Born biracial in 1971 to a white mother who was disowned by her family and abandoned by the child's father, Israel was given his biblical name from a word she saw repeatedly in the Bible given to her by the woman who ministered to her on the streets of San Diego. Not long after Israel was born she married Henry Houghton and they raised Israel and his three younger siblings in Arizona and New Mexico. An interest in music settled within him early on. "I was the kid in church who jumped on the drums at the end of service and annoyed everybody! But my mom is a phenomenal piano player who taught me the basics. And I learned the guitar on a bet from a guy who didn't think I had the discipline to do it. It was 1986 and I was 15 years old. Our bet was 30 days, and in that time I learned how to play practicing every single day. I've always been like that about anything I set my mind to. I've always had this feeling that I'm not here to take up free oxygen. Whatever I'm here to do, I'm going to impact my immediate world and, hopefully, the world at large. It's just inherent."

Israel is modest when it comes to acknowledging his musical gifts, but one look at him performing demos of A Deeper Level's songs in videos available on YouTube and its clear—from the sophistication of the chord and rhythm changes to the passion of his vocals. "My parents were pastors in a church in Santa Fe," he shares, "On Saturday nights we would do outreach programs with music and theatre. We'd take pop songs and change the lyrics to be more evangelistic—pop/rock/funky stuff from Journey to Stevie Wonder, though songs like 'Don't Stop Believing' and 'Love's in Need of Love Today' didn't need much tweaking. The musical training came from elbow grease after school. And throughout junior high and high school I attended a summer music camp in Flagstaff, Arizona—Northern Arizona University—a three week program that gave me great training and great relationships that I have to this day."

"I'm not a phenomenal musician," he insists. "I just make what I know work for me. But what I am good at is relationships—connecting with guys that speak a musical language. I've never been afraid of sharing the spotlight with musicians that are 10-times better than me because it's not about me. It's about having a great encounter with God and a great experience."

Israel's first professional recordings were a pair of solo albums for Warner Bros. Records. But the real success began in 1995 when Israel, his wife Meleasa founded New Breed Ministries, an organization inclined to category-defying music created by noted musicians and singers who serve within their respective churches and together serve the church at large. The result has been five albums (two Gold-sellers), Grammy® and gospel awards, network television appearances, SRO concerts on stages around the world and the use of much of their canon in church services every week.

Today, the music of Israel and New Breed is in demand for everything from film soundtracks to commercial jingles. Anywhere the message can be disseminated, Israel will bring it. Ultimately, the purpose of the brilliant new music on A Deeper Level is to light a fire under church people to rise to a higher purpose. "Like the song 'Say So' states," Israel concludes, "We're not here to salt the salt and light the light. We're here to get out to where there is darkness and no flavor—where people need the strength that we, as Christians, have access to and possess."