Meet Jason Vaughn a.k.a. Mamba

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jason Vaughn a.k.a. Mamba a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jason, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
My resilience derives from my passionate creative soul….Since I was a child I’ve always had an all or nothing attitude and drive when it comes to my artistic endeavors. The source of my resilience comes from my father, and I’ll never forget this quote he repeated to me throughout my childhood and teenage years ” how bad do you want success son”? ( long pause and deep stare ). That silence spoke so LOUDLY to me, I felt it engraving in my SOUL! My father set a solid foundation for me, and I continue to carry that same energy as an adult.. So when it comes to current passions “dance and film”, I create my work as if it’s going to be displayed at an award ceremony no matter if it gets “recognized” or not.

PASSION over everything…..

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am a movement artist to the core, and music is the blueprint….Specifically , I’m extremely attracted to African music from Luanda, Angola and the dances I’m invested in are as follows: Afro-House & Kuduro. These particular dances fully resonate with my entire well being, because they are high energy dances just like my core spirit. I feel it’s important to be “authentic” in everything that you say and do, especially in things that you are passionate about.

THERE SHOULD BE NO SEPERATION OF SELF FROM THE ART.

These dances are so much more than just the movement, I’m representing a culture, keeping it alive and spreading it to the USA! I ventured to Luanda, Angola in October of 2022, and man what a trip it was! I TRULY saw the level of polyrhythmic movement in Luanda and the bar is HIGH!  The dancers in Angola are born and cultivated with dance, because as we all know Africa is RICH in dance! Watching these dancers react to parts of the music I didn’t even hear and witnessing the level of CREATIVITY in their choreography left my jaw on the ground….The dancers of Luanda, Angola are so intricate, detailed, animated and precise with each and every step in their movement you can visually see the music breathing in real time, it’s literally MAGICAL.

To this day I still take online zoom classes from them to keep my skills just as sharp as theirs

Now let me get into my love for Vlogging… In 2020 I started a YouTube channel titled “DND80 Productions” and it encompasses my love for culture and dance. I made two documentaries from my travels” Ghana and Angola”, and I also have other cultures on my channel along with some of my dance work. At the end of this year I’ll be venturing to South Africa to document the culture, multiple dances and some history of the country for my channel so stay tuned in for that greatness!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Three qualities that were most impactful in my journey are as follows: consistency, passion and being humble. My advice for folks who are early in their journey is to “NOT” get caught up in comparing yourself to someone else’s success and “DON’T” attach your self esteem to views, re shares and social media bragging rights”.  If you do, this will break you and most likely make you quit before you started… REMEMBER there is something uniquely beautiful inside of each and everyone of you…

All you have to do is BELIEVE IT and let that truth SHINE bright as the sun baby:)

Stay consistent and keep learning.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
My parents are strong God fearing humans that stand in their truth no matter the response.. My parents are also extremely loving, down to earth, hard working and passionate people like myself. Career wise my mother now retired did computer programming for a living, and my father who is also retired did IT support. My parents raised me to be a “fighter”, and keep knocking on doors until I get an answer. The most impactful thing my family did for me was to raise me with morals, dignity, pride and to be proud of who I am. I can’t thank them enough. Also they always told me the raw truth whether I would like it or not…

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Image Credits
Tawnyonelove

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