Eric and Anson Dawkins were born in Davenport, Iowa. As young children they moved to Tennessee when their father, a Pentecostal minister who started his first church. In the mid-1980s when they were teenagers, the family moved to Ohio, where their musical careers took off.

With such strong connections to the church, praising the Lord through music came naturally. Eric played piano while Anson played drums.

"We have been singing all of our lives," Eric said. "Back then we never expected to do it professionally. Eventually we developed a desire to do this globally, rather than just locally."

They were influenced by Commissioned, a major gospel group in the 1980s. A friend of theirs knew Fred Hammond, a founding member of Commissioned, and delivered a demo they had recorded on equipment at the radio station at their father's church.

They became a duo, Dawkins and Dawkins, and released their self-titled debut album in 1993. Hammond was impressed and brought them on tour with Commissioned.

Their fusion of contemporary gospel with elements of rap and R&B, which was tagged "rhythm and praize," struck a chord with audiences. Their second album, "Necessary Measures," was released in 1994. "Focus" came out in 1998. They did numerous national tours. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.