Row Lewis
Encyclopedia
Row Lewis is a Grenadian
activist, teacher, life-coach, vocalist, word-warrior, and liberation theologian. She is the founder of Liberty Fellowship Center
http://www.libertyfellowshipcenter.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Cite_sources, a non-profit Ministry, where she serves as the Executive Director and Spiritual Advisor.
The daughter of a Pentecostal Pastor, Rev. Raymond Lewis of the True Vine Church, Row Lewis is an ordained minister with academic studies in Comparative Religion, World Religion, Psychology, Counseling, and Journalism from the University of Florida
and Hope Theological Seminary. She has enjoyed a career in television broadcasting for over a decade, winning Associated Press
Awards (1998, 2001) for interviews with former U.S. Secretary of Defense, William Cohen
, and recording artists, The Baha Men
.
Born into a musical family, Row took the stage singing and performing at age 5, but still feels she has more to accomplish:
Row says her focus now is stayed on the human condition.
In 1994 Row started the music group, Fresh Fire, with her brother (Attorney and Music Producer, Esmond Lewis) and sister (Entrepreneur, Rachel Lewis) serving as lead vocalist. Her band toured and shared stages with such gospel artists as: Kirk Franklin
, Yolanda Adams
, Cece Winans, Donnie McClurkin, T-Bone, Hezekiah Walker, and Vicki Winans. Fresh Fire recorded two albums, including the acclaimed, Summer of ‘94. Fusing jazz
, calypso
, folk
, reggae
, soul
and blues
with inspirational lyrics, the group enjoyed several crossover hits.
In 2003 through 2004, Row took the stage as a solo artist and performer, of original musical and spoken word
pieces, under her "Soul Connection" label. Currently, Row is working on a new project entitled, "The Poet Speaks", where she takes on the issues of race, class, gender, religion, and social justice.
Row Lewis is originally from the Island of Grenada
, born to her Trinidadian
mother Yvonne, and her Grenadian/Vincentian
father, Raymond. She is the fourth of seven children. Row currently resides in Raleigh, North Carolina
.
Grenadian
The people of Grenada or simply Grenadians or Grenadian people are the inhabitants or citizens of Grenada.Grenadian may refer to:* Something of, from, or related to the country of Grenada...
activist, teacher, life-coach, vocalist, word-warrior, and liberation theologian. She is the founder of Liberty Fellowship Center
http://www.libertyfellowshipcenter.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Cite_sources, a non-profit Ministry, where she serves as the Executive Director and Spiritual Advisor.
The daughter of a Pentecostal Pastor, Rev. Raymond Lewis of the True Vine Church, Row Lewis is an ordained minister with academic studies in Comparative Religion, World Religion, Psychology, Counseling, and Journalism from the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
and Hope Theological Seminary. She has enjoyed a career in television broadcasting for over a decade, winning Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
Awards (1998, 2001) for interviews with former U.S. Secretary of Defense, William Cohen
William Cohen
William Sebastian Cohen is an author and American politician from the U.S. state of Maine. A Republican, Cohen served as Secretary of Defense under Democratic President Bill Clinton.-Early life and education:...
, and recording artists, The Baha Men
Baha Men
The Baha Men are Bahamian singers in a Bahamian band. They play a modernised style of Bahamian music called Junkanoo.-Early career as High Voltage :...
.
Born into a musical family, Row took the stage singing and performing at age 5, but still feels she has more to accomplish:
- "I have tested the physical constraints of my body from a young age…defying time, space, and circumstance on track fields, basketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
courts, martial art arenas. I have pushed and prodded my intellect on academic as well as home fronts…always seeking…always yearning…always pressing for more…more…and more still. I am more than well aware of what it’s like to achieve and succeed, but now view 'success' in very different constructs...I still have much work to do."
Row says her focus now is stayed on the human condition.
- "My message is one of liberationLibertyLiberty is a moral and political principle, or Right, that identifies the condition in which human beings are able to govern themselves, to behave according to their own free will, and take responsibility for their actions...
...It's my desire to bring healing to all oppressed people. I want to encourage a higher state of spiritual vibration in this world...and bring us all back to a greater connectednessConnectednessIn mathematics, connectedness is used to refer to various properties meaning, in some sense, "all one piece". When a mathematical object has such a property, we say it is connected; otherwise it is disconnected...
to our Creator Source and thus to each other."
In 1994 Row started the music group, Fresh Fire, with her brother (Attorney and Music Producer, Esmond Lewis) and sister (Entrepreneur, Rachel Lewis) serving as lead vocalist. Her band toured and shared stages with such gospel artists as: Kirk Franklin
Kirk Franklin
Kirk Dwayne Franklin is an American Gospel music musician, choir director, and author, and is most notably known for leading urban contemporary gospel choirs such as The Family, God's Property and One Nation Crew .- Early years :...
, Yolanda Adams
Yolanda Adams
Yolanda Adams is an American Grammy- and Dove-award-winning Yolanda Adams is an American [[Grammy Awards|Grammy]]- and [[Dove Awards|Dove]]-award-winning...
, Cece Winans, Donnie McClurkin, T-Bone, Hezekiah Walker, and Vicki Winans. Fresh Fire recorded two albums, including the acclaimed, Summer of ‘94. Fusing jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, calypso
Calypso music
Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of enslaved Africans, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song...
, folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
with inspirational lyrics, the group enjoyed several crossover hits.
In 2003 through 2004, Row took the stage as a solo artist and performer, of original musical and spoken word
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
pieces, under her "Soul Connection" label. Currently, Row is working on a new project entitled, "The Poet Speaks", where she takes on the issues of race, class, gender, religion, and social justice.
Row Lewis is originally from the Island of Grenada
Grenada
Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...
, born to her Trinidadian
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
mother Yvonne, and her Grenadian/Vincentian
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island country in the Lesser Antilles chain, namely in the southern portion of the Windward Islands, which lie at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean....
father, Raymond. She is the fourth of seven children. Row currently resides in Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
.
External links
- Liberty Fellowship Center website
- CNET, Download.com: http://music.download.com/rowlewis/3600-8210_32-100567840.html
- Row Lewis' Blog: http://rowlewis.myblogsite.com