It was sometime around 1998 or 1999 when I was introduced to the cinematic masterpiece entitled Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. (I’ll spare you a boring synopsis, because you really should watch the film in all its mid-90s glory). It was the music in the movie that gripped me. I remember being captivated by Ahmal’s voice (played by Ryan Toby) as he belted out the high notes of the old spiritual “Oh Happy Day.” I remember being enthralled by the hip-hop rendition of “Joyful, Joyful, Lord We Adore Thee” in the finale. And, most impactfully, I remember being totally enraptured by the duet between Tanya and Rita. When Rita (played by the legendary Lauryn Hill) sat down at the piano and belted out the lyrics to “His Eye is on the Sparrow,” goose bumps covered my arms and I immediately developed a full-fledged musical crush. My pre-teen world had changed completely.

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