Rhythm & Praise

Raised the sons of an Ohio pastor, Eric and Anson were born in Davenport, IA and grew up in Wintersville, OH. They began singing in church when they were five and six years old, performing as a trio with their mother. The brothers Dawkins traveled with their dad at revivals and became familiar with life on the road. The early musical influences of Stevie Wonder, The Winans, and Andre Crouch laid the foundation for what has become Dawkins & Dawkins "rhythm and praise" style of music. They began calling the music they make "rhythm and praise" in 1995 and the term has caught on with the gospel music industry. Their upbeat music and harmonies, combined with joyful lyrics, have created what they call Rhythm & Praise: "... because there are no blues when you are in the midst of praise."

With last year's release of Focus, the duo take contemporary Gospel, fused with today's R&B to create their dynamic sound. They are on the forefront of the urban gospel movement featuring the hit singles "Need to Know" and "Wrapped Up," and production by some of the hottest names in both gospel and R&B music. The Dawkins album Focus has all the qualities of classic R&B and contemporary urban music fused with a solid Christ-centered lyric. This new project finds some comparisons with both Boyz II Men and the urban groove of Blackstreet. Lots of live instrumentation is featured on the album including acoustic guitar strums, flamenco guitars, and fresh and airy keyboards making it an upbeat track.

"We definitely are trying to get urban airplay because we want to reach an audience that doesn't know about this kind of gospel. Lyrically, a lot of the songs out now are really talking about nothing. They're not promoting anything that's healthy, anything that's godly or anything that positive. We have something that's on par musically that we believe is anointed by God and ordained to reach people who are not necessarily church goers or even practicing Christians. We want to give them something to grab hold to with our music, something that ignites a fire in them and causes them to understand that they don't have to fake the funk. They can live it for real."

While each finds fulfillment in their music partnership, both make time to expand the envelope of God's calling outside the group. Anson Dawkins is the Minister of Music at New Covenant Christian Center in Seattle, WA. He is also the founder of Rhythm and Praise, a production company he shares with Eric. His brother Eric's outside interests include writing and producing, working as a principal partner in Celebrity Status, a production company with an A&M Records deal, and acting. He has starred in four off-Broadway live theater productions, including "Momma I'm Sorry" (along with Melba Moore); "Sneaky;" "I Need A Man;" and "Fake Friends," with Shirley Murdock and Ronnie Wilson from the Gap Band.

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