“Cop Rock” can be a hit after all.
McComb police officer Will Gatlin has developed a following as a rhythm and blues singer, with many concerts and three albums under his belt.
He’ll have a concert Sunday at the Ice House with existing hits and some of the songs that will appear on his upcoming album, “Investments,” which is due to drop in March.
Doors will open at 7 p.m. for the concert at 8. Tickets are $10 in advance, $20 at the door. Funnyman Meek will host and also perform.
The 32-year-old married father of six has been singing seriously and writing his own music since he was 14 and attending New Life Fellowship in Columbia.
“Valerie Bass Russell, the music minister, was the first person to say to me that I have a gift, and I need to open my mouth and share it,” Gatlin said.
His R&B repertoire focuses on love and relationships, and making investments in love, he said.
“These days, a lot of men invest in women for a sexual return, and a lot of women invest in men for a monetary return,” Gatlin said. “No one is investing in love. What my music centers around is making love important again. We need it.”
Being a police officer grounds Gatlin and inspires some of his music.
“As a police officer, I can be a part of everybody’s worst day,” he said. “I can be the all-seeing eye that opens up to see the matters I write around. It puts me in the position to look at everything from a different perspective. You can see so much hurt and division.
“I’m not perfect by any means. I’ve made mistakes, and I’ve brought my work home with me, and it weighs heavily. But love brings me back where I need to be, so I can work with a clear head the next day.”
Gatlin is no stranger to writing music in response to tragedy.
He produced a song in tribute to the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., in 2012 and posted it on YouTube.
In 2015, after the shooting of 10-year-old Ja’Darrius “Scrappy” Wilkinson on McComb Street in Baertown, Gatlin was moved to write and record “Love Is What We Need.”
“The kid was killed at an apartment I’d been out in front of on countless occasions,” Gatlin said. “I grew up there. It hit close to home. This was just a young kid who was an innocent victim of poor judgment.
“As officers, we put everything on the line for our communities. I wish I could have been there for him to make the outcome different. It’s still hard to think about. It was senseless.”
Gatlin attributes his sense of duty to his father, and his musicality to his mother.
His father will retire from the Chicago Police Department in January after 32 years in law enforcement.
“I’m following in his footsteps,” he said. “Teens in the neighborhood used to knock on the door and ask if he was home, and he would go out and race with them, I wanted to be just like him.
“My strong mother kept me in church. She always sang in the church choir, and she directed a group called Youth in Action in Chicago. I was always around musicians.”
Gatlin’s production company, Will Gatlin Music Group, has an office in the McComb Business Mill. He practices with his production team —Rick Wells, Brad Brumfield, Tedrick Martin and Tony Turner — in Tylertown.
They’re all still working on the upcoming album, of which attendees at Sunday’s concert can get a preview. Everyone going will get a free mix tape of the album’s first single.
