Contemporary gospel artist Deitrick Haddon was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, where he served as pastor and music director at Detroit's Unity Cathedral of Faith. As the son of Bishop Clarence Haddon and Prophetess Joyce Haddon, he grew up in the church and preached his first sermon at the age of 11. Deitrick Haddon and his Voices of Unity drew upon both secular and spiritual influences to create a sound they dubbed "gospel soul." Signed to the Tyscot label, the group debuted in 1995 with Come Into This House. Two years later, Haddon and company issued Live the Life, which scored Gospel Music Workshop of America Excellence Awards in the categories of New Artist of the Year: Urban Contemporary and Album of the Year: Urban Contemporary. After This Is My Story (1998), Chain Breaker (1999), and Nu Hymnz: Live from the Motor City (2001), Haddon went solo and signed to the Verity label. Through releases such as Lost and Found (2002), the Tim & Bob collaboration 7 Days (2006), Church on the Moon (2011), A Beautiful Soul (2012), and R.E.D. (2013), Haddon maintained his reputation for pushing the boundaries of contemporary gospel. During the mid-2010s, he became even more visible through the reality series Preachers of LA and continued to release albums that topped Billboard's gospel chart, including Deitrick Haddon's LXW (2014) and Masterpiece (2015). In 2017, Haddon released a live LP, Deitrick Haddon & Hill City Worship Camp, led by the single "A Billion People." At the end of 2018, Haddon teamed up with Grammy-winning producer, Zaytoven, to release the collaborative Christmas EP Greatest Gift. ~ Jason Ankeny