Half Mile Home

Ohio vocal trio Half Mile Home blend dynamic gospel with infusions of R&B and hip-hop. Emerging from an earlier secular R&B phase that began in the '90s, the lineup centers on siblings Terence Burton on lead vocals and guitars alongside Todd Burton handling vocals and drums, plus Youngstown native Darryl Brownlee on piano and production duties. Drawing from classic soul precedents such as the O'Jays, the Ohio Players, James Ingram, and Babyface, the Akron-based ensemble first assembled in the early '90s intent on building a mainstream R&B trajectory. Under the moniker 1-900 they issued a self-titled album in 1994 that carried production credits from Jodeci's Devante Swing, only for the label to fold soon afterward. In the wake of that collapse the members regrouped as After the Rain and hit the road with acts including Gerald Levert and Ginuwine. Mounting unease over elements of the secular industry that clashed with their church roots eventually prompted Terence Burton and his colleagues to reclaim the gospel sounds of their upbringing. Adopting the name Half Mile Home, drawn from a highway marker outside Akron, they delivered their first full-length project, the 2004 album The Movement, which spotlighted the single "Do It Again." Additional releases followed, among them 2010's Change My Lyfe and 2013's Church Musik & Inspiration. The latter received a deluxe reissue in 2014 that added fresh tracks and remixes.