"I do have Broadway aspirations," Brister said with a smile when I told him his vocals sound like he belongs on Broadway or on the stages of Vegas. "Those (Broadway) artists are singing and dancing (acting out a skit)...they are well trained."

His "Hello" cover features assistance from Ricky Persaud, Jr.

"Yes, I am working on an album," he said when I asked if the single is from an upcoming album. "It is not titled yet."

The "Hello" short film storyline is in honor of military families and has been featured on BET, Access Hollywood and Aspire.

Carl mentioned the upcoming album may have more Lionel Richie cover songs.

"He is one of my heroes," he pointed out. "Lionel Richie is so diverse...R&B, Country, Gospel Caribbean, Reggae. That's something I want."

Carl Brister has a long history producing and releasing music, in between his work as an educator and humanitarian. His last single, accompanied also by a short film, was in 2023 with "Let's Wait a While" featuring LeChardon. I said, "Ok Michael Jackson," referring to the short films used as music videos for singles. Most recent was his 2025 single releases "I See You" featuring Jordan "J" Maestro Brister who happens to be his son.

"My first independent album was released in 2000," Brister corrected me when I mentioned it was 2007. "I was working with my buddy from college. It was called ‘The Journey.' It was Gospel...about this journey of life. It has a wedding song. My wedding song when I married my wife. What I believe inspired me to name it ‘The Journey' was people thinking that it is all about the end, but ‘the journey' is the blessing."

Brister also hosts "The Grove" Podcast through his nonprofit organization Music Village. Though, to me, Carl has that bigger than life Broadway vocal sound, he has released different genres of music, like his hero Lionel Richie. On those projects he had to control and bring in that vocal power for his R&B, Hip-Hop and Pop releases.  http://www.CarlBrister.com

This single was released to honor America, and it came out just in time for its 250th anniversary. It's an explosive piece of work that makes you swell up with American pride and a clear vision of what America is all about. Many have lost sight of that. They take their freedom for granted.

"Out of the many, we are one, that's what E pluribus unum means," Mark pointed out to me as we began talking about the single. "That's the essence of the song."

"By the time I finished it the 250th anniversary was coming up," he added. "The King Center agreed to license me his speech. We share the same birthday - January 15! I sent it to the Grammy's for the Harry Belafonte Best Song for Social Change Award. They look for songs like this."

Stephens is not new to the Grammy's with seven nominations to his credit! Though he is a regular keyboardist for some of R&Bs greatest such as Chaka Kahn who he is currently touring with, but Mark Stephens keyboard playing makes its home in the Jazz genre. He is also fluent in Pop.

"I don't like what is happening," Mark said as we continued talking about his motivation to write "E Pluribus Unum (Out of Many, We Are One)". "Our (America) inventions came from immigrants! Diversity should be celebrated!"

The single comes with a perfect music video of America. It has just been released and already has over 70,000 views on YouTube. As a studio keyboardist, Mark has played on the projects of Boney James, Chris Botti, Alanis Morissette and Josh Groban. Aside from touring with Chaka Khan, he plays on stage for Diana Ross, James Ingram, David Sanborn, Stanley Clarke, Take 6 and George Duke. Stephens debuted as a solo musician in 2011 on a heavily supported project, "The Dream of the Peaceful Warrior," that featured Chaka Khan, Marcus Miller, Jonathan Butler and the Andrae Crouch Singers.

"The project came first," he said about the single "E Pluribus Unum (Out of Many, We Are One)" when I asked which came first, the song or the music video. "It came because of what I see with this administration. It's racist...that bothers me. I grew up listening to Andrea Crouch. I grew up in a church that worked with black churches and there were even blacks in our church. The church is where I started playing the piano...10 years old!"

"The vocals are Gospel great Tata Vega and male vocalist Amin El," Mark said when I mentioned how beautiful the vocals on the single are. "I produced and arranged it. It has a big horn section of eight guys."

Mark continued laying out to the single saying, "Fred White (another vocalist), he works with Diana Ross...he worked on the choir stuff...we ended up with five."

"It was all remote...remotely from home," Mark said proudly and I understand because the song truly is masterful and a true representation of America and the military drumbeat is masterful.

Aside from promoting "E Pluribus Unum (Out of Many, We are One)" single and the heart-warming music video, Stephens was also promoting his September 11, 2026, album release of "A Great Day" and its first single to be released on September 4th titled "Golden Hour."  http://www.MarkStephensMusic.net

SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: Dr. Eunice Moseley has an estimated weekly readership of over one million for her column The Pulse of Entertainment. She is the publisher of the digital magazine www.ThePulseofEntertainment.com, which has an estimated 160,000 visitors a month. An entrepreneur, Dr. Moseley’s company, Freelance Associates, is a business management/public relations strategic planning and consulting firm that is celebrating 32 years in 2025. Dr. Eunice also serves as professor for the School of Business at Stanton University in Anaheim, California and serves as promotions director (at-large)/journalist and business consultant for The Baltimore Times. Dr. Moseley founded the Uplifting Minds II Foundation (www.UpliftingMinds.com) in 2023, a 501 C3 with a mission to empower the underserved through three major programs – One Stop Business Shop, the ULMII Professional Conference and the ULMII Academy (business management and public relations). EVENTS: "Uplifting Minds II" Entertainment Conference (ULMII), was launched by Dr. Eunice in 1999, to educate aspiring artists/musicians about the business of entertainment – www.UpliftingMinds2.com. Next ULMII Entertainment Conferences for Baltimore on Saturday April 18, 2026, presented by Security Square Mall and The Baltimore Times, and for Los Angeles on Saturday, November 7, 2026, presented by The Pulse of Entertainment and the ULMII Foundation. The ULMII conferences are free with virtual access via Zoom. ULMII entertainment conference offers a Professional Panel Q&A Session, a Professional Talent Showcase and International Talent Competition where the top three scored acts receive the ULMII Best Act Award and over $20,000 valued in prizes/product/services and cash!