All systems are a go for Verity recording artist DeWayne Woods. With the release of his second CD, My Life’s Lyric, which debuted at number three, he’s proven his success in gospel is no fluke.
Nor is it, as some might cast, the by-product of the overwhelming success of his debut, Introducing DeWayne Woods & When Singers Meet, which soared to number five on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart, earning him three Stellars and a Dove Award. And neither does it come as the result of his working relationship to master producer Donald Lawrence, who initially discovered Woods and signed him to his Quiet Waters Entertainment. Instead, he’s just that good, and gospel music lovers are buying his records and flocking to his concerts, making him a bona fide force in gospel.
The chord Woods first struck with gospel audiences has nearly as much to do with his story, which begins with a miraculous victory over HIV, as his masterful vocal delivery and smash hit single, “Let Go,” which soared to number four on the Billboard’s Top Gospel Songs chart.
“For this project as we started picking songs, all of the songs carry a certain testimony, whether it’s what I’ve been through and coming out in victory or just making it through the day,” says Woods. “Jeremiah 29:11 is my favorite scripture and that was really the inspiration behind My Life’s Lyric. It’s an album full of testimonies of everything I have been through. So to have such a powerful word as part of the foundation for this project, coupled with the opportunity to help shed light on someone’s situation, to me, that’s what it’s all about.”
Album highlights include the lead single, “Living on the Top,” a remake of Douglas Miller’s 1992 hit, the calypso-inspired “I’ll Be Lost Without You, Lord” and the standout ballad “God Can,” pairing Woods once again with P.J. Morton. The Murrills lend guest vocals on the track, “Still Here,” and Daniel Weatherspoon teams with Woods on “Positive.”
Of course, it didn’t hurt to have Donald Lawrence as a mentor, confidante and executive producer.
