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londa larmond Bio

Few 25-year-olds speak with the authority and maturity of Londa Larmond. Even fewer have her vocal talents. Couple that with a powerful and inspiring message, and it's no wonder Londa's solo debut is one of the most anticipated album releases of the year. With her Pop and Jazz-influenced, R&B-flavored brand of Gospel, Londa Larmond is one of the brightest new talents on today's music scene.

LOVE LETTERS, finds the Canadian vocalist putting a contemporary spin on the Gospel genre, blending the smooth R&B styling of Toni Braxton with the modern edge of Destiny's Child. Londa distinguishes herself from those Pop-world divas, with an energizing message of a faith that can overcome life's most horrendous trials. It's a message she delivers with unusual conviction, because it's one she has already lived.

"My music is for everybody and my message is for everybody," Londa asserts. "I don't want to leave anybody out. I want people to know that God hears everything, and He is there for them. He feels what we're feeling. I believe He cries when we're crying. I know He was crying with me. And He is there to comfort you."

Born and raised in Toronto , Canada , to Jamaican parents, Ethan and Evan, Londa's childhood was filled with Gospel music. Her church deacon father is also a musician and singer, while two out of her three brothers brothersall sing and/or play instruments. Not surprisingly, family devotion time in the Larmond household was a musical affair, with everyone singing and playing.

The one rule, she recalls, concerned the type of music played on the family stereo: "It had to be Gospel," she laughs. "Richard Smallwood, Commissioned, or the Clark Sisters! But you know what I played in my room? Hip-hop, Reggae and R&B. I shouldn't have, but I did!" Londa was singing in church at the age of 7, and began performing professionally at 14 as a featured member of Toronto 's renowned Youth Outreach Mass Choir. From there she honed her musical chops as a member of the Gospel Soul Sisters, before joining the internationally acclaimed Sharon Riley & Faith Chorale in 1995.

"Faith Chorale really showed me what it is to be a professional, because of the level that they were at," Londa says of her five years with the group. She recorded lead vocals on two albums with Faith Chorale, including the EMI Gospel release Life Is, which won a Juno Award ( Canada 's Grammy) in 1999.
By all outward appearances, Londa seemed to have her life together. Bright, beautiful, talented, and with the support of a loving family, she seemed destined for success. Yet inside, Londa was wracked with low self-esteem, and a hardened heart. Two devastating physical assaults, which occurred years apart, left her feeling badly about herself and unable to trust people.

"The series of events caused me to be a hard person," she reveals. "I wasn't affectionate with people. I wasn't soft with them. Sometimes I could be harsh and really hard-core, when inside I'm one of the most sensitive people you'd ever meet! You had to use kryptonite to reach me."

Feeling worthless, Londa says she even contemplated suicide. "I was sitting on my bed in my room thinking, 'OK, I give up. If I go to the washroom, I can slit my wrists. Or let's get some pills and overdose,' " she recalls candidly.

"I was ashamed to think I would even be thinking that. I'm the praise and worship leader at church; I'm the youth choir director! You don't do that! But I just had to bow before God and let Him know exactly how I was feeling. I told Him, 'I need to feel that You hear me.' And I did! I felt Him come and cover me and hold me. I felt a peace. I felt like He was right there with me."

That day, Londa stared the problem in the face and emerged victorious. Her personal challenges have become a powerful testimony, which she brings to the world through her music.

LOVE LETTERS is a jubilant collection, offering encouragement and hope in the face of despair. Produced by such industry heavyweights as Michael-Anthony Taylor (Stacy Orrico, DC Talk, RAZE), Asaph "Alex" Ward (Kim Burrell, Dorinda Clark-Cole), Sanchez Harley (Shirley Caesar, Hezekiah Walker) and Montrel Darrett, the 10-song project showcases Londa's stunning vocal range.

The vibrant "Once," which also appears on the platinum-selling WOW Gospel 2001 compilation, shows Londa shouting for joy in front of a bouncy, funk-influenced, Pop track. "It's a real celebratory song," she notes, "a real encouragement to people. Once you have repented, God has removed your transgression. He's no longer thinking about it, so why should we? Don't keep going back to what you were and what you did."

The title track, "Love Letters," seems like a page out of Londa's own life, and with good reason: She co-wrote the song with Montrel Darrett and Reneé Rowe. "It's a very personal and intimate song," she reveals. "This book of love letters is the Bible, and it's there to comfort you when you feel all alone. You don't have to depend on a man to love you and make you feel worthy because God loves you in spite of what you've done, whatever sin you've committed. The woman in the song realizes, 'This is the man I've been dreaming of!' That's who Jesus is to us."

The powerful "Help Him Stand" holds an especially bittersweet meaning for Londa. The song, written by Darrett and Manny Saiz, is distinguished by its chorus and layers of vocals repeating the tender words, "I've gotta do more than just take my brother by the hand...I've gotta look into his heart and... help him stand."

Tragically, on the same day she recorded the vocals for the song, a few miles away Darrett and his family were in an automobile accident that killed his five-year-old daughter, Charissa. "It was ironic that I was recording the song, and then he goes through that," Londa recalls. That was a time when I felt I needed to be there for him. I had to support him---and that's what this song is
about, helping your brother, being there for him. We all need to help out our brother. You are your brother's keeper."

Perhaps one of the most personal songs on LOVE LETTERS, is the emotional "Hold On," written by Asaph Ward. "It's a deep song, and I love it! It's basically from the perspective of Jesus Christ: He's speaking to you, saying, 'My child I want you to cry. I want you to let it out. I won't give you more than you can bear. I just need you to hold on a little bit longer.' "

Londa lets her powerful voice soar on this song, rising to a crescendo of conviction earned from overcoming her own personal battles. "I know a lot of women have been through what I went through," she explains. "It doesn't matter if you've been assaulted, made bad choices, or simply had your heart broken--- come to Christ! We think it's only people outside of the church going through these things, and it's not. I was a praise and worship leader! We like to cover it up and put a blind eye to it. I want it to come out. I want us to accept the fact that yes, it's here, and the Lord knows what you're going through. If no one else knows, the Lord knows."

Her passion to communicate that message in a very personal way was the inspiration for her solo debut. The power of her testimony reflected in the music, is Londa Larmond's love letter to her generation.
The compulsion to reach out to people with the message of Christ is reflected not only in their music, but also in the ministry that still serves as the backbone for the choir and its mission. Spirit of Praise Ministries, the para-church ministry dedicated to community outreach and evangelism, is entering its fifth year. Programs like scholarship fundraisers, mentorship programs, food drives and community-building projects provide opportunities for Lamar and his choir to express the faith of which they sing in their home community. It also enables them to create a new paradigm for today's gospel artist.

"I would hope that we'd be seen as trailblazers for the Gospel music of the future," Lamar continues. "You have to reach people where they are, just like Christ did. They want something they can dance to, but somewhere inside they know there's more to life than that. They need something that can change their lives.

"I think we have a unique opportunity, and a profound spiritual calling, to give the world what it wants and also show it what—or rather Who—it really needs," he concludes. "Because at the end of the day, we are just ordinary people—like anyone else—who also really love the Lord and work hard to give Him our best. That's all the incentive we need, and every goal we could ever hope to achieve."