Credit: 21:03 Facebook

It’s been a few years since fans have heard from the Grammy Award nominated urban gospel trio of 21:03. Evin Martin, Torrence Greene and Jor’el Quinn have grown up before the public eye, but it’s the trials and tests they faced behind the music that has caused them to mature on levels showcased on their new album ‘Evolved… From Boys To Men’. RoJay spoke with Evin and Jor’el about the project and how they knew their testimony was right to share at this time.

RoJay: Your new album is in stores now. You titled it ‘Evolved… From Boys To Men’. I am pretty sure I can guess what the meaning behind it is, but tell me why you chose this title for the album.

Evin: We just wanted to name it something that was aptly titled from where we been and where we’re going between the last album to now. The last album came out in 2008. We got a Grammy nomination for a song called ‘Cover Me’ and through that period we’ve gone through a series of trials and growth spurts and just events in our life. And when you go through things like we’ve been through you can’t help but to evolve. Evolve is a term of maturation. It’s a term of metamorphosis… of change. We’re constantly changing as humans and even spiritually. So we wanted our music to reflect that and we wanted the title of our album to reflect that also.

When 21:03 first hit the urban gospel scene in 2005 with their debut, PAJAM Presents Twenty One O’ Three, they were slowly finding their voice and place in an already cluttered marketplace. Their sophomore follow-up in 2008, Total Attention, cemented their identity, assuring the world they were not to be forgotten by racking up a Stellar Award and a Grammy Award nomination.

Evin Martin, Torrence Greene and Jor’el Quinn have grown up right before our eyes and the maturity that comes from experiencing the ups and downs of life is heard throughout their third CD, Evolved: From Boys to Men, releasing Tuesday, September 6, 2011.

Recently, NewReleaseTuesday.com met up with the Grammy Nominated group 21:03 in Boise, Idaho where they were performing at the Youth and Adult Empowerment Concert at Agape Christian Worship Center. Sisters, and guest NRT contributors, Cate Morris and Promise Joy asked them about their ministry and upcoming album.

We are so excited that your new album is finally coming out! Share with us a little about this project.

Evin Martin: Our new album is called Evolved: From Boys to Men and is releasing on PAJAM who is Walter Kearney, Jay Moss, and Paul Allen with Verity Records. The album is us coming of age and showcasing our growth in maturity, spiritually, our growth vocally, our ministry, professionally and more. The title is significant in that everyone has an evolution in their life. You grow as a believer as as a young man, evolving from boys to men; or from a girl to a woman. We have songs on the album that speak to a lot of the things that young people deal with regardless of culture. We all have those moments that shape our faith–those moments that cause you to go from just hearing to believing. And that’s what this album symbolizes.