Tasha Cobbs Leonard is in a season of musical growth and expansion. Known for recording impactful worship ballads in front of a live audience, the three-time GRAMMY winner decided to switch things up with her first-ever studio album, TASHA.
“This album is full of several different expressions of worship,” Cobbs Leonard tells GRAMMY.com. “With doing a studio project, we had an opportunity to do a little bit more than just put Tasha on a mic with background singers, a crowd of people, and lead worship, which I love to do. But this one gave me another opportunity to do it in a different way.”
Lyrically, TASHA aims to lead listeners into a deep personal worship experience; sonically, it shows Cobbs Leonard’s versatility. The vulnerable opener “I Needed God” leans into hip-hop production (and features four-time GRAMMY winner Lecrae), “Friend” incorporates country-inspired instrumentation, and the confessional “I Did It Again” has a funky, pop-driven feel reminiscent of Whitney Houston.
The project is a long time coming for the beloved gospel star, who has become a staple within the genre thanks to her live albums and hits like “Break Every Chain,” “Put A Praise On It” and “This Is A Move.” In recent years, she’s participated in freestyle ciphers on award shows and talk shows that stretched her creatively, prompting the different sonic direction.
But while the album may feature various styles of music, TASHA is a continuation of what Cobbs Leonard does best: Christ-led music filled with honesty, hope and truth.
Ahead of releasing the LP, GRAMMY.com spoke to Cobbs Leonard about creating music for new believers, full-circle collaborations, and the process of creating TASHA.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
You’ve released several projects before, but this will be your first official studio album. Why did you decide to do it now?
I realized over the last two years, I’ve been stretched to explore different avenues of my creativity. After exploring those avenues, there’s just a different side of me that’s authentically me, that my followers have not had an opportunity to experience.
To really pull those different creative expressions off, it required just me in a studio with a microphone, being able to manipulate tracks in certain ways that could be presented with different styles of worship. So you still have Tasha the worship leader, but I’m also leading worship in a pop style or a hip-hop style.
The album is also self-titled — what made you want to go that route?
Now I’m a mother, I’m a wife, I’m a pastor. I’ve experienced different seasons of life — some high, some low. I believe where I am, I’m just settled. I’m settled in my calling, settled in who I am, you know, comfortable with who I am. I like me, and I feel like it just took seasons for me to get to this place.
These songs were written based off of those seasons. From the grief to the heartbreak to having a new baby, having a new family, blending a family, all of those different life experiences have been bottled up into many of the songs that you’ll hear on this album.
This album gives me an opportunity to be the listener’s personal worship leader, instead of being on a massive stage with a crowd of people. This time, it’s me and you in your car, and these songs [are] speaking directly to your season and your situation, which I’m super excited about. I can’t wait to hear the testimonies of people who say, “Man, it seemed like you were talking directly to me, like you are a fly on the wall.”
I know this album is very different from your previous projects. Can you take me through the process of creating TASHA?
I was very nervous going into doing a studio project because I had never done it. It was just something new, and I didn’t know what to expect. But I quickly became very comfortable with it, because, again, it’s just another extension of who I am. It’s a different expression that we haven’t heard from me, but it’s authentically me.
[When I went into the studio to record,] I was nervous. But it gave me an opportunity to infuse different parts of my life, which I loved.
My husband and I, we’ve been pastoring for five years, and there’s a single that we released off of this project called “Already Good.” We filmed that video live at our church’s picnic. So, all of the people there, I knew them, they’re friends and family. We’re hanging out, it’s real. When people watch it, I feel like they feel that too. Like, I don’t know that girl, but I know that girl — I want people to feel that.
The song “Church” that we did with John Legend, my family is on that record. We surprised them at our church anniversary. We set up a room, and our uncles, aunts and parents [were] all the ones singing in the background. They were just mind-blown that they were given this opportunity. We were able to explore different creative ways of producing the music on this album.
You’re incredibly raw and transparent on this project — was there a specific song that was especially difficult for you to write or record? Maybe even a song that you were excited to make.
“I Want More” with Chandler Moore. Chandler is actually one of the writers on the song. This song talks about the tug of war between our will and God’s will. What we want and what God knows is best for us. And if we’re just honest, we all get to that place where it’s like, I want this right now. I want to be married right now. I want a kid right now, and God is saying, I know what’s best for you.
He does it so gracefully. He covers our humanity in a way where He still desires for us to know that His will is best, but He gives us time to get there. I love to talk about that tug of war, but in every song, we end it with hope, and we end it laced in the word of God.
The truth is, more than you want the things that you want, you need to want more of God. So, that chorus talks about, “I want more of you.” No matter what it is in life, more than I want healing, more than I want a good feeling, I want more of God.
That song is very, very personal, and I think people are going to relate to it. All of us have been in this place where it’s our will against His will. So I’m excited about that song getting into people’s hearts.
This album blends pop, ’80s R&B, hip-hop, and even bluegrass while keeping elements of worship and gospel. What inspired you to explore and experiment with so many different genres this time?
I grew up in the country, Jesup, Georgia — we listened to bluegrass, country, gospel, I mean everything. I grew up watching MTV Jams, MTV Rock and Roll, all these different videos. It’s not foreign for me to explore different styles and listen to different genres of music. I think you will often hear that in my music.
When you think back over several of the records, there’s always been something that has, like a country feel to it or a country vibe. Or lyrically, the way that it’s written, it mimics the style of country music.
So for this [project], we put a little more intentionality behind it. [I would say to my producers], “I want this to have this ’80s vibe, so let’s do a little bit more on the synths. Let’s do a little bit more with the vocal tones.” It feels nostalgic. It takes people back to those moments in the ’90s where it’s like we’re vibing out a little bit.
I think now, since I’m so settled in who I am, being able to explore the different variations of worship that I’m called to lead people in has been fun. It’s been exciting for me, and I think you hear that on this record.
I’m glad you’re exploring! I know there’s been an ongoing debate in the Christian community about whether Christian artists should collaborate with secular artists. You’ve never shied away from these collaborations — having worked with Nicki Minaj before and now John Legend on this project. How do you personally navigate those conversations and decide who to collaborate with?
Everything that I do starts with prayer. That’s number one. Before I decide to record an album, I’m going to ask God, is it His timing? Is it His will? And the same thing with the collaborations. From doing it with my good friend Kierra Sheard, who is a gospel legend, to Nicki Minaj, Common, Jennifer Hudson, and John Legend.
I always pray about it, because I feel that even with these collaborations, the timing has to be right. It has to be God’s will. The chemistry has to be there. Do our voices work well together? Do we have vocal tones that would match? All of those thoughts go into it, especially with this new song “Church.”
When I thought about this song and John Legend, I was like, “This is a no-brainer.” He would come on this song and absolutely just give us everything we needed, and that’s exactly what he did. All of these things go into play.
I’ll never forget, [Nicki Minaj] said, I want [Pink Friday 2] to be the first album where I express to my followers that I love God. Who am I to say, “You can’t worship”? I felt like this is a platform where she feels safe, and I pray that [through] all of these collaborations and their experiences with me, they encounter the love of God towards them.
Are there any artists in particular you would like to collaborate with in the future?
I think Brandy is a vocal legend. Celine Dion, of course. I’ve never done a song with Yolanda Adams. She and I are very close, we’ve just never done any music together. So I would love to see what that would look and sound like — I think it would be explosive.
I read that one of the first songs you performed as a lead soloist was Kirk Franklin‘s “Now Behold the Lamb.” Now, you’re sharing a track with him on this album — what does this moment mean to you?
He was one of the first artists to reach out to me when I started this journey in gospel music. He’s been such an inspiration. He’s made a major impact on my career.
I keep saying that it’s about timing. I feel like before it was like a mentor-mentee type of relationship, where I’m watching how he navigates the industry — how he is just committed to his assignment and his calling. So I’ve gleaned from him for years, which I think is most important. But when we got to this song, “I Still Choose You,” I felt like it’s finally time. So I texted him [saying], “We’re writing songs for my new album, and I feel like I got the one for us.” I sent it over to him, and he was like, “Let’s get in the studio and do it.”
Kirk [took] this shell of a song, [and] in just about three or four hours, he developed it and built it into this massive creative masterpiece. He’s teaching when he doesn’t know he’s teaching. I watch every single thing that he does when we’re in those moments, and I’m so grateful that he’s a part of this record. To think back to that moment with “Now Behold The Lamb,” and now to be in the studio with him to create a song with him — it’s full circle.
I’m sure there’s going to be artists who will also want to have that full circle moment with you. How will you go about navigating the next generation following behind you?
I love this question! I am big on mentorship. It’s a part of my personal life. I have so many mentees who I’ve been mentoring for years.
I have a mentorship program for worship leaders that I’ve been doing since 2009. There are so many worship leaders that I watch coming up, like Enrique Holmes, Jordan G. Welch and Annatoria. To watch them grow and to be authentically them, and not try to be anyone else, but present the gospel in the way that they feel that God has called them to present it, it makes me super proud.
I cannot wait to be a part of their project, tours, or whatever they’re asking me to do. I get really excited about that. I experienced that from people who were in the industry and opened the doors for me. Their arms were wide open to me, and I want to do the same for so many.
This album also features songs like “Church” and “Friend” that feel especially directed toward new believers. Why was it important to create songs that speak to that audience in particular?
Speaking of Kirk Franklin and Mary Mary, I remember songs like “Shackles” or Kirk Franklin’s “Stomp.” They were being played in the clubs, people were playing them at their cookouts. I mean, these [listeners] may not go to church on Sundays, but there was something about these songs that was having an impact on their lives.
I realized [Kirk and Mary Mary] were super intentional about creating gospel music for the new believer who may not understand the church lingo, or all of the things that we do in church that could be a little deep or a bit foreign to them — just a basic gospel song that leads them deeper into a relationship with Christ. So I was very intentional about creating those songs for those people who may have just given their lives to Christ on Sunday, and now it’s Monday. You know, teach me how to have church on a Monday. Like, what do I do today? Yesterday was good — I had chills on my arms and I was crying. But how do I create a relationship with Christ now on a Monday, while I’m sitting at my house or at my cubicle? I felt like God was leading me to release songs that were for the new believer.
What do you hope listeners walk away with after hearing this album?
I pray that people walk away being encouraged to keep going. Don’t throw in the towel, no matter how hard it may be. When I say hard, sometimes mountain experiences can be just as heavy, or even more heavy than a valley experience. On the mountains, sometimes you lose friends and you lose relationships, and you have to pull away from things that you love. In those seasons, my encouragement and what I pray that people [will feel] after listening to this [album] is just having hope for the future — that things are going to get better, that I can do this, and I’m going to get up and do it anyway.
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