Kymberlee Norsworthy, KLN ’92, assistant professor of instruction, has been inducted into the Gospel Music Association’s Gospel Music Hall of Fame for her decades of work in public relations.  

The Gospel Music Hall of Fame was established to preserve gospel music and celebrate its legacy—something Norsworthy understands deeply. 

Norsworthy has always loved music of all genres and grew up singing in the choir in her church. Gospel was not her first career choice, but it was a genre she kept returning to. 

“It’s music that—no matter what is going on in your life—will uplift you,” Norsworthy said. “It was music that—no matter what was going on in your life—you could see yourself, through gospel music, overcoming whatever it is that you might be faced with.”  

Despite her love for music, Norsworthy gravitated toward behind-the-scenes work, where she promoted and supported the talent around her. In high school, she organized talent shows to raise money for her class; in college, she was the go-to person to find comedians, DJs or singers. Although, at that time, she did not know that these skills could translate into a career.  

“When I took my first public relations course, simultaneously, I also read about a woman who was with a public relations agency and represented all these big-name entertainers,” Norsworthy explained. “I never knew that was an option for me. I learned more about the business and set out to do that with my own career.”  

After college, Norsworthy joined Sony Music, where she led public relations for its gospel division. During this time, gospel musician Marvin Sapp was preparing to record his seventh album—and needed a brilliant publicist.  

“Because it was his seventh album, everybody at the label was like, ‘He’s a preacher. He’s a senior.’ He used to be in this group, ‘Commissioned’, and he has his core fan base,” Norsworthy said. “But he does a certain thing; he sells a certain number of units. He gets a certain amount of radio play, and that’s it. It was kind of like, ‘We know what we’re expecting from this artist’, and they were kind of telling me, ‘Don’t expect too much.’” 

Drawing on her master’s in journalism from Temple University, Norsworthy started researching how to convey a powerful story in her publicity for Sapp. She discovered his marriage to his childhood sweetheart and his love for his hometown.  

“I just felt like it was this really natural, feel-good, wholesome story that had not been told about him,” Norsworthy said. “One thing that I paid attention to in doing PR for big-name personalities was getting to the heart of the story. Not just, ‘Oh, there’s a new project that they have coming out, a new album or a new tour’, but allowing the audience to get to know who they are as human beings through good storytelling.”  

Before both Norsworthy and Sapp knew it, the musician was getting press interest like he had never gotten before. She helped secure appearances for Sapp on Good Morning America, The Today Show and a solo performance at the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards. 

Norsworthy and Sapp still work together. In a Billboard interview, Sapp personally thanked Norsworthy.  

“Billboard is the music industry Bible. When I first decided I wanted to work in music and that I wanted to work with artists, I read Billboard religiously,” Norsworthy said. “For a very respected, award-winning artist to shout me out, it felt good. It was gratifying.”  

Norsworthy’s work with Sapp is just part of the reason for her induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.  

“Kim has been in the music industry for over 20 years,” said Rosie Trenia Moore, a Gospel Music Hall of Fame ambassador. “It was her legacy and how Kim has adapted so many cultures.”  

Norsworthy was very surprised and grateful when she learned of her induction. However, she feels very proud of the award and all the work she has done to get there.  

“High school me would say, ‘All those late nights, staying up trying to figure out what you can do for people who have talent that you wanted to see succeed. This is a great acknowledgement of the importance of that work,’” Norsworthy reflected. “And never think that because you’re behind the scenes, that no one notices the hard work that you do.”  

In addition to Norsworthy, other new Gospel Music Hall of Fame inductees include Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams and the Clark Sisters.