got into the gospel music industry remember in the 90s

2:10that was featured and the voices that how I was introduced into the gospel music industry but before I made the record you know we were you know building and our Sunday morning services was our was my training ground and one particular day we had a four o'clock service we had a guest church come as a lot of guest churches come it was almost like a choir fest you know local choir fest I remember those days my choir we we we sang and they went in toward a church I mean for that church I felt higher than screaming and sweat they was out and I was directed my out my clothes and my head swinging everywhere then when I was done the people was shouting I mean the music they shouted for good 10 minutes after that but I went out to the lobby to the water fountain and I was getting myself together you know just give me some paper towel like my face went off my face get myself together so I was drinking at the water fountain the old man who was a part of the usher board with another church came up to me and said were you that young man up in there directing that choir

3:13he said man I said yes sir he said you really good he said you really good man I said well thank you sir you know I think I was arrogant you know just okay what's this guy a bit bothered me why I was trying to get myself together and drink my water he said you said but you know what you could do better in my mind I couldn't imagine what is he saying the choir still in there the church in there shouting people dancing I'm sweating I couldn't imagine for the life on me what he was saying yeah and he said something else he said you could do better he said ask God to help you do better and when he said that it opened up like a light Paul came on that God has to be in what you do can't be about a shell can't be about performance it's got to be something deeper there and just wowing a crowd because I felt good about the crowd responding to what we just did yeah but the question is God please with it he said ask God to help you do better and I'll never forget that day and I got many stories like that but that's the first one that came to my mind man

4:24well people let me tell you something I know that when you sing and whatever you do you do it for the glory of God you know what I mean it ain't it's it's not a show when it comes to Dehati you know what I mean I've been around I've seen you from a distance I've learned from you I used to be in a group and I used to be like well you know what they said to me man you know you got to do like Dietrich had and I used to look at them like boy get out of my face I can never give you and you know I'm like his anointing is different than mine oh man how do you how do you walk in purpose and you know how does a Dehati really walk in purpose with all of the stuff that that you're surrounded by I think I think it's important to do the very next thing that's in front of you to the absolute best of your ability that's how you stay in stride that's how you stay on on targets that's how you stay in your lane you do to what's in front of you or do your assignment to the absolute best of your ability and finish the assignment then God will give you another assignment and God will keep you working and keep you going

5:30that's been my focus down to the years now it's been 30 plus years I've been in this gospel music industry and I'm my my business anybody will tell you Dietrich stay in his lane Dietrich stay in his world he got a whole world over there that he operates in and we you know and and he releases the music in the timing that God gives it to him to do it he's whether it's a choir whether his solo project whether it's a film whatever I'm just doing I'm doing me I'm doing what God has called me to do I'm not looking to the left I'm not looking to the right I'm not being tempted to do anything else I'm not being tormented by anything else I'm just living my life and you look up man in his 30 plus years neck in his 40 50 years you know and what God has called you to do yeah and that's one of the things that I admire about you that staying power you know you just trust God when it comes to your music purpose and ministry you know how his you know gospel music changed you know how has it changed for you

6:32it's this change significantly several times since I started in the game you know when I started in the game we didn't have social media we didn't have Facebook Instagram and Tik Tok we have none of that we had tapes because that tape and all that you know we were just going out to a track era you know and now now we have all these things you know to the stick they can easily distract you and we have all these things that kind of you know take away from the authenticity of the music you know now we have people let me get famous quick let me do a Tik Tok or do something that make me go viral yeah and so I could be popular and be known and make money but I'm still of a persuasion I'm new school but I'm old school I believe in given people hard that put in your work you know what if you don't go viral you gotta have great music you have to have a great body of work it can't just be about one song it has to be about a body of work it can't just be about one hit it has to be about you doing what God has caused you to do consistently on a consistent basis

7:40I think those things should never leave those principles should never leave I don't care how progressive or things become there's some principles that must remain in place and that I live by that law and we and we can tell man with the new record out king of glory you know the you know Dietrich hadn't in the hill city collective featuring stout how did you come up come about doing this particular record what was the inspiration behind it well on my birthday last year I said I want to record it out I always ask myself Dietrich what do you want to do you getting older what do you want to do on your birthday you know you work hard you know what you're going to do and I decided I'm going to make an album on my birthday and I want to do a choir album and somebody say well that's crazy you work it on your birthday for me it's not work for me honestly making albums and making music is like going to the amusement park

8:41yeah it is honestly I need you to hear me like what making music and making records for me is like getting on the giant slide at the park let me do it again let me do it again we're going up again you're done I y'all know what the sign's like no let's go back I love music I love creating I love making it I love exploring I love performing it I love it to the core and you know so preaching that that I know for certain you know oh yeah oh yeah let me ask you but I was like go ahead no no go you go ahead no you said something powerful I was a preacher before I was a singer you know I preached my first time and when I was 10 years old yeah and I was people know me the music took off because you know music people love music they don't want to hear nobody preaching at them but you know but I started out preaching so I love it all yeah and and that's I think that's the you know the motivating factor that people gravitate towards is that you know the word you're not somebody who's trying to be famous trying to be popular

9:48and even though you you did you know of the preachers of LA I believe that was great for for us to see a different side of you but the key is you are a preacher before you were a singer so being on the preachers of LA it made sense how did that change your life oh just gave people are inside perspective of who I was and how we live as preachers like we're human beings just like anybody else but you know we have our warfare just like anybody else but we have decided to obey the call do what God has called us to do beyond the warfare that we deal with I thought preachers of LA was very pivotal and very important to the culture yeah and that's why and it didn't scare me off a lot of people say oh preachers shouldn't be doing reality shells I beg to different I think your life should be an open book if you call to ministry and you call to lead people you actually have a responsibility to to live your life in the open to not just preach at people but show people how to live and show people how to navigate through tough times because even your pastor as strong as he preached on Sunday morning

11:03he goes through tough times he goes through tough season in his personal life when he's not being the superman to you and saving lives on Sunday mornings and winning souls he got to go and deal with his own life his own struggles his own warfare his own growth think about it his own spirit of growth they don't come without resistance and growing pain you know so I just thought it was so important and after that show I think everybody now is transparent and I'm right at that point everybody don't mind telling you what like it really is and being themselves and not just putting on the show you know so preachers of LA really open up the culture I believe God used that show oh that season to help people understand that you know it's real out here at these streets for even for preacher even for your pastor yeah and that's what I remember watching you and I was like you know this dude is real he's ain't nothing fake and phony about him and that's why you you always have my respect you know ladies and gentlemen we have