Mervin Mayo doesn’t fit the usual mold of a gospel singer – no exaggerated vocals nor flashy costumes. In fact, sometimes he hits the church pulpit right after work, still wearing the Richmond, Virgina policeman’s uniform he’s worn for 21 years. His rugged appearance and raspy tenor have attracted a burgeoning audience of church ladies who are loving his old school R&B approach to gospel music. It’s netted him over 85 million digital streams – a great number for a newcomer of any music genre and especially auspicious for a gospel artist. Thanks to the enduring popularity of Mayo’s 2024 debut album God Did It and the combined consumption of his new project Through It All(Mervin Mayo Productions / God’s Glory Music Group / Tyscot Records), he’s earned over a million one-week digital streams for the first time.
Mayo has been able to build his own unique audience – through his own YouTube channel of nearly150K subscribers and appearances on urban mainstream programming such as SiriusXM’s Sway in the Morning – without the usual aid of a radio smash. Last week, Mayo’s new album Through It All amassed over 614K digital streams. Three of the tracks “You Can’t Tell Me That God Ain’t Good,” “One More Chance” and his soulful cover of Elevation Worship’s Christian Pop anthem “Trust in God” each surpassed 100k streams individually. On top of this activity, Mayo’s prior album God Did It turned out over 440K streams last week – 300K of those stemming from the set’s most popular tracks – “In This Place” and “I’m Healing.”
It’s quite a turn of events for a Mayo who has sung most of his life but never made a spark nationally until 2020 when one of his church videos went viral and secured him a story on CNN. Since then, he’s performed Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” on NBC’s America’s Got Talent and signed a joint venture agreement with the historic Tyscot Records gospel label that’s celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. All these elements combined to make Mayo one of the hottest under-the-radar names on the gospel scene.
“I’ve been through it all,” says Mayo as he reflects on his newfound success. “I’ve been homeless. I’ve been divorced. I’ve had cancer, you know what I’m saying? I’ve seen people killed in the streets. I’ve seen everything, so when I go out here to sing or preach, I’m ministering to them from a place of pain. I’m ministering to them from a place of I’ve been there. This is not what I’ve heard. This is what I’ve been through. So, I’m able to reach street people even with me being a police officer. I’m able to reach straight thugs, you know what I mean? Because I grew up as a thug.”
It’s against this backdrop that Mayo created, Through It All (Mervin Mayo Productions / God’s Glory Music Group / Tyscot Records), which is reminiscent of R&B kings such as Bobby Womack, Charlie Wilson and Eddie Levert back in the 1970s. “I’m Moving,” “The Air I Breathe” and “Through It All” all simmer with retro soul styled cool. “You Can’t Tell Me GodAin’tGood” is a bass heavy bop with an infectious groove. Then, there are passionate ballads such as “You Were There” and “One More Chance.” Mayo changes pace with “Jireh” which boasts lush strings and piano while “Never” has a smooth, neo-soul sound. Finally, the set is rounded out with a churchy cover of Elevation Worship’s 2023 cut, “Trust in God,” and his clubbish reboot of Stephanie Mills’ 1980 Pop classic, “Never Knew Love Like This Before.” The album title reflects Mayo’s personal trek from the brutal Creighton Court projects in Richmond, VA to his current status as a troubadour of the Good News. “This album is like a journey,” he explains. “It’s like I’m telling God that through all my ups and downs, he was there holding me. Even when I thought I was by myself, you were there…I don’t know what the end will look like, but from where I came and to where I am now, He’s been with me through it all.”
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