Uzane

Israel's story is remarkable in itself. Born biracial in 1971 to a white mother who was disowned by her family and abandoned by the child's father, Israel was given his biblical name from a word she saw repeatedly in the Bible given to her by the woman who ministered to her on the streets of San Diego. Not long after Israel was born she married Henry Houghton and they raised Israel and his three younger siblings in Arizona and New Mexico. An interest in music settled within him early on. "I was the kid in church who jumped on the drums at the end of service and annoyed everybody! But my mom is a phenomenal piano player who taught me the basics. And I learned the guitar on a bet from a guy who didn't think I had the discipline to do it. It was 1986 and I was 15 years old. Our bet was 30 days, and in that time I learned how to play practicing every single day. I've always been like that about anything I set my mind to. I've always had this feeling that I'm not here to take up free oxygen. Whatever I'm here to do, I'm going to impact my immediate world and, hopefully, the world at large. It's just inherent."

Israel's first professional recordings were a pair of solo albums for Warner Bros. Records. But the real success began in 1995 when Israel, his wife Meleasa founded New Breed Ministries, an organization inclined to category-defying music created by noted musicians and singers who serve within their respective churches and together serve the church at large. The result has been five albums (two Gold-sellers), Grammy® and gospel awards, network television appearances, SRO concerts on stages around the world and the use of much of their canon in church services every week.