Emanuel Lambert, Jr. --- Da' Truth

"In light of a moral discretion in my personal life, I will be taking a sabbatical from my music ministry and teaching upon fulfilling my current commitments to work with my pastor, church and restoration team...I ask your forgiveness as I work towards reconciliation." -Personal Statement from Da Truth on his website.

"It is with tremendous sadness and humble disappointment that Cross Movement Records must inform you regarding the suspension of the promotion and forwarding of the artist, minister, and ministry of Da Truth, a.k.a. Emanuel Lambert Jr., due to recent findings of moral failure in his marriage." -Official Statement from Cross Movement Records

When I first heard about what happened to Da' Truth a few months ago, I was speechless. He was an artist I had a lot of respect for and have looked up to. It also broke my heart because this was the second artist off of Cross Movement Records who fell to this temptation. The first was William Branch a.k.a. The Ambassador, one of the founding members of the Cross Movement. The label also did the same for him. I could only imagine how much that label was struggling.

What broke my heart even more was that as this news came out, so did the details. According to Cross Rhythms, Da' Truth wound up having an affair with gospel artist Tye Tribbett's wife after trying to council and restore their marriage...which was struggling because of the same issue. I hope and PRAY that this isn't true. Tye Tribbett to this day has not made any official statement concerning the issue, so for all I know it could be a rumor.

Da' Truth's new album The Big Picture came out this past year, and I was amazed with how deep the album was. It definitely is his best album to date, both musically and lyrically speaking. After I heard the news about what happened though, for some reason, I couldn't listen to the album anymore. A few weeks ago I picked it up off my shelf and looked at it. I was just disgusted at the fact that for all I knew he could have been in this act of fornication while recording the album. I couldn't listen to it. I immediately put it back on the shelf. I didn't know if I was ever going to be able to listen to the album again.

However as time went on, I was feeling a tug in my heart to just listen to the album again. Finally, today I picked it up off the shelf before leaving for class and put it in the CD player in my car. As I was driving to school I was listening to it. The album was so deep musically and I started feeling God's spirit move in me. Every song turned into a burden to pray for my dear fallen brother; that God would humbly restore and heal the damage he had done. The burden got even heavier when I got to the song, "Tree to Tree", which actually featured Tye Tribbett. Those two were not just co-artists in a song, they were good friends.

When Da' Truth gave thanks in the album booklet, he said this about Tye Tribbett: "Thank you for your unrivaled passion & heart for Christ. You're an inspiration & I'm excited about what God is doing in our friendship." When I first read that, it made me pray harder for them. Oh, I pray that there will be a day when those two artists come out on stage together as brothers, freely forgiving one another for their wrongdoing.

And God will. The amazing thing about the God I serve, the God Tye Tribbett and Emanuel Lambert serve, is that He freely forgives His children for their wrongdoing. He not only does this, but He breaks our chains and cleans us up.

Isaiah 1:18 says, "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool" (NIV).

As I read that verse, I picture God's loving hands picking up a soapy sponge and cleaning up my messy and soiled body. Oh, how many times have I betrayed and hurt the God who loves me so much, and then over and over, God cleanses me. He not only cleanses me, but He restores me. He picks me up, dusts me off, and lovingly encourages me to keep going. If I won't go, God picks me up and carries me.

My, what a loving God I serve. God can restore. God will restore.

Lord, I pray for Mr. and Mrs. Emanuel Lambert and Mr. and Mrs. Tye Tribbett. I pray for a restoration of their marriages and their friendship with one another. I pray that through this it would become stronger. I pray for all parties involved; that they would forgive and support these broken people. Nurse all broken hearts in this situation, Lord. I hope and pray for the day that Da' Truth will be back in music. May it be in Your time, Lord, not his. Thank You, Lord for Your continual love and grace. In Jesus' name, Amen.

I'm going to close this with the closing lyrics from "Tree to Tree" by Da' Truth and Tye Tribbett. The song is all about imagining what would happen if they could go back in time right before Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil to show them what would happen if they did. Here's the excerpt:

"Every temptation’s a tree, and since you ate from that tree,
Sin and death is in you, sin and death is in me.
But hold up, off in the distance I see a whole 'nother Tree,
and the Man that is on it is dying for you and for me.
Why did you eat from the tree?"

God bless,

Steve