We recently connected with Lawrence Steven and have shared our conversation below.

LAWRENCE, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I think I’ve always known that I wanted to do this, even when I’d seek other paths or dim my light for the sake of pleasing…I guess society or whoever, I still always knew. I won’t go too in depth, at least not just yet, but I will tell the story of how I finalized the decision to pursue this life of an artist, or I guess the story of how it chose to pursue me.

When I was a junior in high school back in 2017, I was severely depressed; like a bird would chirp and I’d sigh. Every year, up to that point, I’d been in (what seemed like) a perpetual struggle of taking a chance on being the singer God made me to be, or be a lawyer and make my parents happy… suffice to say, there’s a couple people that aren’t walking around with smiles in the year of our Lord, 2025. I grew up in a very toxic, abusive & and emotionally scarring environment, and at that time, everything was just coming to a point of no return. But still, even with my heart and mind being cold to the touch, there were three things that year, that gave me enough of a reason to see if my tomorrow could be just a little better than my today; those being the release of, Injustice 2, a spring trip to NYC, and Lee Daniels ‘STAR’ on FOX; honestly, the more important thing to me was STAR.

Of course I wasn’t expecting myself to high tail to ATL in stilettos and cheetah print like the three girls in the show, but seeing that story be told changed something in me. There was a certain level of ruggedness that stood out to me; such a lived in world that was only about 6 degrees of separation from my own. At that point, I hadn’t seen anything that was so real to me in that way, but it came at the perfect time because with every new episode that aired, i had just one more reason to say to myself “this is what you’re here to do”. When I watched that show, it didn’t matter to me what was going on in life at the time; i wasn’t concerned at all with the now, I could only see what was ahead. This show is also what lead me to apply and be accepted to Berklee College of Music, where I graduated with degrees in both songwriting & music business.

This show was truly a reminder that God’s timing is perfect, and i know this because with everything that was happening and with every wall that was relentlessly closing in on me, had this show not been out when it was, I would’ve never had enough hope to truly see in myself what i was and always have been meant to be.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

So what I’ve been telling people is that I’m a singer and a songwriter, which is very much the case, but i also say that in knowing i have yet to scratch the surface of all that i am meant to do in this world. Everything i do though, will have (at It’s core) something to do with writing as the skill has served as one of my biggest and most effective tools of coping and healing. Like i mentioned in the previous question, i grew up in a lot of trauma, and for better or worse, its here with me, but i’m a true believer that in pain lies purpose, and if you choose to accept it from that perspective, then there’s nothing that will stand in your way. I haven’t yet gained a massive reach with the work I’ve done thus far, but all in God’s timing, right? I’m of course a lover of music, but i also adore comic books, film & tv, visual art and just overall any piece of work that forces me to think, dream and believe in something beyond myself and the things I’ve known all my life.

As far as services go, I’m moving to Los Angeles this year so doing background vocals and writing songs for other artists are things that i definitely pursue as side income, plus i think it’d just be a great way to network and meet other creatives. I also have been doing A LOT of music production work in the past year haha. As far as what sets me apart,,,hmm; this is always a tough question for me because I’m always thinking in the back of my mind “will speaking highly of myself in this way make me look arrogant”? I guess the better thing for me to do is say who I am, which is just a regular guy who knows how to tell stories in a lot of different ways. Im just a guy who wants to help those who didn’t and still don’t have an outlet to express their pain. Im just a guy who wants to be a voice for those that don’t have one, just like some of my favorite artists were for me. I should note though, I’m always going to (verbally) be on the opposite end of everyone in the room, even if I agree, because I believe there’s value in having different opinions and nothing to gain if everyone’s always on the same page.

If were talking about what I’m most proud of, then it’d have to be simply the fact that I’m still here, still fighting, still standing and still choosing to do good in a world that is seemingly apathetic to it’s own problems and plagues.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

So before I answer the question, id just like to note that i have a visceral disdain for the term “unlearning”. I know the sentiment and exactly what is meant by it, but i think in execution, it’s handled similar to when a parent is telling a child what to do without giving an explanation. To me, it comes off as an implied “this is right because i said so” or a shoot first, ask questions never; it removes the aspect and overall importance of the why behind the thing were essentially “unlearning”, which is in my opinion super destructive because if we don’t know the why behind our individual and collective course corrections, then we shouldn’t expect that same course correction to have a lasting or meaningful impact. For instance, I don’t make comments about peoples weight in a positive way anymore, not because i was told it was wrong and just not to do it, but because what may look great to me might be the worst time in someones life. I just think the framing of the term leaves too much room for apathy and a lacking of acknowledgement of the actual problem and is just expediting the solution without know why it’s a solution to begin with. We have to know why some things we do are wrong so we can effectively and competently move away from those behaviors and adopt better ones

Now, being that I guess that was my backstory, the lesson that I had to “unlearn” and/or change my perspective on is that theres only one way to do things. This is definitely more of a life long lesson that has shifted in the past few years for me, but this knowledge is such a powerful tool that I have in my arsenal. People have told me all of my life that theres only one way to do things; theres only one way to success and thats college, theres only one way to being an artist and thats writing for all the other artists, theres only one way to handle your trauma and thats to get over it and move on. all of this…complete garbage. and obviously thats not to say that people haven’t done things in these ways, but i feel like this idea that we can only accomplish things one way is perpetuated, mainly, by people who didn’t believe in themselves enough to try another way, or people who were faced with the same problems and didn’t have enough courage to challenge that notion and simply ask, “but why”? I think we have to see things from as many different perspectives as possible because if we don’t, then we fall pray to the habitual nature of not asking questions and trapping ourselves and everyone coming up after us in the same mundane and soul sucking routines. Greatness comes in many different forms and is achievable if we have enough courage to ask questions and read between the lines

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

So i was working with a smaller Record/Production company from about 2021 to top of last year, which is when that journey ended and we parted ways. I was doing a lot of recordings and doing a lot of traveling, until i wasn’t, and even though i got a reason as to why we were parting ways, i don’t think i will ever hear the actual truth from that side of the isle. That uncertainty from the reasoning of the outcome left me questioning myself so much last year. I thought i was going to be moving to NYC. I thought i was still going to be recording and making the music that i was making, but all of that seemed to just halt. Still, i moved forward with what i had, and thankfully i had a lot already recorded and had figured out how to effectively operate in a studio setting which is a big head start that not a lot of people get. I still was recording in other areas, and ended up taking my first trip to Los Angeles this past August. I had a negative outlook on LA because from everything that id seen and heard, it was just a very unauthentic place and i didn’t want to be “stuck” in a place where i felt as if i could only survive if i put on a mask…yea i had a smile from ear to ear everyday i was there. And no, i cant and wont base my entire opinion of such a big place off of one weeks worth of experience, thats just not wise, plus I will admit that i was around people that actually cared about me and it was always sunny in California (oh that was corny). But on a serious note, the entire year of 2024 made me re-evaluate everything that i was planning, and not to stop entirely, but (as the prompt suggests) to pivot into a new direction. Im writing from such a different and much more authentic place for myself, i view myself as someone with a story worth telling, regardless of who does or doesn’t see it. I’m challenging myself to be the best i can be and to show up everyday, stronger than the last. I don’t know if i answered that the best haha

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  https://music.apple.com/us/artist/lawrence-steven/1737950939