Kirk Franklin is from Fort Worth, Texas and was raised by his Aunt Gertrude after being abandoned by his mother when he was a baby. His aunt sold aluminum cans to raise money for Kirk to take piano lessons at the age of four. From a very young age, Kirk Franklin excelled in music and was able to read, write, and play by ear. At the age of seven, he received his first contract offer but his aunt turned it down so that he can focus on school. When he was twelve years old, Kirk became the music director of the Mt. Rose Baptist Church choir. Like most teenagers, despite growing up in the church, Kirk became very rebellious so he was sent to a professional youth conservatory. After his acceptance into the conservatory, he found out his girlfriend became pregnant and was later expelled because of behavior infractions.

            Under the guidance of Jewell Kelly, Kirk Franklin was afforded the opportunity to become the student accompanist for the Singing Chaparrals at Oscar Dean Wyatt High School. After the sudden death of one his best friends’ Kirk Franklin put his focus back into the church and began to direct the choir again. During that time, he also co-founded a gospel group entitled, The Humble Hearts. This group recorded an original composition of Kirk Franklin and it gained the attention of music legend Milton Biggham. This meeting later afforded Kirk to lead the DFW Mass Choir in a recording of his song “Every Day with Jesus”, after this Milton Biggham hired Franklin at 20 years old to lead the choir at the 1990 Gospel Music Workshop of America Convention which is a big deal in the gospel music industry.