The Crimestoppers are “On the Case” with soul-drenched debut album

Written by Eddie Huffman.

It’s a story as old as rhythm and blues and rock and roll: sacred vs. secular. Prayerful vs. profane. Sunday morning vs. Saturday night.

Sam Cooke and Ray Charles took heat decades ago for bringing gospel elements to pop music. The struggle continued through artists like Aretha Franklin, Al Green, and Prince. That tension informs On the Case, the debut album by the Crimestoppers, a trio from eastern North Carolina.

“When you walk onstage singing gospel music, it’s a different feeling, a different atmosphere, a different message,” says Anthony “Amp” Daniels. “Sometimes I go from doing a gospel show to singing in a club where people are drinking, cursing, dancing, getting they buzz on, dressing any kind of way.”

Amp and his daughter KeAmber make up two-thirds of the Crimestoppers, with another relative completing the trio: Christy Moody, Amp’s niece and KeAmber’s cousin. They have deep roots in the sacred soul music of eastern North Carolina. Amp is a member of the Dedicated Men of Zion, while KeAmber and Christy are members of Faith and Harmony.

The three singers never planned to go the R&B route, but their collaborators at the Music Maker Foundation convinced them to give it a shot. Amp, KeAmber, and Christy provided background vocals for multiple artists at the 2024 Telluride Blues and Brews Festival in Colorado, spawning a brainstorm for Jimbo Mathus, a Music Maker producer and artist. Not only were they amazing singers, but they also added slick costumes and flashy dance moves to the mix.

“It really all started in Telluride last year,” Mathus says. “I saw them singing backups on other people’s material. I said, ‘They should be the artists singing their own material in a secular way.’”

He mentioned the idea to Tim Duffy, Music Maker’s co-founder and executive director, and Duffy agreed.

“I talked to Amp and he said, ‘Oh, we’d love to try it,’” Mathus says. “They’ve got a great stage presence and an incredible personality. The combo of the three of them is amazing.”

Music Maker has a recording studio in tiny Fountain, N.C., which is practically in the Crimestoppers’ backyard. The trio assembled there with Mathus and a crack band of Mississippi musicians to cut a batch of contemporary songs that echo the work of classic soul artists like Al Green, the Staple Singers, Solomon Burke, and Aretha Franklin.

The songs on On the Case cover a wide range of styles and moods, with all three members taking turns singing lead. There’s the wah-wah funk of “Body Shop,” the soothing balm of “Soul Provider,” the Clarence Carter-flavored roll of “Sneaky on the Weekend,” and “I Got a Love,” a blues-soaked cry worthy of Etta James.

KeAmber enjoyed watching her father stretch himself on songs like “Body Shop.” “To have him step so far outside his comfort zone, it was great!” she says. The Crimestoppers’ relaxed attitude helped them create a debut album that moves seamlessly from mellow grooves to moody intensity and back again. The trio found kindred spirits in Mathus and the other musicians.

“They’re so easy to love and easy to work with,” she says. “They’re kind of an un-serious bunch like we are. We’re joking and laughing, but we get the work done.”