Meet Brandon McCrae | Preacher, Professor, Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brandon McCrae and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brandon, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
The crazy thing is… I never set out to start a business! I saw a need and simply supplied a service. That service happened to be something that I love and am personally passionate about. Everything literally evolved from there. I made a great number of mistakes in the beginning. Time is the ultimate learning curve. The longer you give yourself to any process, with perseverance, you gain knowledge. It was literally the press for me. The more I did, the more I learned, the more I grew. As you can likely tell, I am a spontaneous kind of guy.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
It is rather challenging to classify all of me into a specific box per se. Here’s what I do. I am the owner and founder of BmacMusik Productions LLC and Bmac Ministries. Under each umbrella is an array of opportunities and outliers. I am a multi-instrumentalist and music minister. I am a preacher, producer, and professor. I am a church polity and protocol adviser. I am a believer in and lover of Jesus Christ. I am a husband, father, son, brother, and friend. I am so many things that it gets rather confusing at times but regardless, I am.

Under the auspices of BmacMusik Productions, I write, produce, arrange, and record musical accompaniment for all genres. I received a full scholarship and graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Jazz Studies and Commercial Music. Shortly after graduation, I diversified my educational portfolio with a teaching assistantship and Master of Music in Percussion Performance degree from Valdosta State University. The BmacMusik entity is an outgrowth of my love and gift for music. I have had the pleasure and privilege of sharing the stage and studio with an array of artists from Jazz icons the likes of Marcus Roberts, soul music superstar, and 13-time Grammy nominee Musiq Soulchild, to Gospel Music revolutionary 3-time Grammy award and 10-time Stellar award-winning Pastor Donnie McClurkin.

With Bmac Ministries I am allowed to walk in my purpose and calling toward ministry. On the sacred educational front, I have garnered a Master of Arts in Expository Preaching with an emphasis on Apologetics and Christian Philosophy at Trinity Theological Seminary (Newburgh, IN). From seminar workshops to training, the Bmac Ministries entity provides space for me to share my passion for Scripture and its author with God’s people. Dually, this ministry allows an outlet for my love of Church History, polity, and protocol. From Bishop’s consecration to obsequies, ordination to elevation, Bmac Ministries handles all aspects of the process. We also assist in forming reformation and fellowship’s hierarchy, protocol, and adjutancy.

One of my greatest personal achievements to date was the completion of my doctoral studies at South University’s College of Theology. This was a coming together of my desire to educate, love for the church, heart for research, and passion for ministry. My dissertation was entitled, “Through a Tinted Lens: A Series of Seminars Addressing the Influence of Africa on Church History.” Here’s a quote from this work: “To fully understand the robust theology of Scripture and the African primacy of much of it, the lens of cultural ambiguity requires removal. The culture of the time is enlivened when places, spaces, and faces of blackness are exposed through Scripture and early church history.” – (Me)

The journey to this place in my life and ministry has been long and arduous. The greatest difficulty has been accepting that I am not what everyone has tethered me to. People oftentimes attempt to tie you to where they have seen you last. In many cases, their desire is for you to remain where it best suits them. Learning, growing, evolving, and pushing past other’s expectations of me has been the greatest lesson that I am STILL learning. An interesting example of this can be seen in the life of Sevyn Streeter. I worked with her back when we called her Ambee. She was and continues to be, an incredibly gifted writer. We cut demos for “The Runners” for years. From R. Kelly to Rick Ross, chances are, you were listening to our work long before anyone knew our name. If she had settled for this, she would never have achieved the stardom and ultimate success that we see today.

Keep pushing! Prayer, perseverance, and passion have been my secret weapons on this journey. Each has been a building block to which my journey has been constructed. Prayer is the foundation and perseverance has made the way. My passion seems to be the glue that gathers each pursuit to the foundation. A life lesson that would suit any and all entrepreneurs would be this, never stop chasing the dream. Eventually, you will catch it but that will not be the end if you continue to dream! As a Kappa man (Spring 2k 10′ Ace Klub, Valdosta Alumni), achievement is the bedrock of greatness. This level of achievement is only seen through the lens of perseverance. Never stop dreaming!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am originally from Valdosta, GA. It is the quintessential “Small Town USA.” Atlanta has been an amazing space of growth and experience. Here are my top hangs in the city. On Friday night the hang is Cigaros on Butner Rd. My girl Majeste’ and a Touch of Magic will be lighting up the stage with the best in current and old school RnB. The food is amazing, and the vibe is always lit! Saturday night the place to be is either Acere Cigar Lounge with Larry Wilson and the Band Smoke or Cigar City Club with my girl Monica “Mz. Drummer.” Both venues have ample space and great atmospheres of fun. The food is also blazing! Grab the lemon pepper wings at Cigar City. They’ll change your life!

There is no other place to be on a Sunday morning in Atlanta than Gathering of Champions Church, 1994 Powder Springs Rd, Marietta, GA. Every worship experience includes an incredible time of word and worship. The messages are always real, relevant, practical, and pragmatic. Since we’re already in town, we might as well stop by Harold’s Chicken and grab the 6 pc wings and fries with salt, pepper, and extra mild sauce on EVERYTHING. (thank me later) Just in case we have a long weekend, Monday brunch would feature a stop at Lickety Split in Hapeville.

We would round off our afternoon with the Dwarf House and end the night hanging with my friend Larry Wilson at Ten ATL’s Jazz Night Jam session. A notable mention would definitely be St. James Live on Sunday brunch and any shows that they feature during the week. This amazing venue is Black-owned and an incredible space for featuring the arts, music, and comedy. There are very few spaces like it in the city.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My success is due to three entities in particular. God, my family, and the Black Church. Allow me a moment to clarify, as I do not want any mixed understanding. God in my biblical estimation is the triune co-eternal, co-existent, creator of the universe. Traditionally understood in three persons (God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit). God’s gifting and grace gave me the tools needed for the journey.

My family has been my literal backbone through every major transition of my life. When no one else believed, they did. When no one else supported, they did. Without them, none of this could be possible. Lastly, everything that I know and have had an opportunity to become is directly linked to the opportunities that the Black Church has afforded me. This amazing entity allowed me to grow in grit and grace, all while making mistakes along the way. This is the church of my parents, grandparents, forefathers, and ancestors. The incubator of the struggle and the mother of the Civil Rights movement, The Black Church has birthed many sons and daughters that now run the proverbial world. Sincerely from my heart, thank you all!!!

Website: https://linktr.ee/DrBrandonIssacMcCrae

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmacmusik/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonmccrae/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BmacMusik

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BmacMusik

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC53qZAUL8Lqic-er16weLJw

Other: https://www.facebook.com/BMacMinistries https://www.facebook.com/TeamMcCraeMinistry

Image Credits
Jerome Osborne (5380 Studios) and Mel B. Elder