Don't let the name fool you. Pee Wee Callins is anything but miniscule. Especially when it comes to his head turning, at once velvety-smooth and cannon-fire voice. His is a wildly talented instrument all by itself, forged and formed after a lifetime spent singing and playing music, soaking in the very best influences from a wide variety of sources, touring, recording, and most importantly, being continually drawn by God's call on him as a minister and musician.
And now Callins gets to showcase his amazing voice for his widest audience yet. His Beatmart Recordings debut, Street Soul, hits pavement in mid-April 2005, and anticipation is palpable. Todd Collins - Beatmart's founder, as well as Pee Wee's producer and childhood friend, pulls no punches. "Pee Wee is one of the best pure singers I've ever had the privilege to work with."
The whopping 14 tracks on Street Soul spell out the details, and they reveal an artist who's all about reaching the maximum number of listeners possible, whatever their musical tastes or places in life. "The songs on this album are like a collection of short stories," says Pee Wee. "My approach to writing was to give the characters in the stories something to look forward to. The main ideas are hope, love, joy, and a better life. The conclusion is that these things can be obtained through Jesus Christ." But Callins doesn't rest with lyrical diversity. On the musical end of things, his primary R&B thrust on Street Soul is continuously augmented by smart infusions of hip-hop, pop, soul, rock, gospel, as well as subtle, sunny excursions to the land of '70s radio. Indeed Pee Wee proves himself a joyful jukebox over the course of his nearly hourlong album - and he's helped along the way by emcees Rob Hodge, Big Sonny, and Bobby Bishop, who further Street Soul's street vibe and no-nonsense credibility.
"Keep Hope Alive" announces Pee Wee's presence with smooth, Philly-styled soul, thumping, four-on-the-floor bass, and even old school, double-octave guitar riffs as Callins encourages listeners that they can make it through life's storms. Pee Wee's memorable, midtempo love song to his Creator, and the first single from Street Soul - "Sunshine" - is the aural equivalent of flecks of light illuminating stained glass, with multiple background vocals floating out of the speakers and coloring Pee Wee's commanding lead vocal. So many rainy days/felt like the sun had left my world/but You gave me hope/many nights I tossed and turned/but You became my peace of mind.
Callins has some fun with "I Choose Love" - a musical mouthpiece for the divine love Paul outlines in his first letter to the Corinthian church - by letting loose with a delightful Earth Wind and Fire vibe mixed with a rolling guitar figure reminiscent of What's Going On era Marvin Gaye. And while Pee Wee makes no bones about the goodness and pure joy that even a Christ-like good time can bring (the crazily catchy, "Party"), he makes his most unforgettable declarations when the subjects are deadly serious. On the jaw-dropping "Better Life," Callins addresses head-on the problems that his fellow men leave behind fatherless children, abandoned women, and a lack of spiritual leadership in the home and in the church. Pee Wee's pleas on the studio microphone from this hour turn away, from this hour walk away/I hope that you hear me, tell me that youre with me - feel more like appeals from the pulpit.(That's not such a stretch: When Callins isn't wringing his soul dry onstage, he's pastoring the Greater New Hope Anointed Ministries Prayer Retreat Center in Plant City, Florida.)
"Can Somebody" echoes the cries of the lonely and abused. Over one excruciating verse, Pee Wee describes meeting a young girl on the streets who asks him, Do you have the time to listen to what I have to say?/Thought about suicide two or three times because my baby's daddy I can't find/he said he would marry me, but when I had my baby, the boy left me/now my family is always putting me down/and the girls I ran with are nowhere around. Indeed far from typical pop-radio fare, but Callins' raw, truth-soaked subject matter is too real to forget any time soon.
Not surprisingly, Pee Wee's melodic roots extend back to the tender age of three when he started playing drums in his grandfather's church in Plant City. "I watched my uncle play the drums, my aunt sing, and my father play the guitar," Callins recalls. "I started playing the drums and the keyboard shortly thereafter, without formal lessons."
Adorned with the natural giftings of a prodigy, Pee Wee kept on this astounding path, becoming minister of music by the age of 12. It was during this time that God's calling on Pee Wee as a musical minister really starting to grow. By 1988 he started touring locally with his aunts, they called themselves Pee Wee and the Heavenly Voices. By 1992, Pee Wee moved with an uncle to Atlanta to pursue a career in R&B. With a record deal on the table, Pee Wee instead chose to move back home to fulfill family obligations, and it was during this period that God stirred Pee Wee's heart toward gospel music.
After recording and much more touring sharing stages with the likes of Kirk Franklin, Fred Hammond, and Shirley Caesar for the remainder of the 1990s and beyond, Pee Wee's musical direction took another turn.
"Most of my career, I sang traditional black gospel," Callins explains. "But it wasn't until I listened to Out of Eden's last album that I felt the urge to broaden my singing experiences. During this time I received confirmations from the Lord that he was going to fulfill all the promises he made to me. And while fulfilling those promises, he would use me to further the gospel and save, restore, deliver, and heal souls." Pee Wee finally closed the last length on the circle when he was led by the Spirit one day to call his old friend, Todd Collins. "That's when he informed me about Beatmart Recordings," Pee Wee exclaims. "Ironically, I was only one week away from embarking into another live gospel recording. However, God knew my destiny was in Beatmart. I'll never forget when I received the call a few days later - I am now living the dream."
