Philip Lawrence

Philip Martin Lawrence II (b. Evansville, July 17, 1979 - ) -- Singer, songwriter and producer. Born into a musical family rooted in Gospel music, Philip Lawrence took an interest in songwriting at early age and performed in an R & B band called Vision as a teenager. After graduating from Evansville Memorial High School, he attended Tennessee State University for two years and then followed his dreams to become a performer and songwriter. He first performed in a theatre troupe in North Carolina and then worked at Disney World as an entertainer and, constantly being around other musicians, blossomed as a songwriter. His next move was to Santa Monica and eventually met Bruno Mars, who became his songwriting partner. Their first success was Brandy's "Long Distance" (2008), followed by a bigger hit with Flo Rida's "Right Round." With the addition of Ari Levine, they became the songwriting/production team the Smeezingtons, which would collaborate on sixteen Gold and Platinum albums between 2009 and 2015. The Smeezingtons are the principal songwriters for Bruno Mars, who recorded three blockbuster albums from 2010 to 2016, and Lawrence was a back-up singer for the recordings and corresponding tours. He also appears in several of Bruno's videos. In 2013, he released his first solo album entitled Letters I Never Sent. Also writing and producing for Lil' Wayne, Adele, CeeLo Green, and Whiz Khalifa, Lawrence has won eight Grammy awards.