No matter how old you are, reading about your favorite celebrity is always fun. We love learning more about their difficult career paths, about their personal lives and how they reached the level of success they did.
All of this makes us motivated and gives us inspiration to try something on our own and achieve greatness.
In today’s text we are going to talk about Marvin Sapp, an American Gospel singer and songwriter.
We will talk more about his biography, early years and how his career reached success that it has right now. If Marvin is your favorite celebrity or you would like to learn more about him in general, here is an opportunity to do that.
Early years
Marvin Louis Sapp was born on January 28th 1967 in Grand Rapids in Michigan. Marvin was a talented child and from an early age his parents noticed that he likes to sing and perform.
When he was only four years old, he started performing in a church choir and by the time he had 12 years he was already pretty experienced in musical performances.
As a teenager he started performing together with different ensembles and Gospel singing groups. He became a student at the Aenon Bible College located in Indianapolis in Indiana. Marvin had a hard time balancing his studies and his performances, so the school or performances suffered a times.
When he became too stressed over his grades and couldn’t make it to classes, he decided it was time to drop out of school and focus on music full time. He was invited by a Gospel singer called Fred Hammond to replace Keith Staten. The group he was invited to be called the Commissioned and it had already made success on the gospel music scene.
He joined the group in 1990 and gladly accepted Fred’s invitation. Marvin sang on their albums Number 7, Irreplaceable Love and Matters of the Heart.
Even though he started gaining fame with the group and started being recognized by the fans, he decided to leave the group in 1996. His place was filled by Marcus R. Cole.
Career development
After Marvin tried his luck as a member of a famous group Commissioned, he decided it was time to gather the strength and start something on his own. He started his solo career by performing at the Apollo in 1995. He performed the revival of the Wiz and acted the role of the Scarecrow.
When he was finally able to choose his music direction, he wanted to sing Gospel music, especially contemporary Gospel music. His first album was called Thirsty and the song Never Would Have Made It both got released in 2007. The song made a huge success and needed up on the Billboard Hot RnB and Hip Hop songs on the 14th place.
The alum Thirsty also made it to the number 4 on the Billboard RnB and Hip Hop albums as well as on the number 1 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums. The album was sold in 700 thousand copies and he got nominated for the seven Gospel Stellar Awards because of his success with that album.
His next album came out in 2009 under the name Here I Am. The album was released at the Life Church that is located in Wyoming and it was officially released in 2010. Sapp’s success could easily be measured since he broke the record of the highest charting Gospel albums in the 54 year period.
He also sold thousands of copies worldwide and managed to establish his name as one of the most successful Gospel singers of all time. His album Here I Am became the highest charting Gospel album and made it on number 2 on Billboard 200. This success was important for the Gospel music because it doesn’t happen that often that Gospel music reached such heights on the mainstream charts.
Here I am was also his leading single on the album and the song was written both by Marvin and Aaron Lindsey. The song reached number 14 on the Billboard Top Hip Hop and RnB lists. In 2011, Sapp got the Annual Stellar Gospel Music Award 26th in row.
When it comes to his earnings and net worth, it is estimated that his net worth is somewhere around 4$ million. He mostly earns his money by performing, which he still does. He also appears on TV and in shows, which only increases his net worth.
Marvin is also active on his social media accounts, and he as a decent amount of followers because he wasn’t so popular in times when social media is a must for celebrities, it is understandable that younger generations don’t really follow him on his social media.
He usually shares photos from his life and information about his performances. Marvin definitely gave a large contribution to the Gospel music scene and he managed to make Gospel mainstream, as much as that is possible. His songs appeared on mainstream charts which only bought more popularity to the Gospel music in general.
Nobody can deny that his talent is exceptional and that he deserves a spot among some of the most famous singers in the USA, even though Gospel music is not that popular as other genres of music. Marvin makes it easy to listen to and also brings a lot of attention to the problems of African American communities, which definitely needs to be done.
Personal life
Marvin grew up as a normal child doing everyday kids things, but the thing that set him apart from his friends was his extraordinary voice. He performed from an early age and that is what made him love the stage so much and feel so comfortable on it.
Like we already mentioned, Marvin started performing when he was only 4 years old and by the time he was a teenager, he was already in Gospel groups.
Even though he never finished high school, he doesn’t regret it. He made a huge success through his singing career and managed to do so much, without spending days in the classroom.
He is currently a widower since his wife MaLinda Sapp died in 2010. The sad thing is that she died right at the moment when Marvin reached the top of his career. She worked as an Administrative Pastor at the Lighthouse Life Center Church. His wife died of complications she had because of colon cancer.
Marvin had three children with MaLinda, one son and two daughters. In 2009 he was initiated to the Grand Rapids Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.
He even received two doctorates, but they are from non-accredited colleges. He received a doctorate Divinity Degree from Aenon Bible College and another Doctor of Ministry degree from another Christian University.
Marvin often speaks about marriage equality and supports everyone to believe in it as well. He wants both men and women to be equal partners, to love and respect each other.
Nobody can deny that his talent is exceptional and that he deserves a spot among some of the most famous singers in the USA, even though Gospel music is not that popular as other genres of music.
Marvin hasn’t released anything new so far, but we can expect him to do that in the future. Until that happens, we can enjoy some of his old hits and relax along with his soft voice. Marvin will definitely remain a legend in the Gospel community and his songs will be used as examples for future generations.
Even if he chooses not to release anything new, we can still enjoy his old hits and think back of some happy moments through his sentimental and spiritual lyrics.
Quick summary
Full name: Marvin Louis Sapp
Date of birth: January 28, 1967
Birthplace: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Age: 52
Profession: Gospel Singer
Height: 1.80 m
Weight: 90
Net Worth: $4 million