One of the younger members of the extensively recorded
Winans musical family, in the
mid-90s, after over a decade of work in gospel music, Mario moved into contemporary R&B. He produced
R.
Kelly's multi-platinum self-titled album of 1995, and followed this with his own effort,
Story
Of My Heart. He made his reasons clear: "There's a gospel audience, but much more people buy R&B and pop than
gospel, and for my songs to be heard, I knew it had to be done.' Apparently, the switch caused friction with his parents,
Vicky and Marvin Winans, but they withdrew their objections on the condition that Winans" new R&B material did not contain
anything "offensive". Winans began as a gospel producer at the age of 14, and has maintained his commitment to the church.
As he told
Billboard magazine in 1997, "I know in my heart it's not bad to write a love song, because
the best example of love is God."
Story Of My Heart was preceded by a single, "Don't Know",
which included a guest appearance from
Ma$e, a rapper from
Sean "Puffy" Combs'
Bad Boy Entertainment stable.
