Stefanie R. Minatee (born April 14, 1957) is an American singer-songwriter, recording artist, minister, and the founder and director of the Rev.
And it was amazing to see the procession of famous artists who would visit the church — everybody from Aretha Franklin to the Ward Singers to Billy Preston".
Minatee was ordained on November 10, 2002, by the Reverend William C. Hall, the late Pastor of the New Light Baptist Church, Bloomfield, New Jersey.
In 1998, Minatee was invited to form a community choir called Jubilation, at the request of New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) CEO Larry Goldman and her maternal uncle, Donald Kofi Tucker, a civil rights champion and the longest-serving member of the Newark City Council.
[12] Also in 2009, Minatee and Jubilation were tapped by Queen Latifah to provide her with assistance and vocal support on her contribution to the 2009 EMI Gospel various artist compilation Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration.
[15] The choir's next full-length release, 2011's independently released Just Like Sunday Morning, featured the singles “The Blood,” and the A. Jeffrey LaValley-penned “Still Standing.” Billboard-charting gospel artist Nancey Jackson-Johnson guest soloed on “He’s Everything to Me.” Giving the album four of five stars, the Journal of Gospel Music said: “The CD highlights what Sunday Morning sounds like in the wooden churches on the hill, in the storefronts, and on the corner; and in the churches with stadium-like seating and foyers as big as a hotel’s.”[16] In 2013, the choir released A Jubilation Christmas, which included an energetic arrangement of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” that was first recorded by the Reverend James Cleveland and the Angelic Choir of First Baptist Church in 1968.
[17] Under the leadership of Minatee, Jubilation has worked with such popular music stars as Isaac Hayes,[11] Dionne Warwick,[18] Kenny Loggins, and Patty Griffin; as well as gospel legends Bishop Walter Hawkins, Albertina Walker, Kurt Carr, and Donnie McClurkin.
[19] On April 9, 2015, Minatee suffered a debilitating stroke that did not affect her speech or consciousness, but did weaken her left side and restricted her mobility.
Minatee gained sufficient mobility by February 2018, to direct her musical survey, From The Middle Passage, an African-American Journey, at Community Baptist Church.
Starring in the production were former Prince keyboardist Cassandra O’Neal, the teenage jazz singer Alexis Morrast, and Nancey Jackson Johnson.
[22] In February 2020, during Black History Month, Minatee was honored for her community contributions by Governor Phil Murphy and the State of New Jersey.