Rhymes & Regulations- Local wordsmith spits justice of poetic POWER.

Vocal. Verbal…Vital. Meet Law Da Poet. A well-known storyteller within the Midwest circuit, this artist lays it heavy on history and he-motions to his hearers. If seeking lyrical therapy, leave it to the LAW to spit the prescription. I chat with the skilled speaker about his world of wordplay and rise to the times. Check it out.

“To be honest with you, I wasn’t the biggest on literature as a kid.”, shares the St. Louis native artist. “I was on YouTube, and I stumbled on Def Poetry Jam.” For Lawrence “Law Da Poet” Williams Jr., it was the lines of a particular poet that caught his ear. “He said “The 60’s were crazy but the 80’s was worse. Crack f****ed blacks and gave birth to a curse…” Those lines sparked a plug in Williams. “His name is Pat’s Justice. Once I heard that, I wanted to do it.”

While peers leaned towards rap and singing, Lawrence tilted towards the dynamics of spoken word. “I felt like being a spoken word artist was meaningful to me. It came from the heart with passion behind it.”, he explains. “You couldn’t just get up there and talk about your Rolly.” Williams also admired recurring Def Poetry poets Black Ice and Shihan Van Clief for their works. “I would also say DMX’s music inspired me. I also like how Ludacris conducted himself.”, adds the poet.

“I’m not going to say I’m necessarily a love poet or even political. I’m one of those guys that’s going to get up there and say what’s attached to him.”, says Law. The 33 yr. old vows to always speak true and authentic to what comes to mind. “I always speak about things I’ve either went through or witnessed firsthand. I like to catch you off guard”.

The artist began performing at Lyrical Therapy at Urb Arts in 2017. In 2020, Law Da Poet lost his mother, and began to utilize poetry to help manage his grief. “I had to figure out a way to put this little boy to rest inside of me.” explains Law. “So, I would always be writing poems, but I never did anything with them.” In 2021, he performed at Blue Strawberry with local band, Kinfolk and Them. “I ended up performing twice that night the same poems. “Introvert” was the poem that really stuck with people. When I saw them connect with the words and wanting an encore that night, I went home later and cried for a minute. I wanted to call my mom but couldn’t, so I called my brother. When you don’t think you can do something, and then God puts it in front of you, it’s shocking.”

Law Da Poet is currently performing locally and working on his debut EP. His creative collaborative, Echelon 7 hosts live shows at STL Artworks in the Delmar Loop. “We do tribute shows to various artists. We did one for Erykah Badu recently, and she shared it. My face was on Erykah Badu’s stories.”, he smiles. The husband and father of two is looking forward to more collabs and connections and plans to venture into motivational speaking and poetry advocacy for the youth within the region. “I feel like it’s needed and has to be done.”

“Don’t compare yourself to the person on the left or right of you. Create your art the way it’s meant to be. Those who like it will follow.” -Law Da Poet

IG: @lawdapo3t