Laza Morgan's blog
Laza Morgan
Laza Morgan makes his solo debut on Atlantic Record’s Elektra label with This Girl. The breezy single is also the first release from the soundtrack CD of Disney’s summertime Step Up 3D, third installment of a successful franchise.
This Girl got music and lyrics from producers and songwriters Julian Bunetta and S. ‘Pages’ Mehner, working with Laza. The soloist says “It’s a celebration of loving relationships. A breath of fresh air! A feel-good love song, perfect for all seasons, and a song anyone can sing.”
Laza’s yet-untitled début CD for the label is scheduled for 2011 released.
Born Otiyah Morgan, in Springfield, Massachusetts, Laza is a son of reggae’s legend Denroy Morgan, whose multi-platinum I’ll Do Anything For You ruled urban playlists.
From the beginning, “music was everywhere, all the time” Laza says. Music filled the air he breathed while growing up in Brooklyn, NY. His father, brothers, and sisters were always rehearsing, recording, and performing; their homes were always filled with music and musicians: Peter Tosh and Rakim; KRS One and Buju Banton; Run-DMC and Thelonius Monk, Jr.; The Fat Boys, The Wailers, Mtume; many kinds, and many more. After all, Denroy’s hit resulted from an early genre-bending experiment – it was produced and recorded in collaboration with Bert Reid of the soul/funk band, Crown Heights Affairs.
Music and harmony are truly Laza’s heritage. He has a gift of making one-ness out of differing parts, and he transitions easily between styles and cultures, in private life as well as in his public identity as an artist. His diverse cultural traditions contribute to a new and distinctive sound. ‘Sing-J’ is what he calls the unique art – a mix of raw hip-hop beats, dancehall grooves, reggae rhythms, and urban/pop sensibilities, and story-telling from a fresh, emotive four-octave tenor.
As early as age 7, Laza became interested in writing music and performing. At 13 he started a group with his brother; they performed at Jamaica’s famed Reggae Sunsplash. MCA Records heard them and signed them. The group toured the world with other Morgan progeny, Morgan Heritage. “Our father kept us focused; focused on our music” he says.
After a journey across stages, continents, and labels; after hundreds of songs, and months of working with a variety of producers, Laza had experience, passion, maturity, and his own solo style. He was hoping to find his big break -- more accurately, looking for where he could create it.
Producer Julian Bunetta and Family Affairs Productions brought him to the attention of hit-maker Mike Caren, Elektra’s new president. And a new chapter begins.
Laza will be noted for the pleasantness of his voice, his ability to bend notes and keys effortlessly, and his sensitivities that bring new interpretations and breadth to matters that concern us most – love and romance; children and parenthood; hope and the future.
“I sing a lot about love” he says, “because that’s what's going on in my life. So I write and perform them convincingly and with genuine emotions. But it’s not just romantic love and sex that I’m interested in. I care for the little ones; I care for those who have no one who cares; those in prison, or sick, or without hope.”
