Mat Kearney

Singer-songwriter Mat Kearney—a former skater kid who fell in love with ’90s R&B and hip-hop—blended soulful vocals and spoken-word poetics on his 2004 indie LP, Bullet. ∙ In 2006, his propulsive hit single “Trainwreck” won a Dove Award for Rap/Hip-Hip Recorded Song of the Year. ∙ Mixing pop-folk production with gritty hip-hop lyricism, his 2006 major-label debut, Nothing Left to Lose, reached the Top 5 on two Billboard charts. ∙ After opening for Sheryl Crow, John Mayer, and Train, Kearney was handpicked as the headliner for VH1’s inaugural You Oughta Know Tour in 2007. ∙ In 2007, the singer was included on “Ricky Gervais’ Must List,” with the comedian praising Kearney’s “spoken word that sounds like French hip-hop.” ∙ He scored back-to-back No. 1s on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart with 2009’s City of Black & White and 2011’s Young Love. ∙ Celebrating the 10th anniversary of his fan-favorite album, he released the 2019 EP City of Black & White Revisited, which featured stripped-back reworkings of five tracks from the original LP.