It is the dream of most young people to become rich, famous, and have a household name. Most spend their entire lives aiming for one of these goals yet only a handful ever see their dreams became reality.

Such is the story of Woody Rock.

The Baltimore native was young and living the phat life. As part of one of R&B's hottest groups, Dru Hill, Woody experienced multi-platinum success and superstardom by age 21.

Yet the R&B heart-throb gave it up to pursue a career in gospel music. It's an amazing story for a singer who didn't originally take singing seriously.

"I started singing in the church basically as soon as my mom found out I could talk. She would play a whole bunch of music around me like James Cleveland and stuff like that," says Woody.

"The thing with singing in church is that it doesn't matter how bad you sound, people will tell you that you sing good, take up collections, and say 'sang baby'. But, it wasn't until really I got in high school that I thought this could be something I could do for real. Then I saw how the young ladies would respond when I would sing a little. That's when I started taking it seriously."

It was in high school that Woody would connect with about six other guys to form a singing group. The group dwindled to four and became known as Dru Hill. As they grew serious about their craft, the ensemble began participating in talent shows and programs until they were finally signed by Def Jam Music Group.

Not long after, Dru Hill achieved mainstream success with 2 multi-platinum releases and a host of singles that blew up at radio. However, something didn't click for Woody. Woody had a different plan. He felt the need to do a work for God.

So why would someone raised in the church feel the need to do R&B and then return to drop a gospel project?

"Well, for two reasons. Firstly, it was an opportunity that was on the table then and there. Being 18 and from Baltimore, a place where you don't hear of people getting record deals, I figured that we'd better go for it," says the Dru Hill alumnus.

Soul Music

The leadoff cut is Woody's testimony of God's love and grace. Testimony is a stellar collaboration with star producer Fred Jerkins which comes as an edgy groove. It tells of Woody's desire to share his testimony with the world, with the aim of leading them to Christ. It's a major statement as he states his purpose... See full album review.

"Secondly, the way things are happening is kind of the way that I wanted things to happen. Let's just say I'm just James Green (Woody's birth name) from Baltimore and I can sing and I come out with a gospel record. Some people might take notice of it but more would take notice of it that I've come from such a successful group. This is something that will get people's attention quicker."

Though Woody has experienced great success in the R&B arena, he is humble and confident about his abilities.

"There are a million and one people in the gospel industry that can sing. Some of them, by my own admission, can sing circles around me. But I have a lot of experience and I know what I'm doing based on the things that have happened in the past. Secondly, I have something behind my name because I came from R&B and people are curious. They are looking to support me," says Woody.

As he left Dru Hill, suprisingly, he had no intentions of releasing a gospel album. "I met Ruscola (one of the album's producers) and heard his sound and I figured that if I was doing something like this in gospel, there wouldn't be anybody like me. So then I went into the studio with him and did a song.”

“Then I was in the movies one night and thought of another song that's on the album and felt that they had to go somewhere. That's when I decided that I wanted to put together a whole album. So I decided to call up all of my producer buddies and artist buddies and just kind of put it together".

That list of artist and producer friends that appear on the album represent an amazing cross-section of the hip-hop, R&B,and Gospel communities. It ranges from Mary Mary and BBJay to Case and Dru Hill. Woody found no opposition from his secular friends to participate on this gospel venture.

"The secular artists are like my buddies so they better not had said 'no' because we're like family and we help each other out", jokes Woody. He also was overwhelmed by the support that he received from his gospel counterparts.

"Everybody so far has embraced me and I'm grateful for that too because a lot of times that doesn't happen. They told me 'we appeciate and see what you're trying to do and anyway we can help out, we're down'".

Any time one makes such a huge transition from R&B to Gospel, there are bound to be challenges and battles to fight. However, the battles that Woody faced were from areas that he least expected.

"I was at Def Jam at first and they said they were going to put out the gospel album. But, they don't do gospel. So they would try to cut deals with me saying that I would have to do this and that. If I didn't, they say that they'd let me go elsewhere to put the album out. It was never because of the music...it was the business side of it," reveals Woody.

"Up until then, I didn't know a lot about side of the business. Being a part of a group, everybody pretty much played their role in the group. Sisqo was the front man doing a lot of the lead singing. Jazz was doing a lot of singing. I was doing more writing and Nokio was producing and handling the business stuff so I never had to worry about any of that. Becoming a solo artist, you have to deal with all of these things yourself. This was and still is the most stressful thing," states Woody.

In addition to issues with changing record companies, Woody cites management dealings as another major challenge for him to deal with.

"As a solo artist, you have to find good management and you go through things with people who you trust to represent you. Next thing you know you have people cutting side deals and getting money over somewhere else. Then, you go to them and wonder why things are the way the are and they can't tell you why. At that point, you find out that these people may be part of the reason why things are they way they are yet they're getting paid by you," shares Woody.

Amidst all of the complications though, lies a young man who is willing to bear his soul to reach the masses, hence the title of his Gospocentric debut, Soul Music. Rock readily admits that this is not your average Sunday morning project.

"I want to get people's attention that might not necessarily go to church or be familiar with what's going on. Basically, I look at my album as an advertisement. Then you go to church and get the real meat and potatoes. My album is not really a preachy album. It's not really an album that will make you feel bad if you just went out last night and did something that you didn't have any business doing. It's an album saying how good God is and how he can be your friend. Then you'll get someone else's record who might be a bit deeper like Shirley Caesar or you'll go to church and hear the Word.

It's just something that will get your attention," expresses Woody.

It's this deep level of commitment that has prepared him to encounter those who feel that this conversion is not genuine.

"In the circles that I travel in, people always say 'real recognizes real'. You can tell when somebody is phony or somebody is faking a move," admits Woody. "You can also tell when someone is coming from their heart. One thing I always say is that I'm never going to be phony. I'm not a phony person. If you ever see me standing on stage and I'm speaking in tongues and I'm crying then you better believe that something got a hold of me because I'm not for the sake of a good show.

Albums from Woody's Album Guests

Multiple artists join with Woody in his Soul Music project. Click on the above album covers to connect with the respective reviews from some of these guests.

“I'm not going to get up there and start speaking in some fake tongues and fall out in the floor and crying and stuff like that. There are a lot of people that do that but you can tell when it's real. More than anything people can tell that I'm real and that I have a pure spirit," continues Woody.

It's no surprise that Woody has adopted a more urban and contemporary presentation to his music. Growing up on the sounds of The Winans and Commissioned, Woody easily incorporates those influences into his current musical stylings. In fact, he does a rousing cover of the Winans classic, "The Question Is" with another talented group, Men of Standard.

"I did this cut because I like The Winans and someone already did "Trust In God", which was my favorite,"says Rock.

While the Winans and Commissioned represent music from his formative years, Woody cites several of today's artists as his current favorites. "I like a lot of what's going on right now because I like the direction that they're taking," notes Woody. "[I listen to] People like Tonéx, Mary Mary, and Kirk Franklin because they're reaching out to people that really need to be reached."

As our nation copes with its most uncertain times, Woody sees himself as being in a unique position to reach the masses and other secular artists. "Basically this is all taking me back to my Bible so I can study more and speak about these things with more knowledge. I have a lot of friends in the industry calling me asking me if these things are in the Bible. Everyone's trying to find out how this tragedy affects them," says Woody.

Rock admits to being open to whatever direction the Lord has for him. "Right now, I'm open. I'm at the point where I'm trying to figure out what exactly I'm supposed to be doing. At times, to be totally honest, I get discouraged because this album has been done for like three years now and through record companies changing and political things, the record is not out.”

“So if this is what the good Lord wanted me to do, why is it so difficult for it to happen? Then I realize that everything happens for a reason. In March of 2001, I lost my mother. I was saying then that it was good that the record didn't come out then because I would have been travelling all around the world and wouldn't have had time to spend with her. Whatever the Lord wants to happen is going to happen. I'm trying to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing but maybe it's not for me to figure out and when it happens then I'll know," admits Woody.

It's undecided whether or not there will be a Dru Hill reunion.

"We're on the phone everyday trying to see if we can do it but it's got to be right. I can't speak for anyone but me. I can't do it unless I'm allowed to talk about God openly on the Dru Hill album. I don't want to have use metaphors or anything like that. I want to be able to come straight out and say 'Jesus' if I feel like saying Jesus. If it can't go down that way, then it can't go down. So far, from the talks I've had, it won't be a problem," declares Woody.

And with that, Woody embarks on the newest chapter of his musical career. With his solo release, Woody is proving that a changed heart and transformed mind leads to true Soul Music.