During the Covid crisis, violence, political upheaval, spiritual, and social instability, God moved me far beyond my comfort zone to return to one of my hidden loves, music production and songwriting. This is one of my most insecure endeavors due to the fact that this is a side of me that most don’t know. As the OJ’s would sing, “I love music!” He instructed me to pull a group of talented young people together to do all I can to propel them in their God-given gift of music. That group consists of three members of my church: (1) Skye Malone, (2) My wife, Mellanie Temple, and (3) My fatherhood dream: A joint project with my musically talented son, Alonzo Temple. The goal of this music project is to inspire hope in all who listen. This R & B genre is our first project. In my garage (my son’s studio that he calls, “The Lab”), The Urban Project was formed, and our group name became, “URBAN UNDERGROUND.”
“The Lab”
“It’s amazing what God and my son (Alonzo) can do with just a little (my son’s lab)!”
The song Mellanie and Alonzo were recording was “Gritty” . . . A song I wrote that I felt was befitting of what we must do during these times.
“The Lab”
My son first asks “Ok, what are we doing today, Dad?” I try to explain how the song will go to the best of my inexperienced knowledge. He listens to the song, then asks whoever the lead vocalists will be to sing it for a few dry runs. They go to the mic. We stumble forward as my son makes us sound way better than we could have imagined . . . lol. But most of all, God smiles on us and the song miraculously comes together.
…and it all comes together
“Better Days”
Mixed and Engineered by Alonzo Temple
Written by: Derrick I. Temple, Sr. (© 2021 Derrick I. Temple, Sr.)
Background Vocals: Mellanie Temple
Lead Vocals: Skye Malone
Music Produced by Jeraz
You Tube Cover Design by Alonzo Temple
…and it all comes together
“Supernatural”
Skye Malone has a unique voice. It is a unique experiment to record her “velvety” voice on top of an R & B or even a hard beat. I start out writing or even producing beats with Mellanie in mind when it has more of a rhythmic vibe, but then we put Skye on top of the song, and it is amazing to see what God does.
Mixed and Engineered by Alonzo Temple
Written by: Derrick I. Temple, Sr. (© 2021 Derrick I. Temple, Sr.)
Sermon Intro: Derrick I. Temple, Sr.
Vocals: Skye Malone and Mellanie Temple
Music Produced by Wav Magicians
“Keep On”
I was writing this song, and God told me to sing it…uggggh! I hated that assignment. I heard a nice vocal arrangement in my head as I was writing, and the next thing I knew, I was getting funky with it…LOL.
Mixed and Engineered by Alonzo Temple
Written by Derrick I. Temple, Sr. (© 2021 Derrick I. Temple, Sr.)
Lead Vocals by Yours Truly
Background Vocals by “The Wifey” (Mellanie Temple)
Music Produced by Chris Beats
“Gritty”
I produced this beat, let Mellanie hear it, and she said, “That’s Dirty” (“that sounds good"). I thought about the word, “Dirty,” and God downloaded the word, “Gritty” in my mind. Thus, the name of this song I wrote, Alonzo mastered, and Mellanie sang is “Gritty.”
Written by: Derrick I. Temple, Sr. (© 2021 Derrick I. Temple, Sr.)
Mixing Engineer: Alonzo Temple
Vocals: Mellanie Temple
Producer: Derrick I. Temple, Sr. (© 2021 Derrick I. Temple, Sr.)
“Get UP!”
This started as a simple party beat for Skye, but she was not feeling well that week. So, I asked Mellanie to do it. Next thing I know, I heard a hook in my head, and I’m back on the mic…that never was the plan…lol.
Written by: Derrick I. Temple, Sr. (© 2021 Derrick I. Temple, Sr.)
Mixing Engineer: Alonzo Temple
Lead Vocals: Mellanie Temple
Background Vocal “The Hook”: Yours Truly
Producer: Derrick I. Temple, Sr. (© 2021 Derrick I. Temple, Sr.)
“Quarantine”
This song was originally for Skye again. I had been trying to figure out a way to get Alonzo to do a rap on the project, but he was standing his ground. He said he just wanted to do the mixing and engineering. The next thing I knew, he surprised me with this song!
Song Written by: Derrick I. Temple, Sr. (© 2021 Derrick I. Temple, Sr.)
Rap Lyrics: Alonzo Temple
Mixing Engineer: Alonzo Temple
Lead Vocals: Skye Malone
Producer: Derrick I. Temple, Sr. (© 2021 Derrick I. Temple, Sr.)
“Running out of Time”
I produced this beat and the vocal arrangements were as clear as crystal as I envisioned Skye singing this song. We record at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays. Skye arrived and I was downloading the wave file to give to Alonzo. Before I downloaded the song, I listened to it one more time to rehearse the lyrics and vocal arrangements with Skye and…OMG! My mind went COMPLETELY blank! Alonzo is a stickler on time and it was 7:25 p.m. I had the lyrics and had five minutes to come up with a new vocal arrangement. I said, “God, you gave me this song, now please give me the vocal arrangements.” In five minutes, the rest is history. Glory to God! Sometimes, God deletes to download something new.
Written and Produced by: Derrick I. Temple, Sr. (© 2021 Derrick I. Temple, Sr.)
Vocals: Skye Malone
Mixed and Engineered by: Alonzo Temple
“If I Walk Alone”
Written, Vocals, Producer: Derrick I. Temple, Sr.
Mastered & Engineered: Alonzo Temple
(© Derrick I. Temple, Sr., 2021)