Kirk Franklin Sets October 30 Release Date for New Album 'I Am What I Am'

Kirk Franklin has set October 30, 2026, as the release date for his fourteenth solo studio album, "I Am What I Am," distributed through a partnership between his Fo Yo Soul Entertainment, TRIBL Music Group, and Uptown Records.

The album's lead single, "This Time," featuring Memphis rapper GloRilla, dropped on September 25, 2026. The track incorporates an interpolation of Mandrill's "Children of the Sun" and samples Shawty Lo's 2007 hit "Dey Know." A music video directed by Devon Libran accompanied the single's release.

Franklin has also been promoting "Thank You For Everything," a collaboration with Karen Clark Sheard that debuted at the 41st Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards earlier this year.

"I Am What I Am" follows Franklin's 2023 album "Father's Day" and his 2024 headlining run on The Reunion Tour 2.0. The new project marks his continued push to blend gospel music with contemporary hip-hop and R&B sounds, a formula that has made him one of the genre's most commercially successful artists.

Franklin has been one of gospel music's dominant figures for more than three decades, earning multiple Grammy Awards and producing some of the genre's best-known songs. His collaborations with mainstream artists have drawn both praise and criticism from within the gospel community, with supporters arguing he expands the genre's reach and critics questioning whether the crossover approach dilutes its message.

The album is available for pre-order on major streaming platforms ahead of its October 30 release.