*Grammy-winning gospel star Kirk Franklin has finally found his birth father at age 53.
Franklin recently premiered the new documentary “Father’s Day: A Kirk Franklin Story,” which gives fans a look at the life-changing revelations in his personal life, which has fueled the creation of his next album that he’s called “Father’s Day.” Watch the short film on his YouTube channel — or check out the clip below.
As People reports, in the new documentary, Franklin chronicles how, while working on his new album, he finally found his biological dad after decades of searching. His biological mother introduced him to a man she said was his biological father when Franklin was six years old.
“I didn’t see him again until I was 13 and then he started showing up at concerts after my first album came out,” he explained to People. “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.”
After the man Franklin thought was his biological father died, he learned that another man named Richard Hubbard could be his real dad. This man happened to live in the same neighborhood Franklin grew up in.
Hubbard submitted a DNA test after rumors circulated that he might be the star’s father. A 99.9 percent match was found for paternity, per People.
“To live over half a century with somebody who lived in the same city as you…” said Franklin. “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.”
Franklin also used this experience to rekindle his relationship with his eldest son Kerrion, 35, who had been estranged for more than a decade.
“This is the first time I’ve had a behind-the-scenes videographer capturing content for the making of a project,” Franklin said of working on his 13th album. “I recorded the first song in March. Then in April, everything shifted and became something I could have never planned for.”
A lot of Franklin’s reflections have been focused on his own fatherhood experience.
“I have fathered out of fear the majority of my parenting life,” he said. “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.”
“I had to learn,” he added. “My children have been the best part of my life.”
READ MORE: Kirk Franklin Unveils New Single ‘Try Love’ | WATCH
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