{"id":4174,"date":"2014-09-18T16:51:08","date_gmt":"2014-09-18T16:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/?p=4174"},"modified":"2014-09-18T16:51:08","modified_gmt":"2014-09-18T16:51:08","slug":"student-spotlight-jesus-baby-aka-avery-ward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/2014\/09\/18\/student-spotlight-jesus-baby-aka-avery-ward\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Spotlight: Jesus Baby aka Avery Ward"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Mia Brooks
\n<\/strong>MC 301 Contributor\/ Staff Writer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gospel and R&B are not two genres usually associated together, but that\u2019s exactly what Avery Ward, a senior theater major from Morton, Miss. embodies.<\/p>\n

The up and coming singer, who goes by the moniker \u2018Jesus Baby\u2019, grew up in the church and was always surrounded by music.<\/p>\n

Ward grew up listening to many different artists like Dorinda Clark, Kierra Sheard, Jagged Edge, Lyfe Jennings and Tupac.<\/p>\n

Although he was raised in the church, his love for Hip-Hop and R&B is what really motivated him to pursue a singing career.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore I got saved, I used to do gangster rap. I discovered I could sing when I won second place in my high school talent show and I started writing songs after that,\u201d said Ward.<\/p>\n

Ward describes his music as gospel R&B because his heavy R&B influence is reflected through his music and makes him stand out as a Christian artist.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favorite style of music is R&B, so most of my songs have an R&B style, but I talk about Christ. I think I\u2019m different because I talk about real life situations that most Christians don\u2019t discuss and put Christ into everything I write about,\u201d said Ward.<\/p>\n

Ward is currently signed to Orangutan records, out of Sacramento, Calif. and has a hot new single called \u201cTemptation\u201d available on iTunes, Googleplay and Spotify.com.<\/p>\n

The song is about the temptations that many people face like having premarital sex, drinking or doing drugs. Ward hopes the song is one youth can relate to and find strenghth to avoid these temptations.<\/p>\n

When he isn\u2019t singing, Ward uses his creativity in other ways. His original comedy skits have become popular on his Youtube and Facebook pages. In the future, Ward plans to take his singing and acting careers to the next level.<\/p>\n

\u201c I would like to host a concert here at Jackson State this year. After I graduate I plan on going on tour and taking my acting to Hollywood,\u201d said Ward.<\/p>\n

Ward believes he has a bright future ahead of himself and hopes to inspire many with his music, while also being a role model to youth.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want people to know my voice but most importantly the Christ that\u2019s within me. I want to share the joy and peace of living with Christ through my music. I also want people to know the importance of education and hard work. Nothing comes easy,\u201d said Ward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mia Brooks MC 301 Contributor\/ Staff Writer Gospel and R&B are not two genres usually associated together, but that\u2019s exactly what Avery Ward, a senior theater major from Morton, Miss. embodies. The up and coming singer, who goes by the moniker \u2018Jesus Baby\u2019, grew up in the church and was always surrounded by music. Ward […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4174","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-variety"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4174\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}