Gospel singer Isaac Carree first gained recognition through his time in the vocal group Men of Standard, which issued a series of award-winning albums across the late 1990s and 2000s. He stepped out on his own in 2011, blending gospel balladry with contemporary R&B and funk textures. Both of his solo releases reached the top of the Gospel charts, and their broader appeal carried him into the pop mainstream, where he entered the Top 50. Following a five-year hiatus, he resurfaced in 2019 with two sleek R&B-leaning singles.
Raised in Greensboro, North Carolina, Carree grew up with his mother serving as pastor of New Beginnings Community Outreach Church, where he performed solos during services. Gifted with a fine tenor voice, he later joined John P. Kee’s V.I.P. Choir before stepping away to establish the gospel quartet Men of Standard alongside Michael Bacon, Bryan Pierce, and Lowell Pye; the lineup later became a trio after Bacon’s exit. The group secured a deal with Malaco Records’ Muscle Shoals imprint and delivered four critically acclaimed albums on that label between 1996 and 2004, followed by a fifth release on Columbia Records in 2006.
While Men of Standard were on break, Carree issued his solo debut, Uncommon Me, in late summer 2011. The project merged modern gospel ballads with unexpectedly funky R&B, ascended to number one on Billboard’s Gospel chart, and earned him a Stellar Award. His 2014 successor, Reset, matched that success by again claiming the top Gospel spot and crossing over to reach number 41 on the Top 200. Carree’s subsequent singles “Her” and “The Gift,” both released in 2019, paired gospel themes with a smooth R&B sensibility.
