London: From college dorms to SU

• By ELLA PARKER
• Special to 2theadvocate.com
• Published: Nov 4, 2008 - UPDATED: 5:30 p.m.

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Although this up-and-coming R&B artist is originally from Oakland, Calif., singer/songwriter London considers Atlanta his home. He moved there to attend Morehouse College.

Life, however, had a different plan for him.

Faced with no money and no financial aid, London decided to pursue his true dream — music.

“I moved to Atlanta with no family and friends and had to do this financial aid stuff on my own, and it was hard,” London said. “I was trying, trying, trying… but at the same time, I knew what my passion was, and it was music. So I just ended up going with that.”

At that time, London was no longer enrolled in college, so he had no dorm room, and he crashed with several of his friends. While he was looking for places to put his head at night, he knew that he had to start wherever he could with his music. Therefore, he started exactly where he was — singing in dorms and around campuses.

“Everybody started welcoming me and liking my music, so I stuck to it,” London said.

Sharing his music was easy for him, but the process was not a walk in the park.

“The move was hard for me. I thought it was going to be just as easy as everything else. Then when I finally got [to Atlanta], I had to make something happen,” London said.

He has done just that. Now signed with Universal/Motown, London is releasing his debut album, “Man of My Word,” and is currently on the Black College Tour scheduled to play in Baton Rouge at Southern University Nov. 7.

London’s album is a compilation that speaks true to the title and to his personal experiences.

“I go through doing everything that is day-to-day, the experiences that I see, the things that I go through, that my family and friends go through. All of that gives me inspiration,” he said.

London’s style is not easily compared to anyone else’s. He brings his own unique performance and voice to the R&B scene and feels as if his style is “classic.”

London stresses this point: “Classic R&B, that’s what I do. Classic means it’s going to be here forever.”