When one looks at modern Gospel music, there are few names that are placed in the upper echelon. At that level, one has to have successfully created their own style and consequently, have created a distinct and identifiable sound.

Such can easily be said of Donald Lawrence, founder and director of the esteemed Tri-City Singers. For ten years, this aggregation has redefined the choir sound with vocal excellence and memorable songs.

In honor of their ten year anniversary, Lawrence and Tri-City have released a special project titled Restoring the Years, featuring several favorites from past projects and including a couple of new songs, one of which is the title cut.

"That song to me is really deep and is definitely a prophetic song," states Lawrence. "I think it's one of our best songs. I like the fact that it's letting people know that God will not only bless you but He'll make up for things that you lost in really bad experiences that you handled well. So many people are in those places. When you can really speak to where people are, your ministry and the song means so much more."

Oddly enough, over the last few years, several of Lawrence's songs have had a prophetic flow to them. "I find myself moving there a little bit sometimes. It's just what I hear. I just write what I hear," admits Lawrence. "Sometimes, it's just something that comes from first-person and I just need to say it. God, being the first person to people, as opposed to my viewpoint. Some of the songs are just meant for the body of Christ."

Naturally, people develop. The same occurs for artists. Lawrence has recognized this process in himself over the past ten years and appreciates the experience. "You learn, you

Restoring The Years

Restoring The Years presents the best of Donald Lawrence & Tri-City, with EMI Gospel digging into their crates to present some of their finest songs, going as far back as their 1995 sophomore project, Bible Stories. Plus, there’s two newly recorded tracks thrown into the mix. See album review.

grow, you experience, and you go through. You have valley experiences and you have mountain experiences. I've had both...Extreme lows and extreme highs," he acknowledges. "So those things make the music and turn you into the person that you're supposed to be.”

“I think that as time progresses, you really begin to understand why you're here. When you really understand why you're here, things make a lot more sense. I think that comes with growth and age. I don't think that you really know it when you're younger. You eventually get it. I've just learned that, at the end of the day, I'm going to be a healer. I'm going to always want to counsel. I'm going to always want to get to the root of somebody's problem. Even when I don't want to, I find myself teaching or educating or counseling. I think that's what my plight in life is going to be."

With a decade of producing and recording behind him, Lawrence finds it difficult to pinpoint the pinnacle of his experiences. However, a few fond memories come to mind as he reflects on the last decade within the industry.

"The first record is very special to me," reflects Lawrence. "It's really me and Kevin Bond knowing but experimenting. I hired him to be auxiliary keyboard player for Stephanie [Mills] and after we did it for a few years, I told him that I was getting ready to do a choir album and I want you to come in with me and co-produce it with me. I just want to take what we've done out here on the road and put that sound with another sound and create something. Just seeing that come together was definitely one of the biggest moments. When we stepped out on the stage for that first concert for the very first time with the African garb and the whole neo-soul, eclectic thing. The choir just looked so stunning and the energy of us coming out together...the audience just stood there and gave us a standing ovation. That moment was definitely one."

"The other was to do a tune with Andrae Crouch. I think he's one of the greatest songwriters that has ever lived. So for us to be able to do "Bless Me" and to do that collaboration was a great moment. But there are so many moments because I've done so much and I've incorporated the choir, from working with Kelly Price (one of my favorite singers) to working with The Clark Sisters, Daryl Coley and Walter Hawkins. For us to work with legends and have them respect our opinion and our gifting is special. It's hard to just pick one moment, because we've done so much stuff."

"But I still say that one of the most exciting moments for me was when I worked with Bishop Jakes on Sacred Love Songs. You would be surprised at the counseling that's in those songs."

Among Lawrence's more recent contributions is his addition to the latest release from Mary J. Blige, titled Love and Life. Lawrence wrote and co-produced the cut "Ultimate Relationship (A.M)" and values the process of he and Blige coming together.

"I have a guy that works with my manager that actually shops songs," states Lawrence. "That song was one that I pitched for Karen [Clark-Sheard] for her Second Chance CD. She actually demoed it. He kept the demo and just hit the streets of New York. He took it to A&R at Universal and that's how that whole situation came about. Puffy loved it. They started a screening process of about 30 songs and it kept trickling down. With me, when it comes to things like that, I was like 'Oh, it's a great song.' I just didn't know it was something she wanted to do. She said that it was a place where she was. That was a great experience. I hope that we would do something else later on together. I actually would like for her to come in and guest on one of my next CDs. She said it was exactly where she was at that time."

"I think that one of the most intimate times between the Creator and the creature is that morning time," Lawrence continues. "That's when He speaks to us and He allows us to know where we are and where we're going. It's really just a straight up and intense worship song. It's one of my favorite tunes. I like the fact that it's still and it's quiet. Sometimes still and quiet makes you listen more than something loud."

Lawrence's work with Mary J. Blige just adds to the list of popular artists that he's collaborated with. Amongst the many people that have influenced Lawrence, he credits his development to his time spent with Stephanie Mills.

"I grew up in a very, very strict church. Most people don't know it because I'm kind of eclectic. I grew up in one of the strictest churches on this planet...FBH-Fire Baptized Holiness Movement. Growing up as a kid, we never got to do anything. After I got out of college, I bumped into Stephanie Mills. I didn't even know her music. The only thing I knew was her Broadway stuff. The reason I knew that was because I was studying musical theater. When she asked me to be her MD (musical director), of course that was a taboo for me. So, I literally said 'no' the first time.

Mary J Blige

With the music actually recorded by Fred Hammond's musical director, Daniel Weatherspoon, the song is as musically sound as any track on the project. Co-written by hitmaker Donald Lawrence and also co-produced by Lawrence along with P. Diddy, this dream collaboration See 'B-Side' album review.

I waited a year and she came back to me and I decided to do it. And that fulfilled my destiny. I didn't even know what producing was or what a producer did. And because I had to go and learn her music inside out, I had to go and sit and listen to it. I had to go into the studio, get all of her sounds, and be able to duplicate live what she did on the CD. That taught me how to produce. It taught me studio. It taught me technique. It taught me beats and it taught me sounds. It taught me lighting. It gave me all of that and that's why you have me and the Tri-City Singers today. What you get is what I learned during that period. I wouldn't have become a producer or any of what anybody is getting blessed from me doing. I know for a fact that I wouldn't be doing any of that if I hadn't done that. That's why I say that you just never know what God is doing."

Lawrence doesn't shy away from the opportunity to work next to secular artists and sees few issue with these types of collaborations. "You just never know what God is doing," says Lawrence. "I tend to think that when it doesn't make sense, it's God and when it makes sense, it's not God. I feel like God is complicated and we never really know what He's doing. You can't really sit and look at one situation and think that it is what it is because of what you see. You have to really look further than that. We really put God in too small of a box. He's really way more complicated than that. Whether it's right or wrong, who's to say? He can always take something that seems to be bad and make good out of it. You never know when he's taking some bad and, eventually down the road, it's going to turn into some incredible good. A lot of times we'll destroy what may be good later on because we think it's bad now."

Of course, Lawrence has developed notable relationships with several of Gospel’s finest talents as well. Another recent contribution that Lawrence has made is his work on the most recent project from Karen Clark-Sheard, The Heavens Are Telling.

"Working with Karen on her first project, Finally Karen, between me, J. Moss, Stanley Brown and Hiriam Hicks, we basically put a blueprint for when she went solo," states Lawrence. "She really confided in me on the business. I really actually connected Karen with Stanley and Hiriam at Island. I think that because of that, she's become attached to me and really trusted me when it came to her being a solo artist. Doing this second project together like this was just going back to what we started. Once you put the formula together for something, you should stick with it and it will always work. That's where she is. She just likes that formula. It worked. I think everyone loved Finally Karen and they liked Second Chance but they really love The Heavens Are Telling because it's kind of back to what Finally Karen was. I think that's what her fanbase really loves. She's wonderful to work with. She doesn't give you any problems. She trusts you and she's an incredible artist to work with."

So does a multi-faceted artist like Lawrence have a preference relative to songwriting, producing, and performing? "I like songwriting the most. I think that's where my passion is and that's who I am. Then production. The artist? I never really wanted to do that. I ended up having things to say and so therefore, I ended up being out front. Everybody's always felt like I had presence to be out front but I never really strived to be the artist. I wanted to do Broadway. That's always been my ultimate goal."

As we enter the new year, many questions have surfaced regarding the future of the Tri-City Singers. So, what's next for the Carolina-based choir that has changed the face of Gospel Music?

"This is what we're going to do. We're going to do one more record and that is going to be it," admits Lawrence. "They're on sabbatical right now. I think you know when it's time to

The Heavens Are Telling

The vocal legend is allowed her to stretch out on some church songs, worship tunes and contemporary jams, and she does so expertly in all areas. Donald Lawrence pens the hype praise tune, “We Acknowledge You”. Some fancy string and horn work amp it up, and some stellar background vocalists take this one to jam status. See album review.

change and when you're coming into the end of something and we are there. I always said that I didn't want to go too long. I didn't want to go past when I knew it was time for us to do something else. I think there's a lot of talent in the group. Lejeune [Thompson] is doing her thing. Of course, Kev [Bond] and Ced [Thompson] they've done their thing. The Murrills are getting ready to do something. I think that everyone is just starting to evolve into who they're supposed to be.

Rather than to try to keep the choir together, I wanted to just stop when we're at a place where I feel we should stop as opposed to not. It's really spiritual too. I think this is just where it is. So, that's the deal with that. It'll probably be a reunion record. I don't know when. I have so much I'm trying to do.

I've been in negotiations for the last two to three years with doing like a solo deal. I'm getting ready to ink that deal. I'm getting ready to teach college. There's just so much going on with me. In order for me to continue to move and do everything that I think is in me, maintaining a choir is a little hard. I'm still going to be writing. I'm still going to be producing. I'm still going to be putting out records. Just not putting out records as the Tri-City Singers."

Certainly, this decision didn't come easy for Lawrence. "I know a lot of people are just like 'Donald, ya'll just haven't gone far enough yet. Ya'll are like my favorite choir.' But I think that sometimes when a season is over, if you go too far, it turns into something else and I don't want it to do that," resolves Lawrence. "I respect the work and what God has given us. It was definitely a hard decision. I labored with that.

God gave me the best choir for me. I don't think another choir could interpret me better than them. It's my child. I labored with it. I suffered with it. I did without for it. It's hard to just not keep it but I don't think things are meant to be forever. We didn't fall out. None of that. It's just that I had to make these strong decisions spiritually on where I was going and what we were supposed to do. I think we came to the point where this is it. We've enjoyed our time together and now it's time for us to grow into other areas. !t definitely was a hard decision but I think if I didn't make it and we kept going, I don't know what we would look like or how we would end up."

"When the Scripture says that there is a time to, there is a time to. And there's a time not to. We have to really know that," continues Lawrence. "Transition is always hard but transition ends up being good. When people don't transcend into new things, they end up dying in the old. That's what I don't want any of us to do is just die there."

Go Get Your Life Back

The infectiously happy “The Best Is Yet To Come” encourages and heartens. With Donald Lawrence’s frequently-present house-inspired beats, the tune bounces and builds up. At nearly nine minutes of exhortation the tune is given deserved prominence on this project. See album review.

So as this transition occurs, Lawrence is excited about the gospel industry moving from a commercial direction.

"Secular record companies give commercial music sometimes two records and then you're done," states Lawrence. "I think that Gospel has always been a mainstay. I think that everyone is wanting to become mainstays now. They want to be here. They want to sing songs that are going to be around not just strictly based on your talent. I think that the new artists are starting to see that that's important. Everyone's starting to go to the roots of Gospel music. That's not necessarily that they have to sound traditional or anything like that. It just has to be a great song. I'm loving Smokie [Norful]. He's just an old soul to me. It just shows you that it's all about having a great song. If we do that, we'll be here for a while."

"The state of gospel music is that we're just going back to having great songs. I think we had a minute there where we didn't have incredible songs. They were more trendy and more commercial than really from the heart. Sometimes, when you try to just write everything that's in the air, soundwise, then when that sound leaves, so does the song."

With all that Lawrence has accomplished, it's safe to say that Lawrence is indeed a legend within this industry. Yet, by his own admission, he still has work to do.

"Eventually, I'll probably be a record executive. Right now, next for me is a new deal. I'll be writing and working for a lot of additional people. I'll be developing some new acts and I really want to do Broadway."

Given Lawrence's proven track record, it's safe to say that indeed 'The Best Is Yet To Come'.