Philip Lawrence (songwriter)

Philip Lawrence
Lawrence (bottom row, left) with The Hooligans in 2024
Lawrence (bottom row, left) with The Hooligans in 2024
Background information
Birth namePhilip Martin Lawrence II
Born (1974-07-17) July 17, 1974 (age 50)
Evansville, Indiana, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Songwriter
  • record producer
  • entrepreneur
  • voice actor
Years active2004–present
Labels
Member of

Philip Martin Lawrence II (born July 17, 1973)[1][2][3] is an American songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur and voice actor, best known for his work with the songwriting and production team The Smeezingtons, alongside Bruno Mars and Ari Levine.[4][5] He has won eight Grammy Awards for his work. Lawrence's latest recording project, 24K Magic, won at the Grammys in the categories Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best R&B Song, Best R&B Album, and Best R&B Performance.[5] Lawrence is co-writer and co-producer on the majority of the songs released under these ventures. He also sings vocal with The Hooligans band who tours with Mars.[6] He is also a voice actor, as he is the current voice of Sebastian since 2007, replacing Samuel E. Wright.

Lawrence was first widely recognized in 2010 when he received five nominations at that year's Grammy Awards, including his first nomination for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical. Between 2010 and 2012 he received ten Grammy nominations, and in 2013 won his first Grammy award with Bruno Mars for "Best Pop Vocal Album" for Unorthodox Jukebox.[5] In the same year, he also released his own solo album, Letters I Never Sent. He followed by participating in the second-largest viewed Super Bowl Halftime Show performing with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, receiving 115.3 million viewers.[7] He returned again to the Super Bowl in 2016, performing parallel to Lady Gaga, Beyoncé and Coldplay for another Halftime Show performance. Along with composing and producing hits for Bruno Mars, Lawrence has produced/wrote for Adele, Flo Rida, Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, CeeLo Green and others.[8]

Lawrence appeared in the Blue Sky Studios animated film Rio 2 as the character and voice of "Felipe". He also wrote, performed, and produced the song "It's a Jungle Out Here", as well as co-wrote "Welcome Back", for the soundtrack performed by Bruno Mars.[9]

Lawrence founded CMNTY Culture, a multimedia venture that combines recorded music, film, television and theater production in one space. The first artist release under the CMNTY label is RMR, who took the world by storm with his genre defying song Rascal.[10] In 2016, he purchased Record Plant recording studio in Los Angeles, California. Record Plant closed on July 8th, 2024.

  1. ^ "Philip Martin Lawrence II – Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  2. ^ Mars, Bruno [@BrunoMars] (July 17, 2013). "Everyone wish @philsmeeze a Happy Bday!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on December 7, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2013 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ Levine, Josh (January 9, 2010). "Hot producers who (heart) beats". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
  4. ^ "Philip Lawrence". GRAMMY.com. March 17, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  5. ^ a b c "60th Annual GRAMMY Awards". GRAMMY.com. May 22, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  6. ^ Gilang, Rafly (April 8, 2020). "Meet The Hooligans: The Band Behind Bruno Mars' Showmanship". TheThings. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  7. ^ "Bruno Mars' Super Bowl Halftime Show Attracts Record Audience of 115.3 Million". Billboard.com. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  8. ^ "Philip Lawrence: Bruno Mars' Right Hand Man Goes Solo « American Songwriter". Americansongwriter.com. September 4, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  9. ^ "Rio 2". IMDb.com. April 11, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  10. ^ "Meet CMNTY Culture, the New Record Label Behind Country Trap Artist RMR". Rolling Stone. November 20, 2020.