We were lucky to catch up with Jonathan Jamal Jones recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jonathan Jamal, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I’ve been blessed to work on a lot of meaningful projects with a variety of great artists and people, but the project closest to my heart so far is my solo debut album, “For What It’s Worth”.

I spent the majority and beginning of my career primarily behind the boards as a music producer under my producer alias, “J.Trinity”. While collaborating and helping others bring their visions to life is beyond rewarding, having creative control and telling your own story is a special kind of fulfilling.

For What It’s Worth, released August 2021, was created during some of the most trying and rewarding times of my life so far. The album served as a catharsis, therapy, and an audio diary. It symbolized the ending of one era of my life and the beginning of another. All while including my loved ones in the creation process and project itself. It also served as the introduction of my new emcee alias, “Jonathan Jamal”.

Jonathan Jamal, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am Jonathan Jamal Jones. A music producer, artist, engineer, podcaster, and audio storyteller from Kinston, NC. I’m known professionally as my producer alias, J.Trinity, and my new emcee alias, Jonathan Jamal. I’m the owner of production company, Trinity Labs, LLC, that I use as a vessel for my creative pursuits with a focus on audio storytelling. Since 2013 I’ve been blessed to produce for a handful of talented hip-hop/R&B artists in North Carolina, host 2 seasons of my podcast – Inside the Lab with J.Trinity, release my solo debut, For What It’s Worth and much more.

My introduction to music came at a very young age. My father is a lifelong musician and the apple didn’t fall far from the tree – I began piano lessons at the age of 7. In my early teens I began playing the keyboard at my church in my hometown of Kinston, NC. Playing in church gave me my first experiences of being behind the music. Being responsible for helping usher energy into an atmosphere, into people’s minds and hearts. I was raised in a somewhat sheltered household, so my introduction and immersion into hip-hop was slow, but inevitable. By 2010 I was in love with hip-hop and seeing Kanye West perform at the 2010 VMAs was when I got the feeling of “That’s what I want to do!”, I began making “beats” on my Yamaha portable grand keyboard that I used for church. On my 16th birthday my parents saved up and gave me a Macbook Pro. After that, nothing was the same.

I began making beats in GarageBand and Logic Pro and started recording my classmate and childhood friend, Da’Shan Flonnory (Slade the Supreme). After working together for a while we decided to join forces in our senior year of high school and became the hip-hop duo, DOPEMUSIC. I was officially in the game. Over the next 6 years we successfully released 3 albums and 1 mixtape, performing across the state of North Carolina. We also created, alongside our friends 601 the Band, an annual music/vendor festival that ultimately spanned over 4 years. During this time I primarily handled production, recording, public relations, and stepped behind the mic here and there. I attribute a lot of the success during that time to my alma mater and HBCU, Winston-Salem State University. WSSU provided full immersion into black culture, amplifying my affinity for hip-hop by the day. The support, resources, networking, and opportunities that presented themselves were priceless. Many of which served as building blocks that I still utilize to this day.

The past 5 years have consisted of growing and evolving alongside my production company, Trinity Labs, LLC. It has served as a hub for my own creative pursuits and a vehicle to provide audio services to local creatives. I’ve been blessed to provide services including: podcast production, voiceovers, step-show mixes, audiobooks, song recording, mixing and more. The service aspect ultimately culminated in creating and co-owning multimedia studio, Nexus Studios, with my lifelong friend Jamar Jones – owner of Certiphied Photography. We closed our doors in the fall of 2022 and although it was short lived, the experience was a dream come true.

While balancing the general audio services over the years, beat making, audio storytelling, and music production remained at my core. I’ve been blessed to produce for and build relationships with great people and talented NC acts including: Wi$e, Swank, Cheeno Ghee, Tymain Robbins, DamartheEmcee, Josh Cozy and many more. In addition to music production, audio storytelling in the form of podcasting is also a love of mine. My podcast, Inside the Lab with J.Trinity, is the flagship show of Trinity Labs. It is a one-on-one conversational interview with creatives from, residing in, or strong ties with North Carolina. I’m looking forward to revitalizing the show for a 3rd season, as well as developing other creative projects in the pipeline. One being an audio drama co-created with actor, director, and writer Vonii Bristow. The next chapter of Trinity Labs will be focused on creating quality in-house projects, letting go of our audio services sector.

I believe my compassion, versatility, and ability to pivot is what sets me apart. While I’m grateful for being set apart, I believe a bigger power resides in the community of creatives I’m intertwined with. My peers help guide and inspire me while also providing examples to learn from. I’m the most proud of my resiliency and maintaining a good heart and soul while pursuing a dream that can be corrupted by the world. Readers should expect nothing but meaningful and quality work from Trinity Labs and future Jonathan Jamal/J.Trinity offerings.

Lastly, I would like to give flowers to a handful of those who have inspired me in my lifetime including: God, my parents, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jackson, Kanye West, Drake, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, lifelong friends Taylor Smith and Jamar Jones, and many many more.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

From 2019 – 2021 I experienced unmatched turnover in my life. Constant change, physical deaths of cherished loved ones and figurative deaths of relationships caused an unparalleled shift. I wrestled with depression, vices and much more. While it was a difficult season of my life, I knew that God was with me and I never fully lost hope. I continued to inch forward through the storm, ultimately channeling a lot of the pain into creating something positive such as my solo album For What It’s Worth. After a lot of soul searching, I rediscovered my “why” or maybe even established a new one. I’m currently in the process of rebuilding, retooling and taking on the next chapter of my story with my head held high.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Pursuing my dreams fully. Being a good steward of the many talents that God bestowed upon me. Using my crafts to unify and uplift people, spreading my testimony and ultimately raising the vibration of my community and world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/trinitylabs
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_j.trinity
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/_JTRINITY
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@_JTrinity

Image Credits
Jamar Jones (@CertifiedPhotography) LJ Murphy (@lxststxry)