Who raised Kirk Franklin? Birth and childhood explored as gospel singer reunites with biological father after 53 years

Gospel singer and rapper Kirk Franklin recently met his biological father, Richard Hubbard. Kirk grew up under the guidance of his aunt Gertrude. He knew his birth mother as a young teen, but she could not take care of him at the time, and as a result, he could not feel connected to her.

Franklin has been preparing for his 13th album for a long time. According to People, he brought a singer from his hometown for the album who revealed to him that she met Richard Hubbard at a funeral, and Hubbard dated his mother many years ago. Franklin realized that he and Richard had been residing in the same place where he spent his childhood.

Hubbard then underwent a DNA test, and the paternity results showed a match of 99.9%. As the results came out, Kirk said he suffered a lot during childhood and never knew that the "answer was less than 10 minutes away."

In an interview with People, Kirk Franklin said that he had a "behind-the-scenes videographer" record the making of his latest album. The recording also captured Franklin's journey to find his biological father, Richard Hubbard.

Kirk collected the entire footage in a short documentary titled Father's Day that started streaming on his YouTube channel on September 15, 2023.

One of the moments featured Kirk and Richard meeting for the first time, and Richard disclosed that he never knew anything about Kirk. Franklin further stated that Hubbard's daughter is finding it hard to accept that she has had a brother over the years.

---

Kirk Franklin suffered a lot during his childhood without proper guidance

An Instagram post shared by Kirk Franklin in 2020 revealed that his birth name was Kirk Mathis. His biological mother tied the knot with someone from the military, and his name was changed to Kirk Smith. He revealed that his adoptive mother gave him his current name and that his last name was taken from her deceased husband, Jack Franklin.

Speaking to People, Kirk Franklin addressed his struggle before pursuing a successful musical career. Franklin said he was adopted by a woman when he was 4 years old since his birth mother could not take care of him.

"I lived being bullied as a kid. I had a learning disorder, I failed out of high school. I got a young lady pregnant when I was 17 and the church crucified me for it. It's like I never had anybody take up for me or who had my back," he said.

Franklin revealed more details about the woman who adopted him, saying that she was 64 years old and a widow.

"But by 12 or 13 I felt abandoned by her because I could tell I became more of an irritant. I wanted to date and go out and I always felt like I was inconveniencing her. It just added to the feeling of displacement," he further stated.

Franklin revealed that when he was six years old, he met a man whom his biological mother had introduced to him as his biological father. The man also attended his concert a few times, which made Kirk angry since the man had not maintained a close relationship with him over the years.

Kirk's documentary revealed that his biological mother is refusing to accept the truth. Kirk Franklin continued by stating his experience as a father and how he has been very protective of his children. He added that he had "over-parented and over-performed" many times and still has a lot to learn.

The Sun states that Kirk Franklin is the father of four children: Kerrion, Carrington, Kennedy, and Caziah. Kennedy and Caziah were born from Kirk's marriage to Tammy Collins in 1996. The other two children were born from his previous relationships.