Next month, Lewis will start spending weekdays at Stanford and weekends in Los Angeles with his son. Music, however, is not out of Lewis' life.
He is writing lyrics for a new album he hopes to sell to a music label. He lives with his mother and stepfather in Carson and composes at a Salvation Army recreation center in Compton where he draws inspiration from its diverse patrons.
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In a small office overlooking the noisy gym, Lewis reviews the lines he has written in an old-fashioned notebook. Swaying in his chair, he sings into a laptop over prerecorded musical tracks from collaborators. The autobiographical album, titled "The Death of Me," is meant to be celebratory, he said. In one number, "Smile," he raps:
"Back to college on the low like a panther
Finished as valedict' then went to Stanford
And I ain't paying for it
But I'm gon' pay it forward
Who gets the glory?
You know I gotta say
the Lord."
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larry.gordon@latimes.com
