Shawn Lawrence

Shawn Akeem Lawrence is an African American world percussionist from Hollywood, Florida. Growing up, Shawn always had an ear for cultural music. He began learning to play hand drums and a trap set at a local church at age seven and later studied African drumming at Tallahassee Community College in 2009. Over the past thirteen years, Shawn has performed and taught at the collegiate and professional levels. He earned his bachelor’s degree in percussion and jazz performance from Jackson State University. In 2016, Shawn co-founded Alkebulan Music Philosophy (AMP), created to raise cultural sensitivity and foster a deeper appreciation for the musical contributions of Africa and its diaspora in the world we live in. In 2021, he was honored to study with master drummers and dancers at Merveille, one of the national ballets in Guinea, West Africa. Shawn travels extensively to West Africa to study drumming with master drummers.