Zacardi Cortez

One of the most talked about voices in gospel music today belongs to 36-year-old singer and Award-winning songwriter, Zacardi Cortez. Born in Houston, TX, Cortez hails from a singing family of faith. At age 8, John P. Kee, adopted him as a spiritual son and began mentoring him. For a while, Cortez sang with Kee’s V.I.P. Mass Choir and sang a solo on the CD, Live at the Fellowship, in 2001. He later made guest appearances on recordings by Kurt Carr, Bishop Paul S. Morton and Pastor Gregg Patrick & the Bridge Project. During the early years of his career, Cortez’ big voice and spine-tingling vocal gymnastics distinguished James Fortune & FIYA’s radio smashes “Let Your Power Fall,” “I Believe” and “The Blood.” Cortez’s recent waves in Gospel Music include current single “You’ve Been Good to Me” and the #1 Billboard Gospel Airplay single “You Don’t Know,” written by Cortez and James Fortune; produced by long-time friend and MD Marcus Calyen and super-producer AyRon Lewis. Zacardi had a previous 12 week run at #1 on the same chart for the song “God Held Me (Together).” Other Top 10 solo radio hits include “YDIA,” “1-On-1,” and “One More Time,” featuring Pastor John P. Kee. Zacardi Cortez has enjoyed appearances on major platforms including The Stellar Awards, Black Music Honors, P. Diddy’s Bad Boy Reunion Tour and BET’s “Sunday Best;” along with releasing two Top 10 albums, The Introduction (2012) and Reloaded (2014). Cortez is slated to release a third album in 2022.