Christopher Lewis - Life

Like the psalmist David skillfully, playfully, pouring out his personal heart before the Lord, Christopher Lewis doesn’t mince words. In the vernacular of his day, David told God exactly what was "going down" in his life. Chris’ kindred spirit takes the same principle and applies today’s lyrics.

"My music is real," says Christopher. "It is candid, honest. It speaks to everyday people about everyday situations." Christopher grew up in a musical household in North Carolina. His father, a deacon in their local church, still sings with a local quartet called the Twilight Gospel Singers.

However, Christopher’s childhood musical tastes were diverse, ranging from Mahalia Jackson to Stevie Wonder to Donnie Hathaway. Indeed, this diversity is quite evident. His writing and vocal stylings bring to remembrance every top male R&B singer/songwriter spanning the last three decades including Prince, Smokey Robinson, Michael Jackson, D’Angelo, R. Kelly, Babyface and Otis Redding as well as Tonex on the gospel side.

A father of four with the heart of a minstrel, Christopher enjoys "lyricizing" the realities of his life; broaching topics that range from his family, the illness of his baby daughter, the corrupt nature of the industry to racism in the church. His lyrics touch upon his marriage to wife Leslie and his children as demonstrated by the cut You Were There and She, which was written as his daughter Lauren lay in a surgery room fighting for her life.

There are many great cuts on this project full of urban neo-soul food. Good Day, You Were There and Little Things, represent the neo-soul portion of the CD. Track 4 kicks of the urban soul gospel with No Colour. Good Thang introduces a rock guitar riff with a Mission Impossible or James Bond-like motif. Vocally, Lewis’ tight delivery is Michael Jackson-inspired. Add to that rhymes by LadyKross and you’ve got a monster track.

Christopher plays tribute to a number of vocal inspirations on this offering. Come to Me reaches into Christopher’s more lyrical repertoire while introducing shades of Commissioned. But the track doesn’t stay there; it transitions into a smooth urban track. On The Grammy Song, D’Angelo’s vocal stylings are quite prevalent. Never pays tribute to Babyface both vocally and melodically and is reminiscent of Toni Braxton’s Breathe Again – written and produced by Babyface. With the expertise of a modern day Mozart, Christopher pens this track, juxtaposing the vocal stylings of Babyface with the vocal harmonies of The Winans, creating a unique texture and soundscape. Finally, he pays tribute to his father’s gospel quartet as well as the Dixie Hummingbirds on Christian Automobile, a cleverly crafted song demonstrating his knowledge of the genre and the vocal nuances necessary for authenticity.

Delivered follows where Never left off and continues the unique ministry of this minstrel. Melodically and harmonically, this track, as well as the piano/vocal production, provides a stark quality, which almost forces the senses to come to attention and listen with great intensity. This track falls as close to the “contemporary gospel” tree as Christopher can get. But as you will soon discover, Christopher is an artist that defies categorization.

Praze Party is an upbeat right-sided tempo cut that you can only get down with - if you’re on your feet. Building the hook around a very familiar phrase, “Aint no party like the Holy Ghost Party cause the Holy Ghost party don’t stop,” again Christopher rises above the norm of mediocrity to fashion something new yet familiar.

Clearly, Christopher Lewis is no ordinary artist and like his predecessor (Tonex) before him, he may be mis-read, misunderstood, pigeon-holed (but in the wrong niche) and mis-promoted, but his artistry is indisputable. As a singer/songwriter, Christopher is deft. His music is crafted to supersede boundaries and strongholds. As he puts it, "If there is one thing I want my music to do, it is to speak life…no doubt!