Features : N2K brings the dance to gospel with debut track “You Gonna Need Him”

“You Gonna Need Him,” the new track by N2K, is 3 minutes, 19 seconds of glorious musical worship that is as joyful as any music, anywhere.

But, if you’re not the worshipful sort, it is 3 minutes, 19 seconds of high speed, high energy, house-beat dance music.

It is the debut song of N2K — Norman Burns and Nigel Finley, the two Ns, and the K, Kenny Vaughan, three heavyweight, experienced musicians who got together from other gigs for the sole purpose of glorifying God.

“On top of the idea of needing to depend on God, for me it’s kind of the idea of there’s a joy that you’re going to need Him,” said Nigel. “It’s a really high energy song. We were really having a good time as we were recording it, as we were making it. It was a reflection of the joy in our beliefs and our faith.”

Nigel is the lead vocalist and, as Kenny says, his voice soars.

Early in the morning
You gonna need Him
In the afternoon
You gonna need Him
Late in the midnight hour
You gonna need Him

Norman sings the intro:

You Gonna need Him when the lies come out
You gonna need Him when the knives come out

The song and video are on Instagram and YouTube. The congregation of Norman’s church sing as a choir in the video and, along with the two Ns and the K, are dance stars.

“It’s getting legs. A lot of people are enjoying it,” said Norman. “My church went wild over it. They all came out to be in the video, and they’ve been asking me, ‘When is the video coming out?’ And I’m like, ‘Whoa, whoa! The 31st. I promise, the 31st.’ I’m excited that they’re excited.”

“The reason why it’s so danceable,” said Kenny, “is D-Moet, who wrote and produced ‘Hate Me Now’ with Nas, and Andre Betts, who did Madonna’s ‘Justify My Love’ and wrote for Lenny Kravitz, contributed their skills to the final mix. Sugar Hill Gang member, Tracy “Diamond” Temple, added additional dance elements to the track. Those guys are masters of the beat.”

“We have two big-time producers that worked on it,” said Norman.

“We think ‘You Gonna Need Him’ is a song that applies to everyone from a spiritual standpoint,” said Norman. “We think as humans that we’re independent, but we’re really not. There’s a divine providence over all of our lives, and as you progress through this journey, at some point you’re going to need divine intervention to navigate the vicissitudes of life and help you make it through the challenges that we all inevitably face.”

They chose the name for this group as a kind of equation, or an element on the periodic element table.

“Like H2O is water, N2K is spiritual water,” said Kenny.

Norman and Kenny have known each other since the ’80s. Norman, also known as Skip, was in the groups named 4 Destiny which was signed to the MCA Universal label. Kenny was the lead man for Kenny Vaughan and the Art of Love which wrote and performed songs on the Boomerang and House Party Movie Soundtracks.

Nigel is the youngster. He met Norman and Kenny in the R&B and Funk band, Essex Funk Collective. It is an open collection of musicians in Essex County, New Jersey.

“We play all over,” said Kenny. “We’re a local favorite. We sell out Venues so Norman, Nigel, and I are performing together all the time. Norman and I have been doing gospel music for a little while, and when Norman “Skip” brought me this track, the first thought that came to my mind is “We should get Nigel.”

“We thought he’d be a good addition,” said Norman, “and he really knocked it out of the park.”

“I always admired these guys, the things they give you in music,” Nigel said. “It was kind of kismet that we had a performance together, just the three of us. That inspired me to ask to record in the studio with them.”

For Norman, N2K has a personal spiritual aspect. He was on the 62nd floor of the first tower when the planes hit on September 11, 2001.

“I got out of the building 10 minutes before it fell. So, I kind of think this is God’s way of saying, ‘Look, I’m giving you an opportunity, a second chance. I want you to glorify me with this gift that you have. The fact that He’s given me good friends like Nigel and Kenny to talk about His glorious good news is a blessing of the Spirit to me.”

They have other projects, an off-Broadway play, A Mother, a modern retelling of the Bertolt Brecht play The Mother, starring Jessica Hecht and written by Neena Beber.  Although they have written for artists such as Meghan Trainor and Be Be & Ce Ce Winans, and their band (Essex Funk) the focus now is on “You Gonna Need Him.”

This is their gospel debut as N2K, but it won’t be the last.

“We’re working on an EP, and this is the first release from it. Nigel’s the featured vocalist, and Kenny and I are going to write some more stuff with Nigel. I expect that you would hear from us around the beginning of 2025.”

“As Norman says, we try to bring joy in whatever genre we’re performing,” with “Essex Funk, Urban Contemporary, Kingdom songs, wherever we go, we try to bring the joy of the Lord.”

“You may not have the house music in church, but you definitely have that same kind of energy,” said Nigel.

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“You Gonna Need Him” can also be heard via:

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