Erica Monique Campbell (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'', Atkins; born April 29, 1972) is an American

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

singer and songwriter. Specializing in the

urban contemporary gospel Urban/contemporary gospel, also known as urban gospel music, urban gospel pop, or just simply urban gospel, is a modern subgenre of gospel music. Although the style developed gradually, early forms are generally dated to the 1970s, and the gen ...

Christian R&B Christian R&B (also known as gospel R&B, rhythm & praise music, and R&P) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music consisting of tracks with Christian-based lyrics or by musicians typically known for writing such songs. Music in this genre intends ...

, and

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music Music genre, genre, originating from African Americans, African-American musicians in the 1980s that combines rhythm and blues with elements of Pop music, pop, Soul music, soul, funk, Hip-hop, ...

genres, she started her music career in the late 1990s with her younger sister,

Tina Campbell Trecina Evette "Tina" Campbell (''née'', Atkins; born May 1, 1974) is an American urban contemporary gospel, Christian R&B and contemporary R&B recording artist and musician. She started her music career in 1998 with her older sister, Erica Cam ...

, as part of the group

Mary Mary Mary Mary is an American urban contemporary gospel duo formed in 1998, consisting of sisters Erica Atkins-Campbell and Trecina Atkins-Campbell. Their name is inspired by two biblical figures: Mary, mother of Jesus, and Mary Magdalene. They ar ...

. Her debut solo album ''

Help Help may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * Help (2010 film), ''Help'' (2010 film), a Bollywood horror film * Help (2021 theatrical film), ''Help'' (2021 theatrical film), a British psychological thriller film * Help (2021 TV ...

'' (2014), reached the top ten on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, and won the Grammy Award for Best Gospel Album at the

57th Grammy Awards The 57th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2015, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The show was broadcast live by CBS at 5:00 p.m. PST ( UTC−8). Rapper LL Cool J hosted the show for the fourth consecutive ti ...

. The album's reissue, '' Help 2.0''. (2015), included the gospel trap single " I Luh God", which reached number one on the gospel chart. She released her second album ''I Love You'' in 2023. Her 2024 collaborative track "One Hallelujah" alongside Tasha Cobbs Leonard,

Israel Houghton Israel Houghton (; born May 19, 1971) is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, producer, and worship leader. His worship team is credited as Israel & New Breed. Musical career Houghton produced an album by Michael Gungo ...

, Jonathan McReynolds and Jekalyn Carr won the

Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance/Song The Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance/Song is category at the annual Grammy Awards. It was first awarded in 2015. It combines two previously separate categories in the Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music field, Best Gospel Song (for songw ...

. In addition to her music career, Campbell has made appearances in the films '' Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit'' (1993) and ''

The Fighting Temptations ''The Fighting Temptations'' is a 2003 American musical comedy film directed by Jonathan Lynn, written by Elizabeth Hunter and Saladin K. Patterson, and distributed by Paramount Pictures and MTV Films. Cuba Gooding Jr. plays a man who returns to ...

'' (2003). Since May 2016, she has been the host of ''Get Up! Mornings with Erica Campbell'' with comedian Griff, currently distributed by Reach Media, the syndication arm of

Urban One Urban One, Inc. (formerly Radio One) is an American media conglomerate based in Silver Spring, Maryland. Founded in 1980 by Cathy Hughes, the company primarily operates media properties targeting African Americans. It is the largest African-Ame ...

Early life

Campbell was born Erica Monique Atkins, on April 29, 1972, in

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city had a population of 107,762. ...

, the daughter of Eddie Aaron Atkins Jr. (1948–2013), originally from

Merced, California Merced (; Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 86,333, up from 78,958 in 2010. Incorporated on Apri ...

, a pastor and minister, and Thomasina Andrea "Honey" Atkins (''née'' Daniels), who is originally from

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

. Her paternal grandparents are Eddie Aaron Atkins, Sr. and Lavada Cruthird, and her maternal grandparents are Tommy and Ruth Daniels. She had two older brothers, Andre Lavelle Atkins, who died at six years old from a combination of Down Syndrome, spinal meningitis, and a hole in his heart, while her other brother is living in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, Darrell Antoine Atkins. She has one older sister, Maliea Dionne Atkins, and five younger sisters, Trecina Evette "Tina" Atkins, Delisa Marie "Lisa" or "Wittle Wees" Atkins, Thomasina Andrea "Goo Goo" Atkins, Alana Ellesse "Lainz" or "Luv Luv" Atkins, and Shanta Nena Lavea Atkins.

Music career

Her music career started in 1998, with her younger sister,

, who formed half of the

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...

duo,

. As part of

, Campbell earned numerous Stellar Music and Dove Awards, four

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s, three

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...

s, two

American Music Award The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...

s, a Soul Train Award and a BET Award. In 2008, Campbell recorded a solo track called "Stand" for the soundtrack to the independent film ''A Good Man Is Hard to Find''. In 2011, Mary Mary received the

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

Golden Note Award for their extraordinary songwriting. Erica commenced her solo music recording career in 2013, by recording her first

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, ''

'', that released on March 25, 2014, with

Entertainment One Music MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch"), formerly known as Koch Records and Entertainment One (eOne) Music/Records, is an American independent record label and music management company based in New York City. It was formed in 1987 as a music div ...

. This album was her breakthrough release upon the ''Billboard'' magazine charts, while it charted on The ''Billboard'' 200,

Top Gospel Albums Top Gospel Albums is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States, ranking the popularity of gospel albums. As of Tuesday, January 31, 2017 (with the charts dated February 11, 2017), it uses the same multi-metric m ...

, and

Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' mag ...

charts, where it peaked at Nos. 6, 1, and 2, correspondingly. Campbell won a

for Best Gospel Album at the 57th edition of the event. The subsequent studio album, '' Help 2.0'', was released on March 31, 2015, from Entertainment One Music. This album charted on the same charts, but at Nos. 120, 1, and 12, respectively. In early April 2018, Erica and her husband

Warryn Campbell Warryn Stafford Campbell, Jr. (born August 21, 1975) is an American record producer. He has worked with a number of contemporary gospel, gospel, hip hop and Contemporary R&B, R&B artists. Campbell originally got his start as a session musician a ...

are to star in their own reality show on TV One. The show will highlight Erica going back in the studio to record her new album. Also in 2018, Erica and her husband released a music video titled, "All of My Life". On September 23, 2022, Erica released “Positive” and she released “Feel Alright (Blessed)” on January 13, 2023 from her second album '' I Love You'', which was released later that yea

Personal life

She is married to

, with whom she resides in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, together with their three children. Campbell is an honorary member of

Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is an List of African American fraternities, historically African-American Fraternities and sororities, sorority. The sorority was founded in 1908 at Howard University in Washington, D.C.. Alpha Kappa Alpha ...

, having been initiated on January 15, 2023.Erica Campbell, Patti Labelle Among New Honorary Members of Alpha Kappa Alpha
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Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

External links

Official Facebook profileOfficial morning show website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Erica 1972 births Living people Mary Mary 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century African-American women singers 21st-century American women singers African-American Christians African-American radio personalities African-American women singer-songwriters American women singer-songwriters American gospel singers Grammy Award winners MNRK Music Group artists Musicians from Inglewood, California Singer-songwriters from California