Zacardi Cortez

Born in Houston, Texas, Grammy-nominated vocalist Zacardi Cortez has emerged as a standout figure within contemporary gospel. His performances have graced major events such as The Stellar Awards and Black Music Honors, while a steady run of chart successes—including “God Held Me Together,” “YDIA,” “Time,” “You’ve Been Good to Me,” and the multimillion-streaming viral track “Lord Do It Again”—has kept him prominently placed on gospel rankings. Full-length projects like the 2014 album Reloaded and the 2022 release Imprint (Live in Memphis) further highlight his unwavering faith alongside his commanding vocal range.

Cortez spent his formative years traveling the gospel circuit alongside his relatives in the Cortez Family, where John P. Kee provided on-the-road guidance. An early guest spot on Kee’s 2005 project Live at the Fellowship preceded Cortez’s move to Fortune’s FIYA, where he delivered lead vocals on the 2007 album The Transformation and its Top 20 single “The Blood.” Fronting FIYA, he guided the group to gospel-chart summits with tracks such as “I Believe” and “Let Your Power Fall.”

That groundwork led to his solo debut, 2012’s The Introduction, issued through Black Smoke Music; the set crossed into the Billboard 200 while peaking at number two on the gospel albums chart. Reloaded followed in 2014, spawning “God Held Me (Together),” which held the top position on Billboard Gospel Airplay for twelve weeks. Subsequent singles arrived with 2016’s “YDIA,” 2018’s “Oh How I Love You,” and the 2019 Kerry Douglas collaboration “You Don’t Know.” In 2022 Cortez unveiled a live version of “You’ve Been Good to Me” as the flagship track from Imprint (Live in Memphis), while additional network appearances encompassed The Stellar Awards, Black Music Honors, and BET’s Sunday Best.