Donald Lawrence - ChristianMusic.com

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About Donald Lawrence

Grammy-winning producer, composer and recording artist Donald Lawrence is one of the most influential figures in modern gospel music. After a stint as music director for soul legend Stephanie Mills, Lawrence made a splash in the gospel world by reshaping the regional Tri-City Singers in the 1990s and transforming them into an internationally acclaimed choir. As a producer, Lawrence has collaborated with artists as diverse as Mary J. Blige and jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis, Hezekiah Walker and the legendary Clark Sisters.

Donald accepted and was instrumental in signing the Tri-City Singers to their first major-label recording contract which yielded the 1993 hit album, A Songwriter's Point Of View. Nominated for several NAACP Image Awards, that debut was followed two years later with Tri-City's No. 1 breakthrough album and stage production, the Grammy-nominated Bible Stores. 1997 saw the Tri-City Singers offer their growing fans a warm holiday greeting with the top-10 hit, Hello Christmas, followed by the year 2000's quarter-of-a-million-selling tricity4.com with its electrifying crossover dance-chart, "Testify."

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Donald and Tri-City followed it up with the release of Go Get Your Life Back in 2002, which became one of the year's best-selling releases. In addition to kickin' jams familiar to all Tri-City fans, Donald carefully crafted a shining veneer of gentle acoustic and orchestral sounds that movingly portrayed his and choir's deep commitment to the new material, produced and almost all of it-as on every Tri-City project-written or co-written by Donald.

Together some of their other releases include Bible Stories (2003), A Songwriter's Point of View (2005), Finale Act I (2006), and Finale Act II (2006).

After a very successful Finale CD/DVD release and farewell concert tour with the Tri-City Singers, Lawrence retired from the group in 2007 to focus on personal and solo pursuits.

Own his own Donald released I Speak Life (2004) and more recently, The Law of Confession Part 1 (2009) Enhanced.

Inspired by the forthcoming book “The Law of Confession” by Bill Winston ( Lawrence ’s pastor at Chicago ’s Living Word Christian Center ), Lawrence has crafted an epic recording that revolves around a simple Biblical tenet. “A law is simply a principle, based on the predictable consequence of an act,” Lawrence says. “Confession in the Greek language is homo-logeo which means to say what has been said. There is a spiritual law for confession: you just say what God has already said...`Speak The Word.’”

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Lawrence and his ten-plus member backing ensemble, The Co. (which backed him on his Grammy-nominated 2004 I Speak Life solo CD debut), create a warmly engaging atmosphere on this stellar project. “I picked lead singers based on the feel and color of the song,” he opines. “Since I've worked with so many singers and I believe some of the best singers on this planet - I'm extremely picky when it comes to lead vocals. They must have a lot of heart!”

On The Law of Confession Part 1, the set opens with the jubilant, up-tempo tune "The Word of the Lord".   It feels like Sunday morning aerobics, ready to bring every listener to his or her feet.

"Back 2 Eden " is an upbeat, funky anthem with retro soul horn lines exudes a bounce that will make the numbest of feet spring into dance. The Co. does a vibrant call and response with the listener as Floyd Wilkinson (one of the Windy City ’s finest tenors) adlibs on the tail end of the track. “The message of this one is clear,” Lawrence offers. “This is pushing people to get back to our original design. God deemed for us a life of family, good health, wealth, spirituality and love. . I’m reminding us of this principle and saying what are you waiting for? Let's get back to our original purposes.”

"Citizens of the Kingdom" draws on the vibes of Donald's  childhood musical heroes Walter Hawkins and Andrae Crouch & the Disciples, Lawrence delivers this churchy, old school traditional-styled number. “This reminds everyone of the benefits of being a child of God and being a part of his kingdom,” Lawrence explains. “God created us to replenish the earth with light after Satan had plagued it with darkness.”

“There’s a King in You’ is my favorite song on the project,” Lawrence confesses of the rousing track. “Pastor Winston gave a sermon on this topic. It was an amazing experience for me. Life has caused us not to dream as we once did and our speaking has changed. Why is the lender speaking like the borrower? Why is the head speaking as if it's the tail? We come from royalty and there is a King inside of us all. Embrace your inner King.”

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