Dedicated Men Of Zion

Hailing from Greenville, North Carolina, the Dedicated Men of Zion operate as a sacred soul gospel quartet whose members—vocalists Anthony "Amp" Daniels and sibling Antwan Daniels, along with Marcus Sugg and Dexter Weaver—share bonds as friends, church congregants, and in-laws. Although anchored in the harmony-rich legacy of Black gospel, the quartet’s energetic approach merges that foundation with electric blues, R&B, soul, and funk, producing a sound reminiscent of the four a.m. moment when Saturday night merges into Sunday morning. Their 2020 debut album, Can’t Turn Me Around, issued on Bruce Watson’s Bible & Tire Recording Co., earned widespread international praise. Largely prevented from touring by the COVID-19 pandemic, the group nonetheless delivered a virtual performance at N.Y.C.’s globalFEST in early 2021, which expanded their reach to listeners worldwide; their follow-up album, The Devil Don’t Like It, surfaced in April 2022.

Eldest member Anthony Daniels built an R&B career in Atlanta, providing support for artists ranging from Bebe Winans and Toni Braxton to Elton John. Dexter Weaver had spent years performing with multiple gospel quartets and frequently crossed paths with Anthony on the sacred soul circuit. Youngest participant Antwan Daniels, Anthony’s son, handled organ and keyboards in church settings while channeling the gospel tradition into his personal hip-hop production work.

During a period between groups in 2014, Weaver and Anthony Daniels, joined by Antwan on keys, deliberately assembled the initial version of Dedicated Men of Zion with singers Trevoris Newton and Darren Cannon. Following roughly a year of rehearsals, the ensemble gained notice through appearances at churches and sacred soul festivals throughout eastern North Carolina. Newton died suddenly in 2018, after which Cannon departed; the elder Daniels and Weaver then brought in Marcus Sugg, who had sung in church choirs and during military service and who is Anthony Daniels’ son-in-law.

This revised lineup drew the interest of the Music Maker Relief Foundation while opening a church concert for the Glorifying Vines Sisters, the longstanding Farmville gospel ensemble made up of Anthony’s mother and aunts, ultimately placing the male quartet on Music Maker’s artist management roster. That connection led them to Bruce Watson’s newly established Bible & Tire Recording Company label.

In 2019 the Dedicated Men of Zion cut their debut album, Can’t Turn Me Around, at Watson’s Delta-Sonic Sound studio in Memphis, supported by a star-studded ensemble of session players; the record consisted of covers drawn from the D-Vine Spirituals label’s catalog of rare sacred soul sides from Memphis. Upon its 2020 release the album attracted national attention and numerous performance offers, yet the March arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic halted travel. Critical response nevertheless generated an NPR Tiny Desk Concert, a virtual globalFEST appearance, and a slot at Fresh Grass Fest.

Late in 2021 the quartet returned to Memphis to record once more with Watson and his Sacred Soul Sound Section studio collective. They released the single “Lord Hold My Hand” in January 2022, followed by the ten-song album The Devil Don’t Like It in March.