We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jon Reece a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jon, so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?
I’ve always been a “Black sheep” of sorts- very different- and kinda weird I guess, but that always sort of gave me power in myself. I never wanted to be like everyone else. Growing up in Foster Care taught me that people’s circumstances aren’t always in their control, and that gave me the ability early on to see the good in people, and see them for their quirks and all. Luckily for me, I was adopted by two people who also shared that world view. Different is ok, and being different is a super power in a world where everything is mainstream, and mass produced. On top of that, because I had a rough early life, I was never afraid to fail because I had already been at rock bottom. So no matter what room I’m in, who I’m with, or if I do fall flat on my face. I will always be 100% authentic, and 100% R.E.C, so with that I’ve already won.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’m a story teller at heart- I started my journey as R.E.C on the streets of Hollywood, Highland and 3rd street in Korea town while going to college to be an actor. As covid-19 hit hard, I had to find a new way to express that, when acting took a turn for the worst. Thus I used my musical background to begin performing and took my future into my own hands. Since then I’ve release two independent albums, one which got me a Grammy nomination, and I’ve performed in a multitude of cities. This year ill be releasing my Third album to complete my trilogy, releasing an R.E.C clothing brand, starting and performing in a secondary band under the name “White Sabøt”, performing in more cities than I could have dreamed up, and finishing up final touches on a fourth independent album scheduled for next year!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Because of where I started, I’ve always had a hunger, which sometimes drove me crazy, but also drove me to become what I am. I’ve been told “no” more times than I can count, but it always made me fight harder for that one “yes”. So my three quilties I would say, are my hunger, my drive, and my inability to quit. So my advice would be to “stay hungry my friends, and get out there and fail- over and over and over again till you get it right”.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I’m open to working/collaborating with anyone as long as they are as serious about their work as I am. I do all kinds of genres, and coming up with stuff on the spot is my specialty. To reach out to me you can send me an email @[email protected] or send a direct message on my Instagram @joncreece or @r.e.cmusic
I look forward to hearing from you!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/joncreece?igshid=Yjk4NWM2ZWVkMw==
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@r.e.c3412
- SoundCloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/HTxBq
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3Bm7pD5DvJrq7yMEufxgI4?si=y72rXjDRTiOy6sAfu_vHYA https://music.apple.com/us/artist/r-e-c/1521982354?ls
Image Credits
@solomon.photography @annaphobia @14_namrepus
