Kirk Franklin Finds Father At 53

American gospel superstar and Grammy Award winner, Kirk Franklin, said he has found his biological father 53 years after birth.

Franklin made the ground breaking announcement while speaking with PEOPLE about his documentary, 'The Father's Day'.

The gospel music star, who began works on his 13th album earlier this year told the celebrity medium in an exclusive interview that he had no idea his focus would change until around April after his videographer captured what he described as an intense emotional journey.

"This is the first time I've had a behind-the-scenes videographer capturing content for the making of a project.

"I recorded the first song in March. Then in April, everything shifted and became something I could have never planned for," he said.

It was the moment of his reaction after learning of the existence of his true biological father from his doctor, as captured by the videographer.

The period also coincided with the time reconnected with his 35 year-old son, Kerrion, whom he had not seen in a decade.

The search for Kirk’s biological father was more like a roller coastal ride down a slippery slope. Before then, the super star lived the greater part of his life believing that the man his mother introduced as his father was not anything less. 

But then rumours began to swirl around shortly his supposed father's demise that he may not be what he was said to be.

 Before then, growing up for Franklin was a topsy-turvey experience. Born by a young mother who was a teen, he was adopted by a 64 year-old woman, a member of his church as his biological mother because was unable to care for him.

The entire process and subsequently adoption got him reaching the conclusion that he was abandoned, a reason he didn’t quite connect with even his biological mother even though he knew who she was.

Franklin described his life before finding a career as horrific. According to him, besides being bullied in his Texas' Forth Worth neighbourhood, growing up was hell. 

"My life before I had a career was horrific. 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 recalled.

Meanwhile, the old woman who adopted him did the best she could to make him as comfortable as she could even though she was living on government grant. She went the extra mile to pay for his piano lesson with her lean resource. The trouble was that young Franklin still felt abandoned and became more of an irritant in his conduct.

"She was 64. She was a widow and did the best she could when I was young. She got on government aid and would find money to pay for my piano lessons.

"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."

Franklin was just 6 when he was introduced to the man his biological mother said was his father. But the man was never around. Franklin was 12 the next time the man reappeared again. By the however, his first album was out, his musical career off in earnest. Then, the man began to show up regularly in his concerts. As if on a cue, his biological mother also began to become a regular face at his concerts.

"I didn't see him again until I was 13 and then he started showing up at concerts after my first album came out.

"I was angry at the fact that I did not have a father and he would dare show up once my life seemed to have some sense of order. Same for my biological mother.

"It was very traumatic for me," he said of the period.

The man Franklin regarded as his biological father past on recently. Rather than become the end what he probably regarded as a sad experience, a new father/son chapter unfolded almost immediately.

While recording his new album, one of his hired singers from his hometown came with the information that she'd met a man, Richard Hubbard, at a funeral who told her he'd once dated Franklin's mom. According to her, the man lived in the same neighborhood in which Franklin grew up and lived all of his life.

With rumours still swirling that Hubbard might indeed be his  father, Franklin had option than to seek answers for nagging question, one of which, is there a possibility that he could be his (Franklin's) real father? Gladly, the man did not hesitate in submitting himself for a DNA test.

It turned out that the result was a convincing 99.9% match. A second test was no less so. 

"To live over half a century with somebody who lived in the same city as you…

"I suffered so much as a young man without guidance. I struggled with love, intimacy, faith, identity. And to know that the answer was less than 10 minutes away," he said while still grappling with the news.

The reunion between father and son was highly emotional. That was expected, not just because the father, who also had a daughter, was just a few minutes away all the years. It was even more so because the man had no idea he had a son, the same way the son never knew of his existence.

"He is a great guy," Franklin said of his father.

He has this to say of his half sister;

"She's been honest about how hard this is for her as well, learning not only does she have a brother but that that brother is Kirk Franklin."

Yet the grappling for his paternity does not seem to be over. The reason is that despite having the truth as revealed by two DNA tests, or even the uncanny resemblance between father and son, his biological mother has refused to accept Hubbard as his biological father.

"She's just very adamant that this man is not my father. I have not heard or talked to her since the second test result," he said of his mother’s refusal.

The other interesting side of the father/son paternity debacle is that Franklin himself was equally managing to reconcile with his son, Kerrion, 35, within the same period. Prior to the time, he had a tense relationship with his son which culminated in a public spat about two years ago over which the young man released an audio of the heated exchange.

"My son is a beautiful soul. There are parts of his life that are his to share. I am just very proud that I'm seeing him in his own way," says Franklin, stopping short of detailing what plagued their relationship.

"He is beginning to reveal and testify to his struggles, his own battles with certain things that have at times cost him. I know many young Black men struggle with these same things and as he continues to get help and healing he's going to help so many. He has me and now his grandfather that will be there to help in any way we can."

Franklin who also has two daughters and another son with wife Tammy, has been reflecting on his own experience as a dad. He said his traumatic childhood has impacted so much in his attempt at parenting that he often overplayed the role at some point.

"I have fathered out of fear the majority of my parenting life. Because of what I experienced, I was like 'I'll be damned if I let my kids feel that type of pain.' So a lot of times I over-parented and over-performed, bought too many bicycles, ran off too many boyfriends, just wanting to protect," he said.

"I had to learn. My children have been the best part of my life," he added.

Somehow, Franklin packed up these experiences into his new project, The Father’s Day', which he described as what he missed, where he is and has always been.  

"The title Father's Day has triple meaning. The log-line is, 'It's what I missed, where I am and what has always been.” not forgetting to add that;

"...even when I want to curse the sky, I'm still built to believe."