Sharon Irving
I take a deep breath and step out on faith. Do it afraid.” Those words have been a mantra for South Side of Chicago Native, Sharon Irving, singer/songwriter, poet, rapper, worship leader, actress and voice over artist, since she was a little girl, performing in front of the congregation at the south side church in Chicago where her grandfather was pastor. Her first tenous steps as an artist were shaped by the influences of his powerful baritone singing and eloquent sermons, and the mind blowing artistry of her father, famed jazz musician and composer, Robert Irving III. With loving encouragement from her mother and grandmother, Sharon has cultivated and shaped her own creative persona. She is an inspiring ‘voice for the voiceless’ and a passionate wordsmith spewing truth and inspiration, singing songs of life and love motivated by her personal experiences, and undergirded by her faith. She has led people into worship from prisons to pulpits to television, in front of millions while a participant on Season Ten of “America’s Got Talent”, where she received the coveted “Golden Buzzer” at her first televised audition, and was chosen by America to compete in the Semi-Finals.
Sharon has contributed songs and words of hope before thousands at liturgical and corporate events, youth conferences, including the popular “CHIC”, (‘ Covenant High in Christ’), in small clubs and intimate settings all over the country and at the Angola Prison in Angola, Louisiana.
Sharon fuses her love of fashion and music into a whimsical symmetry of sound and visual aesthetic. Sharon poured her spirit into her debut album, ‘Bennett Ave’. “I like to blend different art forms when I’m writing songs and, with this album, I’ve drawn inspiration from every genre and I mean every genre. I have a passion for shaping words and everyday phrases to melody. ‘Bennett Ave’ is an expression of my thoughts on issues of justice, love and redemption in the darkest situations. It’s about what it means to be human when we’re at our lowest and highest points. It pays homage to the South Side of Chicago home and street I grew up on. It’s been challenging, but my heart is to pursue new methodologies in worship music, and reach people through mainstream music. Life is messy and broken. So many people are hiding, living for others, dying on the inside and holding onto unhealthy narratives out of fear but Gods strength is made perfect in those messy places. There’s an unlikely and beautiful story of redemption waiting to unfold in our lives. I want my art to be transparent, raw, uplifting, bold and healing. I believe God has called me to be a bridge builder and shifter and changer of atmospheres through the gift of music.”
Sharon loves spending time doing life, laughing and spreading hope with her purpose partner and fiancé, Quincy Rycraw Cochran, also known as Q. Sharon and Q, founded Living Epistle together in 2020 during quarantine. Their story is non conventional and full of redemption.
