The Gospel Star Tasha Cobbs Leonard Takes a New Leap: A Studio Album

“Tasha,” the new album from the gospel music star Tasha Cobbs Leonard, tucks messages of salvation, hope and encouragement into songs shaped by hip-hop, R&B and even bluegrass. Guest appearances include a gospel music icon and an EGOT winner.

But fans of the singer and songwriter, 44, will be most surprised by what the LP, releasing July 25, doesn’t feature: the sound of an audience. Since her major-label debut 13 years ago, Cobbs Leonard has only released live albums. As a worship leader, she is most comfortable singing in front of a gathering, whether in a church or in Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.

“I’ve been doing this for almost 13 years,” she said during a recent video interview. “What keeps me relevant is stretching myself and doing the uncomfortable thing — not something completely new, but building on the foundation.”

Walter Thomas, the senior vice president of Motown Gospel and TAMLA Records, said the goal was giving audiences a more three-dimensional picture of Cobbs Leonard. “We wanted to showcase who Tasha is outside of church,” he said. “There’s a pop side, there’s a fun side, there’s a family-oriented side. This body of work reflects that.”

Cobbs Leonard has been slowly revealing herself for years. She’s a busy touring musician, a mother of a blended family of four and a pastor of the Purpose Place Church in Spartanburg, S.C., with her husband, the music producer Kenneth Leonard Jr. Chatting from her living room, wearing a baby-blue short-sleeve top that was nearly the same color as the walls behind her, a flourish of flaxen curls cascading across her forehead, Cobbs Leonard spoke candidly, smiling and laughing with the same infectious and welcoming enthusiasm she brings to her singing.