At the age of 53, Kirk Franklin has disclosed that he has at long last located his biological father, and that the two men only ever lived a few minutes apart from one another…

When Kirk Franklin, a singer who has won many Grammy Awards, started working on a new record early this year, he had no clue what was in store for him.

“This is the first time I’ve had a behind-the-scenes videographer capturing content for the making of a project,” says Franklin, 53, of his work on his 13th album, which is in the process of being recorded. “March was the month when I recorded the first song. Then, in April, everything changed, and it turned into something I never could have planned for.”

After receiving unexpected news about the identity of his true biological father, the actor went through a tumultuous and emotional trip, which the cameras were able to capture on film. In addition to this, he viewed it as a chance to get back in touch with his estranged oldest son Kerrion, who is now 35 years old and who he hadn’t seen for ten years.

A little documentary that Franklin created using the video he gathered from these events will be made available on his YouTube account on September 15, just in time for the release of his new album on October 6. Both of these endeavors have been given the fitting title of Father’s Day.

Now, Franklin is revealing to PEOPLE what it has taken to get to this point, along with an exclusive film of the moment when his doctor broke the news to him about the paternity of his biological father.

Franklin claims that her life was “horrific” before she began her professional career. Franklin had a difficult life growing up in Fort Worth, Texas, where he was adopted at the age of 4 by a lady who attended his church. This was long before he became the leading voice of gospel music, orchestrating decades of successes such as “Revolution” and “Wanna Be Happy?” Franklin claims that his biological mother, who was just a teenager at the time, was unable to provide for him properly. Even though he was aware of who she was, they had very little contact during his childhood, and he often had the impression that he was being abandoned.

“When I was a youngster, I was often bullied. Due to a learning disability on my part, I was unable to graduate from high school. “When I was 17, I got a young lady pregnant, and the church crucified me for it,” he adds, remembering the challenges he faced in his formative years. “It’s as if nobody ever stood up for me or looked out for my best interests,” she said.

Regarding the mother who gave birth to him and raised him, “She was 64. When I was a child, Mom was a widow who raised me as best she could despite the challenges she faced. She qualified for assistance from the government yet still managed to find money to pay for my piano lessons, he claims. “However, by the time I was 12 or 13, I had the impression that she had abandoned me because I could sense that I was becoming more of an annoyance to her. I want to have dates and go out, but I constantly had the impression that I was being a burden to her. It did nothing but contribute to the sensation of being uprooted.”

When Franklin was 6 years old, his biological mother introduced him to a guy who she said was his biological father. “I didn’t see him again until I was 13 and then he started showing up at concerts after my first album came out,” he adds. “I don’t know why he started showing up at my shows.” “I was furious that I did not have a father and that he would dare turn up once everything in my life seemed to have some sense of order. The same may be said of my biological mother. Franklin claims that she started making more appearances at the same time as his career began to take off. “It was a very traumatic experience for me.”

Recently, Franklin learned that the man he had long believed to be his biological father had passed away. However, as Franklin was working on his new album, a vocalist from his hometown that he had recruited informed him that she had met a guy at a funeral who claimed that he had dated Franklin’s mother in the past. Richard Hubbard is the name of the guy, and he has spent his whole life in the same area as Franklin did when Franklin was growing up.

A DNA test was requested from Hubbard as speculation increased that he could in fact be the celebrity child’s biological father. According to the findings, there was a match for paternity that was 99.9 percent accurate. “To live over half a century with somebody who lived in the same city as you…” says Franklin, who is still struggling to come to terms with the news. “I suffered so much as a young man without any guidance.” I had a hard time with love, intimacy, religion, and figuring out who I was. And to be aware that the response will be forthcoming in less than ten minutes.”

The video shows an emotional first encounter between the singer and Hubbard, who was just 14 or 15 years old when Franklin was born and claims he had no idea he had fathered a kid at that time. The meeting takes place shortly after Hubbard learns that Franklin is his daughter. Hubbard, who also has a daughter, raves about Franklin by saying, “He is a great guy.” “She has been honest about how difficult this situation is for her, learning not only that she has a brother but that her brother is Kirk Franklin,” said the speaker.

Franklin acknowledges that, despite the fact that he now knows the truth, not everything is ideal. Even when a second test was carried out, the subject of the documentary asserts that the biological mother would not acknowledge the findings of the DNA analysis. “She’s just very adamant that this man is not my father,” he adds. “She’s just very adamant.” Since the second test result, neither she nor I have been in contact with one another.

Kerrion, his own son, is one of the people he has gotten in touch with again. The dispute between them became extremely public in 2021, when Kerrion published an audio recording of a furious discussion he had with his father. Prior to that, the two had been engaged in a contentious relationship for a number of years. Before the encounter shown in the documentary, it had been two years since the last time they had spoken with one another.

“My kid has a kind and kind spirit. There are aspects of his life that are not open for discussion with others. “I just want to say that I’m very proud that I’m seeing him in his own way,” Franklin adds, avoiding going into depth about everything that’s wrong with their relationship. “He is beginning to reveal and testify to his struggles, his own battles with certain things that have at times cost him.” “He is beginning to reveal and testify to his struggles” I am aware that a lot of young black guys have similar challenges, and I believe that as he continues to seek therapy and heal himself, he will be able to assist a lot of other people. Together, his grandpa and I will be there to assist him in every way that we can. He has us to rely on.

Following all that has happened during this year, Franklin, who is also the father of girls Carrington and Kennedy as well as boy Caziah with his wife Tammy, has been considering his own experience as a parent and the lessons it has taught him.

“I have fathered out of fear for the majority of my parenting life,” he adds. “It was a choice I made out of fear.” “Because of what I went through, I told myself, ‘I’ll be damned if I let my kids endure that kind of anguish.’ Therefore, a lot of the time I overparented and overperformed; I purchased too many bicycles and ran off too many boyfriends; all of this was done out of a desire to protect.

“I had no choice but to learn,” he continues. “Having children has been the most rewarding experience of my life.”

All of these life events have been included into his most recent uplifting gospel CD. He argues that there are three different interpretations of the name “Father’s Day.” “The tagline for this movie is, ‘It’s what I missed, where I am, and what has always been.'” And despite all he’s gone through, he maintains his faith by saying things like, “even when I want to curse the sky,” and “I’m still built to believe.”