Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition Explained

Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition
Type:live
Artist:Maverick City Music
Cover:Jubilee- Juneteenth Edition - Maverick City Music.jpg
Alt:Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition Album Cover
Recorded:May 2021
Genre:
Label:Tribl
Producer:
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Prev Year:2021
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Next Year:2021

Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition is the fifth live album by American contemporary worship music collective Maverick City Music, which was released via Tribl Records on June 18, 2021.[1]

The album is a dual-side feature consisting of a live produced gospel A-Side titled Breathe and a rap/R&B/pop produced B-Side titled Same Blood.[2] Side A contains guest appearances by Lecrae, Dante Bowe, Todd Dulaney, Jekalyn Carr, Mav City Gospel Choir, Chandler Moore, Jonathan McReynolds, Doe, Maryanne J. George, Naomi Raine, Israel Houghton, Ryan Ofei, Bri Babineaux, and Katie Torwalt. Side B contains guest appearances by Lecrae, Joe L Barnes, Koryn Hawthorne, Harolddd, Tamar Braxton, Eugene Kiing, Ciara, Rapsody, Naomi Raine, Dante Bowe, Montell Fish, and Chandler Moore.

The album was supported by the release of "Breathe" as a single. "Breathe" peaked at number 31 on the US Hot Christian Songs chart and at number ten the Hot Gospel Songs chart.

Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition became a commercially successful album upon its release, debuting at number eight on Billboard's Top Christian Albums Chart and at number two Top Gospel Albums Chart in the United States, as well as number ten on the Official Charts' Official Christian & Gospel Albums Chart in the United Kingdom. Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Gospel Album at the 2022 Grammy Awards.[3] It was also nominated for the Billboard Music Award for Top Gospel Album at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards.[4] At the 2022 GMA Dove Awards, Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition was nominated for the GMA Dove Award for Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year, while "Breathe" won the GMA Dove Award for Gospel Worship Recorded Song of the Year.[5]

Background

On June 2, 2021, Maverick City Music announced that they were preparing for the release of their following project, Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition.[6] The album follows their commercially collaborative album with Elevation Worship, Old Church Basement (2021).[7] Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition was released on June 18, 2021, in celebration of Juneteenth, which became an official federal holiday in the United States.[8]

The creative process of the album began with Jubilee (2021), which had been written during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.[9] Naomi Raine expressed that from there, they had an intention of releasing a Juneteenth Edition, saying "We were actually getting to speak from a more sober place. Not in the middle of a lot of tragedy."

Music and lyrics

The album is a dual-side feature consisting of a live produced gospel A-Side titled Breathe and a rap/R&B/pop produced B-Side titled Same Blood.[10]

Release and promotion

Maverick City Music released "Breathe" on June 4, 2021, as the lead single from the album, exclusively on Apple Music. Apple Music selected the song as part of its specially curated playlist of songs to honor Juneteenth 2021 titled Juneteenth 2021: Freedom Songs.[11] "Breathe" won the GMA Dove Award for Gospel Worship Recorded Song of the Year at the 2022 GMA Dove Awards.

Reception

Critical response

Reviewing for Louder Than The Music, Jono Davies gave a positive review of the album, saying: "The beauty of music is that it can speak to us no matter how we are feeling, some albums can speak to us if we are in the best place or not such a great place, some albums can encourage us to worship, some encourage us to jump up and down, some encourage us to step out to change the world, some deal with injustice, some albums change us, some albums change our soul and our heart and I don't think I'm wrong in saying this, but this album does all of that. The album really takes you on a journey, emotionally and musically."

Accolades

Awards
YearOrganizationAwardResultRef
2022Billboard Music AwardsTop Gospel Album
Grammy AwardsBest Gospel Album
GMA Dove AwardsContemporary Gospel Album of the Year

Commercial performance

In the United States, Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition earned 3,000 equivalent album units in its first week of sales, and as a result debuted at number eight on the Top Christian Albums Chart and at number two the Top Gospel Albums Chart dated June 24, 2021.[12]

Track listing

All the tracks on Side A: Breathe were produced by Aaron Moses, Brandon Lake, Chandler Moore, Jonathan Jay, and Tony Brown.[13]

All tracks on Side B: Same Blood were produced by Harold Brown and Jeff Schneeweis, except where stated.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2021)! scope="col"
Peak
position
UK Christian & Gospel Albums (OCC)[14] 10

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition
Chart (2021)Position
US Christian Albums (Billboard)[15] 80
US Gospel Albums (Billboard)[16] 21
Chart (2022)Position
US Gospel Albums (Billboard)[17] 16
Chart (2023)Position
US Gospel Albums (Billboard)[18] 20

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Maverick City Music Celebrates Juneteenth With Release Of Collaborative New Album - TCB . Clarks . Jessie . June 18, 2021 . The Christian Beat . June 22, 2021.
  2. Web site: JFH News: Maverick City Music Celebrates Juneteenth with Release of New Album "Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition" . June 18, 2021 . Jesusfreakhideout.com . Jesus Freak Hideout . June 22, 2021.
  3. Web site: Recording Academy Announces Nominees For The 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards - TCB . Clarks . Jessie . November 23, 2021 . The Christian Beat . November 25, 2021.
  4. Web site: Billboard Music Awards Announces 2022 Finalists - TCB . Clarks . Jessie . April 8, 2022 . The Christian Beat . April 9, 2022.
  5. Web site: 53rd Annual GMA Dove Awards Winners List - TCB . Longs . Herb . October 21, 2022 . The Christian Beat . October 22, 2022.
  6. Web site: Justin Bieber & Maverick City Music Partner For Worship Session - TCB . Longs . Herb . June 2, 2021 . The Christian Beat . June 22, 2021.
  7. Web site: Maverick City Music to Collaborate with Justin Bieber, P. Diddy, Tori Kelly for 'Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition' Project : Music : BREATHEcast . Barnes . Tiffany . June 3, 2021 . Breathecast . June 22, 2021.
  8. Web site: Maverick City Music Has Released a Double Album in Celebration of Juneteenth RELEVANT . June 18, 2021 . . June 22, 2021.
  9. Web site: Maverick City Music Speaks on Our Collective Story with Album 'Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition' - American Songwriter . Walthall . Catherine . June 18, 2021 . . June 22, 2021.
  10. Web site: Maverick City Music Celebrates Juneteenth with New Album 'Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition' . Chavez . Adriana . June 18, 2021 . Vacancy Magazine . June 22, 2021.
  11. Web site: Kirk Franklin & Maverick City Music Featured On Apple Music Juneteenth Playlist - TCB . Clarks . Jessie . June 16, 2021 . The Christian Beat . June 22, 2021.
  12. Jabari Johnson & Krystal Broussard Top Gospel Chart Billboard . Asker . Jim . July 1, 2021 . . Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group . July 7, 2021.
  13. Web site: Credits / Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition / Maverick City Music – TIDAL . June 18, 2021 . . June 22, 2021.
  14. Web site: Official Christian & Gospel Albums Chart Top 20 Official Charts Company . July 12, 2021 . . July 13, 2021.
  15. Top Christian Albums – Billboard . . Year-End Chart . December 2, 2021.
  16. Top Gospel Albums – Billboard . . Year-End Chart . December 2, 2021.
  17. Top Gospel Albums – Billboard . . Year-End Chart . December 4, 2022.
  18. Top Gospel Albums – Billboard . . Year-End Chart . February 11, 2024.
  19. Web site: Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition by Maverick City Music on Amazon Music - Amazon.com . June 18, 2021 . . June 22, 2021.
  20. Web site: Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition by Maverick City Music on Apple Music . June 18, 2021 . . United States . . June 22, 2021.