One of Naomi Raine’s joys is singing with her new found family, Maverick City Music, who has taken the world by storm over the past few years. Together, they have touched generations of people and have been widely recognized as artists who are leading the masses to the heart of God.

Today she releases her new solo record, Cover The Earth (Live in New York), More than a collection of songs, a worship experience full of upbeat and praise-worthy songs that blend pop, R&B and more, while delivering encouraging and uplifting messages across ten songs and four “flow” song transitions. The album was recorded in the heart of New York City and produced by Naomi with Adale Jackson.

Monica Moser from our team drove down to Houston to spoke with her about how Maverick City represents so much of what she hope for as a young believer and how her new worship-centric album intentionally follows her personal reflections shared and stories told in Journey.

You are currently on tour with Taya, Natalie Grant, and Tasha Cobbs. What an incredible crew. Tell me how tour has been and any standout moments.

It's been amazing.

I'm having a really great time learning from the other ladies and just experiencing their gifts because they are absolutely amazing. I’m with these amazing people every night, and it's almost like, “Wait!”— it's such a blessing.

There was a moment in, I want to say Connecticut, where at the end of the night, we had just been praying over the city beforehand and had felt like there was some heaviness during the night, and so at the end, it just broke, and we just went into worship. And when I say worship, I just mean we're literally just praising God – everybody. At the end of the show, there was no other song.

There was nothing else to do but to just literally shout out to God and it was a beautiful moment because it was so evident that it wasn't about us and our songs, it was really about just giving glory to God. It was a moment that I don't think I'll ever forget because it was so right and so good.

I’m a fellow native New Yorker, and something I loved about faith in the city is that it was in opposition to culture so it felt extra genuine. I wondered if you could relate to that or if you experienced that as well growing up there.

I don't know if I could say I experienced it like that because I grew up in a church that was very… I grew up in a megachurch. There's something about mega churches that's very exclusive — it's just us, right? So that in and of itself felt very countercultural even to other churches. I always kind of felt like we were in this bubble, but the bubble was really big! And we all just connected together.

I do think as I've gotten older and have gone into other spaces, I do realize how difficult it is to be a Christian in New York City sometimes, because there's just so much happening and so much going on. And when you realize that Christianity really has been a culture in and of itself, you go, “oh, man, that's difficult.”

I will say this: the name of my church growing up is Christian Cultural Center (it used to be Christian Life Center).

Our pastor used to always teach us that we were to bring and put Christ in the culture, and so I think from a young age, it kind of was like: every culture I stepped into, I'm to bring Christ, so I didn't feel the difference, if that makes sense. It was intentional to be like, “Ok, everywhere I go, I'm going to try to bring Jesus.”

Totally. It's like you already knew it going into it.

In your bio, it says you “desire to see the body of Christ united and empowered.” When I read those two descriptors, it makes me think about what Maverick City has built and fosters in the way their music not only unites believers of different denominations and racial backgrounds, but it even reaches the mainstream (you all performed at the Grammy’s this year on the main stage). Do you feel like Mav City’s legacy is what you hoped for as a young believer?

100% - I think in many ways.

I feel like the Lord gave me a heart for this before I even knew what it was, and he told me, He said: “You're going to be a part of a Civil Rights Movement in the Gospel Music industry.” I didn't even know what that was. I was like, “Civil rights? That's silly because it's 2004!” I just had no greater understanding of what was actually happening because I was a kid. But the Lord had said it to me then, and I remember I told my parents and I told people around me that this is what the Lord said.

So when this stuff started to happen, I was like, Maverick City is an answer to prayer.

And I know there's a lot of controversy around some of the things that we've done, like being on the Grammy’s stage – some people don't understand that, but when you get a word when you're 16 about this and how the Lord wants to take you into different spaces and that you would have to be what the church looks like in those spaces, then you kind of go, “Okay God, I know you're in this.”

Mav City evolved into this - it wasn't like we knew set out to do that. So it just kind of became this and it's like, man, God is good.

So now transitioning to your album that's coming out soon - this album feels a lot more congregational than Journey. Can you tell us why you went this direction for Cover The Earth? Were there personal stories you wanted to release in Journey before transitioning into more Church/worship-focused songs?

Definitely. So here's the thing with Journey - Journey has been in the works for years. The way that the Lord gave it to me… I was supposed to be put it out before this project I did called Back to Eden and it was supposed to be called Journey Back to Eden.

But I realized that, first of all, Journey just wasn't ready to be presented when Back to Eden was. I think that's just life, like: we can always come together and worship, but the stuff that's going on in our own personal lives — our personal, actual worship, our personal sacrifice, laying down our lives for Jesus — sometimes takes a little longer. And 100% - I needed to say some of these more personal things, especially because of the temperature of the world: us just coming out post-pandemic. We've gone through a lot! The whole world has.

And I'm not going to say the Church hasn't done a good job of talking about mental health. I don't actually know if that's always true, but I do think that there's more conversations that need to be had: I think we tell people to pray about things in a way that's dismissive rather than empowering. So it's like pray about it instead of saying, “Hey, you can pray.”

You can participate in your own life. Some of this is not a prayer issue, some of this is the result of the decisions you're making, or maybe you believe something that doesn't line up with the way you think your life should be, and so we have to adjust.

I think sometimes we use prayer as a band-aid rather than what it actually is for: it’s communication with God. It's us asking Him and petitioning Him for what we need, yes, but also it's communication - asking the Lord questions, getting insight and receiving answers. Prayer is a two-way street.

So, I had to say the things in Journey because I think there was a perception of me that was just: “Naomi's, the church girl that sings in church and gives us congregational song sand she's like, ‘Jireh, you're enough’ and ‘I'm going to be content and I put my faith in Jesus.’”

All of these lyrics that I still of course stand by, but even when we were on that first tour and we were singing it everywhere, I was singing those things in faith.

I was singing it and making myself be content because I was in terrible situations and I was going through personal issues, and I think we hear those songs and we sing it like, with a crown and with a scepter in our hands, but really, we should be singing it when we're in the corner crumpled up. That's the way we should be singing it. And I just had to make sure that I wasn't presenting myself as the hero of my story and that people were not going to be confused by the idea of: “Man, she must never go through anything because she's singing this.”

So I had to set the record straight: I go through stuff and I'm still able to sing this. And so to me, to come back around now with Cover The Earth is like, “Yeah, my life is not all peachy keen and I don’t always understand everything and yes, I understand more now, but… that and this.

I'm going to worship corporately and we're going to lift Jesus up, and Jesus is still worthy and he's still good, and I'm still going to put my anchor to the ground, even in the midst of everything.

So to me, it's important to show both, and most artists have not been able to. And I don't think people really wanted me to put out Journey, and that's okay, but most worship artists aren't able to do both. Because people don't want that – they don't want to see that – but he was 100% God and he was 100% man. That's the Jesus that we serve.

It is what it is. You can't separate him. I think we've tried, but I think we learn in the end: “Oh, no, you really are both. Thank you, Jesus.”

The lead single from the album is “One Name,” which feels really special. Why did you and your team decide to usher in your new project with this song?

When I wrote “One Name” (I wrote it with my friend G Morris Coleman), I cried at the end. I was like, “Okay, if I cry at a song, I know I have to release it, right?”

When we wrote it, I said: “This is a gift from God. This is what the Lord wants for the people.” I don't know how they're going to get it, but I know they need it. We need to sing this. We need to do this.

And if I'm honest, I went into this project with that – knowing that this was the song. We recorded it, and then we did some other songs that started to stand out. It's like you have more children and you're like, “Oh, I love you all!” (laughs) I was really excited about that. We almost started with another song and I felt like the Lord snatched me back and was like, “Naomi, this is the song.” So I just said, we're going with this song.

Most people want to release songs that are going to get people jumping and excited. It's not that. It starts soft and slow and it builds. It wasn’t the smartest business move, but I believe that it was the Kingdom move, and I stand by it.

It’s such a good song. You’ve also released “We Agree With Heaven” with Todd Dulaney. I love how you all snuck in “Amen” from the 60’s into its outro. Tell us about how that came about! Was that a spontaneous transition in writing or rehearsing the song?

In the rehearsal for it, the day before, I spontaneously just started singing it.

Normally, I'm a very spontaneous singer. I don't know if anybody knows that…. (laughs). If I do something once though, I don't really do it again., but that moment, I felt like the Lord was like, “You need to sing this and stamp it, because it's the song about prayer. It really is a song about prayer and standing in agreement with heaven, and ‘Amen’ is just so: “Being unto You, it is done.”

I felt like it was just such a stamp on the song, and so I did it. And I'm telling you, it was the hardest thing, because I don't like to do something I feel like I did already, but I know it was right. I was supposed to stamp this and end this with “Amen.” And the people sang it and it was so beautiful!

Cover The Earth releases June 2nd. I know that we talked about “One Name” being really special, but what’s another song you’re most excited for the Church to hear and embrace?

I think the song that I'm most excited – oh goodness, it's between two right now – but the song I'm most excited about, which I don't know if the Church would pick it up (and I say this because I think sometimes our services become about how produced we can make it, or palatable for people) but anyway, if I had my own way…there's a song called “Drink Offering” on there, and it's literally about just being submitted to the Lord, yielded to Him, and it says,

“Let my life be a drink offering, ever pouring for You only. May my life sing of your glory poured out, poured out.”

I think the enemy has started with each of us at a young age to diminish us, to break our self-confidence, and make us think that we're worthless, to the point that we are afraid when it comes to doing the things of God or letting our light shine. We're afraid to do it because we've been broken from when we were little.

And I think there are two ways to get out of that: You either take this thing on like, “I'm going to do what I want, and I believe so much in myself” that you go for it or you go, “Okay, I can't do anything without Christ. All my strength, all my help is in Him. It all comes from Him, and that's how I'm going to be able to do this.” And I care more about His will being done than my feelings, and me feeling like either a failure or a success. That's not the point.

The point is that I share with people who He is and what He's done, and I let my light shine, that people will see my good works and glorify my Father in heaven. That's it — for His glory alone.

That’s the point — and I want believers to really step into that. I'm saying this because I watched somebody minister today, and I saw them break through the barrier of themselves. When somebody's doing what the Lord has called them to do, but you can see that their biggest enemy the whole time was them, and they actually break through, and it's like, “Oh, snap - you got beyond it.” There's almost a moment where you can kind of switch it and you could think that it's about them, but it's actually the enemy trying to stop you with you because it's about God. And that's been the thing from the beginning: the enemy is like, “How can I shut down these people?”

Abraham: afraid he was going to lose his wife.
Moses: I can't speak.
Gideon: I'm afraid. I'm the least of my house.

David is raising the sheep and nobody's talking to him. He doesn’t even know who his mother is! There's all of this stuff that goes on with these people that God wants to use, but the Lord is like, “I'm going to use you anyway.” And he doesn't even tell Gideon, “No, it's not true.” He says, “Be of good courage. Get up and do the thing.”

And so my hope is when people hear this project, especially that song, they go, “All right, wait, it was never about me. Let me refocus and let me just live my life for Him, and give it, and lay it, and pour it all out.”

Naomi Raine

You are currently on tour with Taya, Natalie Grant, and Tasha Cobbs. What an incredible crew. Tell me how tour has been and any standout moments.

I’m a fellow native New Yorker, and something I loved about faith in the city is that it was in opposition to culture so it felt extra genuine. I wondered if you could relate to that or if you experienced that as well growing up there.

Totally. It's like you already knew it going into it.

100% - I think in many ways.

All of these lyrics that I still of course stand by, but even when we were on that first tour and we were singing it everywhere, I was singing those things in faith.

It is what it is. You can't separate him. I think we've tried, but I think we learn in the end: “Oh, no, you really are both. Thank you, Jesus.”

The lead single from the album is “One Name,” which feels really special. Why did you and your team decide to usher in your new project with this song?

It’s such a good song. You’ve also released “We Agree With Heaven” with Todd Dulaney. I love how you all snuck in “Amen” from the 60’s into its outro. Tell us about how that came about! Was that a spontaneous transition in writing or rehearsing the song?

Cover The Earth releases June 2nd. I know that we talked about “One Name” being really special, but what’s another song you’re most excited for the Church to hear and embrace?

The point is that I share with people who He is and what He's done, and I let my light shine, that people will see my good works and glorify my Father in heaven. That's it — for His glory alone.

That's the hope.

Naomi Raine | Cover The Earth

Naomi Raine

You are currently on tour with Taya, Natalie Grant, and Tasha Cobbs. What an incredible crew. Tell me how tour has been and any standout moments.

I’m a fellow native New Yorker, and something I loved about faith in the city is that it was in opposition to culture so it felt extra genuine. I wondered if you could relate to that or if you experienced that as well growing up there.

Totally. It's like you already knew it going into it.

100% - I think in many ways.

All of these lyrics that I still of course stand by, but even when we were on that first tour and we were singing it everywhere, I was singing those things in faith.

It is what it is. You can't separate him. I think we've tried, but I think we learn in the end: “Oh, no, you really are both. Thank you, Jesus.”

The lead single from the album is “One Name,” which feels really special. Why did you and your team decide to usher in your new project with this song?

It’s such a good song. You’ve also released “We Agree With Heaven” with Todd Dulaney. I love how you all snuck in “Amen” from the 60’s into its outro. Tell us about how that came about! Was that a spontaneous transition in writing or rehearsing the song?

Cover The Earth releases June 2nd. I know that we talked about “One Name” being really special, but what’s another song you’re most excited for the Church to hear and embrace?

The point is that I share with people who He is and what He's done, and I let my light shine, that people will see my good works and glorify my Father in heaven. That's it — for His glory alone.

That's the hope.

Naomi Raine | Cover The Earth

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