Smokie Norful
Willie Ray Norful, Jr. (AKA “Smokie”) was born on October 31, 1975 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He spent years teaching history and subsequently worked for the local housing authority. He was licensed as a preacher in 1997 and has been preaching since then.
Norful does a lot of performing and gives a lot of presentations, mainly to religious organizations and at empowerment conferences. He is also known for his great gospel music. I Need You Now and Smokie Norful Limited Edition are arguably his two most well known works other than his album titled Nothing Without You, which got him a Grammy Award for Contemporary Soul Gospel Album of the Year in 2005. He has also been nominated or won several Dove Awards, Stellar Awards, NAACP awards, and more. He also received another Grammy nomination in 2015 for his work titled No Greater Love.