I always knew that I would want to be a part of the industry since the age of 4. I grew up as a young church boy who came from an extremely strict Christian Household. My grandfather being a pastor, we would be in church all day every day. There was always something to do in church and I wore many hats from being an usher to being a part of vacation bible school and Sunday school every Sunday morning. Nothing quite called out to me more than being a member of the choir though.

Not only was I a singer in the choir but as I became a teen, I began to direct and conduct the choir and conduct many rehearsals. I am certain that this is when I tapped into and honed my leadership skills. As I became older, I auditioned for my junior high and high school performing arts programs and got in both times for art and music, later to join the drama club. It became increasingly apparent that I would follow this path as a career. My true love and passion had been realized in these moments.

I grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in a single parent home. My mother did an amazing job raising my brother and me. Growing up in the dangerous neighborhoods of Central Fort Lauderdale, it was extremely easy to get into trouble, however, going to school around the arts made a world of difference. I was never the sports type and so I knew that my only way out of the hood was to lean on my talents. I always knew that my talents would get me far, but I did not learn the lesson in life until much later that you must work overtime on your craft to become better at what you do, which is why you are afforded the opportunities that you receive in life. With this in mind, I began to completely immerse myself in developing my craft. It was at this point that I realized that the arts literally saved my life in school.

Seeing the beautiful things that my friends were able to participate in, and the wonderful ways that they were learning caused me to want to keep my grades up and always do well so that I could become a part of this performance program. Once I was accepted into the performing arts magnet program, there was no turning back. I received a full music scholarship to college because of it. This prompted me to, later in my college years, start a company of performing and visual arts for those students who were much like myself who did not have a fighting chance to hone their talents and become better at what they do on a formal level. Especially nowadays when the arts are not as prevalent as they once were in public schools. The need for community programs like my company was at an all-time high. And so, thinking about the other students in my community, The Musical Paintbrush Productions (Now Musical Paintbrush Corporation) was founded in the year of 2000 to be a bridge for those students who are much like my brother and I were growing up in our South Florida neighborhood. We now reside in Los Angeles County and are looking forward to the next chapter in the company’s history. Though we have encountered many setbacks and challenges, we continue to forge forward in Faith.

In my opinion, society could be more supportive of independent artists. They do not make it very lucrative when you are first starting out in the industry. You hear repeatedly about stories of famous artists, who when they first began their journey, would be on the road traveling and touring, many of them having bogus deals, but then they would come right back home to their same neighborhoods. If artists were able to choose their passion as their career and be compensated fairly, it would certainly make it much easier in society. No one should have to struggle when they are working on their craft and career full time. It is ridiculous the number of stories that we hear of artists having to go homeless while pursuing their dream. We are certainly a credit to society, and we are contributing factors. We get people through the most challenging times. How often do we hear of individuals going through challenging times and when they hear a song, attend a concert, or see a Broadway musical, it completely changes their perspective on life for the better? The answer is always! So, yes. We are a contributing factor to society and play a very integral role in maintaining the sanity and mental wellbeing of individuals in society. We should be compensated as such. Even on an independent level.