The founder and CEO of Black Smoke Music Worldwide, Kerry Douglas has helped shape the careers of dozens of contemporary gospel acts, among them Grammy nominee James Fortune, Earnest Pugh, and Pastor Mike, Jr. After finding initial success with Rev. E. Stewart's "I Believe" in 1998, James Fortune FIYA delivered Black Smoke's first gospel chart-topper with the release of 2008's "I Trust You." Before the end of the next decade, Douglas was working to promote major artists outside of his label, such as helping Bebe Winans to land an airplay number one with 2017's "He Promised Me." Some of the artists he took under his wing from their professional inceptions include Pastor Mike and Edwrin Sutton.

Following a stint in college, Douglas was working as a car salesman in his hometown of Houston, Texas, when he began hosting R&B and rap concerts in the parking lot to attract customers. When car sales soon doubled, Douglas set out on his own to work in concert promotion full-time. A near-death experience led him to dedicate his efforts to religious music, resulting to in the founding of Black Smoke Music Worldwide.

The label's breakthrough came in 1998 with "I Believe" by Rev. E. Stewart. Keith Wonderboy Johnson and the Spiritual Voices then raised the label's profile with a string of gospel hits in the late '90s. Douglas connected with audiences again with a remix of Evelyn Turrentine-Agee's "God Did It" in 2000. He eventually launched the magazine The Gospel Truth and the popular compilation series Kerry Douglas Presents: The Gospel Mix, which introduced artists such as James Fortune FIYA and Earnest Pugh.

Fortune's career went on to include chart-topping gospel hits like 2008's "I Trust You" and 2012's "Still Able" as well as multiple Grammy Award nominations. "I Trust You" alone spent 28 weeks at number one on Billboard's Hot Gospel Songs chart. Earnest Pugh topped the chart with both 2009's "Rain on Us" and 2011's "I Need Your Glory." Douglas assisted Ricky Dillard New G to the top of the gospel songs chart for the first time with "Amazing" in 2014. Collaborating with major labels outside the scope of Black Smoke, he saw Bebe Winans top the gospel airplay chart in 2018 with the previous year's "He Promised Me," which also landed on the Hot 100. In the meantime, Douglas' Gospel Mix series included appearances from the likes of Tamela Mann, Le'Andria Johnson, and Jermaine Dolly.

In 2020, the Stellar Awards inducted Kerry Douglas into the Stellar Honors Hall of Fame. Later in the year, he issued the 11th edition of his mix series, which included tracks by Black Smoke artists such as Pastor Mike, Jr. and Demetrius West alongside guests like Fred Hammond and Mali Music. ~ Marcy Donelson, Rovi