Erica Campbell continues to spread light through tapping into limitless creative outlets.

The singer, songwriter, radio host, author, and actress was introduced to most of us in 2000 as half of the Gospel duo Mary Mary. Their debut smash hit, “Shackles (Praise You),” is a familiar favorite in the urban Gospel scene. After continuing to make and break records as a group member, Campbell became a solo artist in 2013 with her single “A Little More Jesus.” In 2014, she released her Grammy Award-winning debut solo album, Help, followed by Help 2.0 in 2015. Eight years later, she is back with her latest solo project, I Love You.

Though Campbell is most well known for making music, she has never shied away from other creative spaces. She is the radio host of her show “Get Up! Mornings with Erica Campbell,” author of the book “More Than Pretty: Doing the Soul Work that Uncovers Your True Beauty,” and will be starring in the next season of BET Plus’ Kingdom Business.

Campbell’s career thrives as she expands her reach with each new undertaking. If you ask her why, she might just say, “It’s the God in me.” Read BET’s interview with her below.

BET: Your new album, I Love You, is your first solo album in eight years. How did that extended period since the release of your last album play a role in shaping this new project?

Erica Campbell: I have grown. I have experienced things. I have had revelations about God, about people and myself that allow me to write music that I think can speak to people in diverse situations. Whether you are in a valley moment, a dark moment, or having a mountaintop moment, I think there are messages that we need to affirm us and help us through that journey. I wanted people to reconsider love. I think we make love subject to whatever we’ve been through, whatever breakup, whatever type of family we grew up in, and we put a period or exclamation point sometimes where we should put a comma and allow it to be redefined based on God’s design for love, not people’s disappointment as it relates to love. I’m excited about what this record can do for people’s hearts and minds.

BET: You've always been an artist that can’t be put in a box sonically, with diverse sounds ranging from Gospel to R&B to Rap to Reggae. I know you worked with your husband and longtime collaborator, Warryn Campbell, on this album's production. What was your collaborative process to create its unique sound and what was your sonic vision for it?

Erica Campbell: This record kind of dictated itself. My husband always says, “God writes the songs, and we take dictation.” I think it’s based on life experiences. My collaborator Juan Winans of the legendary Winans family collaborated on a lot of songs on this album. A friend of mine, Gromyco Collins, wrote “Trust and Obey.” So many things on the record came together with people that are just in my circle. Family and friends. My son did the remix to “Positive,” my daughter Zaya did a spoken piece, and my oldest daughter Krista sang all through the record. The collaborative effort of the record is family. It’s not pigeonholed as it can only be a particular style. I like to be quite diverse because it is representative of who I am whether I’m feeling like Erica from Inglewood, or the businesswoman, or the first lady, the author, the mama, the auntie. It’s all wrapped up in there because I’ve had so many conversations with so many different people and I say I think I have a musical solution to that problem. That’s what this record is. It’s a musical solution that is intergenerational. You and your mama will both like it. Mama wants to be healed and whole and so do you. Mama wants to live and have a purpose, and so do you. No matter how young you are, I think we’re all reaching for that love, hope, and help. I believe that’s God.

BET: This album is a love letter to Jesus and talks about His love for you. You express your love for Him in different ways throughout the project, from thanking Him for all He’s done to saying you will trust and obey Him. The song “Trust and Obey” highlights that our love for Him is shown not just by what we say, but by how we live our lives. As a Christian, what would you say is the greatest way we can “write love letters to Jesus” or demonstrate our love for Him with the way we live day-to-day?

Erica Campbell: Following Him. Faith is acting like what God said is true. He said you’re “fearfully and wonderfully made,” He said “He’ll never leave you nor forsake you,” He said “He’s the way, the truth, and the life.” I can’t believe that You’re this sovereign, amazing God but I don’t trust You in certain areas. Even the bad things that happen in life, I believe God wants to get in the trenches with you. Even a song like “Thank You,” even though it’s a danceable track, I’m saying, “God, I thank You for the valley, I thank You for the messed up stuff, all of it. I’m still thanking You, even though this and that happened.” A love letter is not always just filled with the good things, sometimes it’s the ugly things too. I think the way you write that letter is to live from a place of love. I love You enough to listen to You. I love You enough to believe when You say things because sometimes we believe the fear quicker than we believe love.

BET: You're a singer, and radio host with a 7-year show "Get Up! Mornings with Erica Campbell", author of "More Than Pretty", and have experience in reality TV and acting, including a role on BET Plus' "Kingdom Business." How did these diverse experiences prepare you for your new acting role?

Erica Campbell: I think everybody that is in entertainment, when they were in elementary school, was in all the school plays, were theater kids. I did stage plays for a while before I became an artist, so this allows me to rediscover a part of myself that already existed that people are already experiencing which is a lot of fun. It’s always funny when people say they were watching Sister Act 2 and ask if that was me. I say, “Yeah, that’s me with the funny looking bangs.” So, every now and again, I get to do that and it’s always so much fun. Kingdom Business was a blast. My husband was one of the musical directors on that show and I know DeVon Franklin and the actors, so it felt very family-like on the set. I love a show about church culture even though it’s not necessarily the best side of church, but it’s all good.

BET: So, Kingdom Business Season 2. I know you said your husband, Warryn Campbell, was the musical director on Season 1. Hence, you were familiar with the show, but walk me through how the opportunity came about and as much as you can share about your character’s role in the series.

Erica Campbell: We work from home, and I hear him in a meeting and someone on the Zoom call says, “What about your wife? Would she be on the show?” I perked up a little bit and it evolved from there. Dr. Holly Carter used to manage Mary Mary and they threw my name in the hat. My character is literally me. I’m playing myself. I’m just being Erica Campbell and that’s all I’ll tell you. It’s really fun in connection with some of the other artists and what they’re trying to do. If you know the story line, it’ll be fun to see how this all plays out but you gotta watch.

BET: Kirk Franklin is one of the executive producers, and Yolanda Adams is one of the leading characters. You’re starring in Season 2 of the show. All Gospel greats have been in the industry for decades. How does it feel to watch the successful trajectory of all of your careers continue to expand beyond the realm of music?

Erica Campbell: I’m just encouraged every time I see one of us accomplish something. Whether it’s Yolanda singing at the WWE. I turned on my TV and was like, “What? Wrestling? Let’s go Yolanda!” Because I believe that what we carry belongs in the world. People need to experience this light because light is most effective in dark places. And not to put the title of dark on everything that is not church, but if Jesus is the light, that’s what we bring. It’s kind of a figurative statement.

BET: I heard that we can expect another Mary Mary album in the future. Do you have any more information you can reveal for the fans?

Erica Campbell: 2025 will make 25 years since “Shackles,” since the Thankful record. I cannot believe it’s been that long. In a lot of ways, I still feel very young and new in my heart and in my mind, in my level of excitement. I’m not jaded. When me and Tina get on the phone, I think it’s very seldom do we end a call without going, “Man, when we come back to Mary Mary, it’s going to be crazy.” We’ve done the Verzuz and Superbowl. I think we have maybe one performance this year together and they’re always huge which is always so surprising because we haven’t even put out a record and people still love the music. It’s so heartwarming and encouraging. We have some songs! It’s gonna be a problem in the best kind of way.