Meet Jontell

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jontell. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jontell below.

Jontell, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

From my mother, Ive watched her overcome so much in her life growing up. From having me at a young age and being on her own, to eventually becoming a nurse and owning her own home before she passed. She would never let anything hold her down for too long, and I try my best to imitate that in my everyday life. If I find myself struggling in a specific area I remind myself to take it one step at a time. Some days will be better than others but consistency is key.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

My name is Jontell, and I’m an independent Music Artist. I’m currently based in Portland, Oregon but originally from Riverside, California. As a kid I dealt with a lot of self confidence in just about anything I did, which lead me to poetry. I was able to express myself with words but still keep it to myself without anyones judgment. As I grew a bit older I realized that a lot of my favorite musicians were actually that..poets. The way that they expressed themselves and told stories over beautiful instruments drew me in. And since 18 I’ve been writing and recording music.

As of now, I’m currently working on my first EP that will drop around Christmas time titled Lynette, named after my mother. While also working to become a content creator.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Listening, studying, and writing.

Writing has always been my specialty. whether it’s writing a song, a short poem or in my journal. Ive always been really good at using words to paint a picture or to simply express how I’m feeling about certain things from my past, present and even ideas for my future.

Listening, and studying to me go hand and hand. When it came to other artist I would listen and study the words they said for hours, and not just what they said but how they said it. To me cadence is everything when recording, that’s one of the things I tend to focus on when i’m in my own creative process.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

Lately I’ve been deep diving into audio books. One of my favorite books that i’ve read so far is ” The Creative Act: A Way of Being” by Rick Rubin.

One lesson that I really try to keep at the forefront of my mind is to not create art to please others. During the creative process it’s very easy to get stressed out wondering if anyone will like the finished product, or to second guess yourself into thinking something wasn’t a good idea. When the true way to create art is just that…create. And to always like what you’re creating. If the artist dosen’t like the art he’s creating and is just creating to please, how can it truly be his.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamjontell/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jontell1164
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jontell_