Vance Lee Watt II (born August 16, 1976), better known by his stage name Praiz', is an American entertainer, songwriter, producer, singer, and worship leader. Praiz' is best known as an artist for his single "Deliver Me".

Early life

Praiz' was born in

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...

but later relocated to

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, whic ...

, after his father died. He is the youngest of four children.

Career

1995–1999 Career Beginnings

Praiz' began as a producer, performer and writer in St. Louis, Missouri. Traveling with his uncle, promoter and manager Sonny Metcalfe, Praiz' learned the business and honed his studio and performing skills. After performing with several R&B groups, Praiz' decided to go solo. In 1999 Praiz' released his first self-produced R&B solo album, Wave ''Yo Hands''. Praiz' performed concerts with R&B acts, including

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Natha ...

Ginuwine Elgin Baylor Lumpkin (born October 15, 1970), better known by his stage name Ginuwine, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. He began his career as a member of Swing Mob in the early 1990s. Signing to Epic Records as a solo ...

, Outkast and oldie artists

Con Funk Shun Con Funk Shun (formerly known as Project Soul) is an American R&B and funk band whose popularity began in the mid-1970s and ran through the 1980s. They were influenced by funk legend James Brown and Sly and the Family Stone. Signed to Mercur ...

and

The Dells The Dells were an American R&B vocal group. Formed in high school in 1953 by founding members Marvin Junior, Verne Allison, Johnny Funches, Chuck Barksdale, and Michael and Lucius McGill, under the name the El-Rays. They released their first r ...

1999–2003: ''Jericho Records''

''Wave Yo Hands'' became the only R&B album Praiz' officially released. After a serious car accident, he turned his focus to producing, engineering and writing for several hip hop, R&B,

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

and

Christian rap Christian hip hop (originally gospel rap, also known as Christian rap, gospel hip hop or holy hip hop) is a subgenre of contemporary Christian music and hip hop music. It emerged from urban contemporary music and Christian media in the United S ...

artists, including

Chingy Howard Earl Bailey Jr. (born March 9, 1980), known professionally as Chingy, is an American rapper. Chingy grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and began rapping in his late teens. He toured as an opening act with Nelly in the summer of 2002 and the ...

and

Thi'sl Travis Tremayne Tyler, (born March 17, 1977) better known by the stage name Thi'sl is an American Christian hip hop producer and songwriter from St. Louis, Missouri. In 2007 Thi'sl was signed to the record label X-Hustler where he recorded thr ...

. During this time, Praiz' formed Jericho Records with his business partner and mentor, Darren Mack Sr. Together, with Praiz' as the sole producer and writer, they produced for a series of Contemporary Gospel artists including Young Saint, Holy Child, Psalms and 2 Life 2 Christ compilations. This led them to win several awards such as Praise God Productions' "Record Company of the Year Award" in 2000. During this period, Praiz' released two self-produced and written independent contemporary gospel albums: ''The Race'' and ''Preacha's Ball''.

2004–2011: ''Parking Lot Praiz' Beats''

Praiz' parted ways with his previous recording artists and partners to form Parking Lot Praiz' Beats. In 2005 Praiz' released ''The Take Over'' as an independent artist. The album led with singles ''Deliver Me'', ''Selah Selah'', ''Praiz and ''More Than Conquerers''. Weeks later, his song ''Deliver Me'' became highly requested on top R&B and Gospel Clear Channel radio stations, leading the song to become No. 1 for several weeks and remained in the top 10 for more than a year. Chris King, the chief editor of The St. Louis American, wrote a detailed review of the album with a front page cover, stating, "The devil must be mad as hell at STL's new prince of Praiz'".

Awards

In 2006 Praiz' won "Best Contemporary Gospel Artists" from Saint Louis Music Awards, sponsored by

KDHX KDHX (88.1 FM) is an independent, non-commercial, listener-supported community radio station in St. Louis, Missouri, United States offering a full spectrum of music along with cultural and public affairs programming since 1987. KDHX broadcast ...

FM 88.1 and Playback STL magazine. Best Gospel Artist of 2006 2012 The Best St. Louis Gospel Musicians of All Time

Style of music

Praiz' has been called the

Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal R ...

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

. Reporter Chris King described Praiz' in an article saying, "But where Nelly came up with the club, the grind and the streets in his verses, Praiz' is all about God and Jesus and the Holy Ghost. What can I say? The Nelly of the gospel is in the house – God's house, that is, but we get to listen, and it sure does sound good."

Personal life

Praiz' married in 2003 and has 4 children. Praiz' is a worship pastor and musician leading worship weekly in the community.

Discography

Albums

* ''Wave Yo Hands'' (1998) * ''The Race'' (1999) * ''Preacha's Ball'' (2002) * ''The Take Over'' (2005) * ''Pride'' (2008) * ''Anthem Lineage'' (2014) * ''The Perfect Peace Project'' (2016)

Singles

* Let Go (2010) * Stomp On the Devil (2011) * We Are Family (2015) * Celebrate Joy Is Here (2016)

References

External links

Official Website
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Praiz 1976 births Living people 21st-century American musicians Musicians from Gary, Indiana 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Indiana