We recently connected with Mahogany Jones and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Mahogany , really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
Initially, I thought my purpose was embodied in my skill set. However I discovered that whether I am on a stage, or leading a workshop, and spending time with my daughter, my purpose, to encourage, empower, and inspire is at the core of who I am, because it’s what I myself needed most. I recently was in Israel on a US State Department Tour as a good will ambassador and promoting my latest album, “Better” and I was on a stage in a diverse crowd of Jewish Israeli’s, Arab Israeli’s, and American Black Israeli’s.
My music is the merge of my heart and my art, so the messages in my music are infused with love and encouragement.
It was everything to see a crowd of young Black Isreali’s rock to my music, but the glow I felt exude from so many of them to a piece of themselves represented on stage- especially the young women in the audience- carried me for month after. I still get a chill when I go back to that moment.
It’s then I connected the dots that my spirit is full the same way whenever I get to speak encouragement, or teach a new skill, or give a hug to someone I know really needs one.
My purpose is to live a life that shares the love and beauty of God.
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?
As a child I was always deeply infatuated with the art of story telling. My family also happened to be pretty entrenched in the music business. The other piece of this was being born and raised in NYC, I had a front seat view of the birth and rise of Hip Hop music and culture. I was in college and working full time as an intern at Universal Music Group. I worked in the PR department and though I was a Communications major, I never wanted to be a Publicist, but “communicate” that was a must.
After sharing my poetry with a co-worker, she encouraged me to start attending open mics. Every week I was a faithful at the Brooklyn Moon, Nuyorican Poets Cafe’, Wetlands, Sob’s, and The Brooklyn Tea Party.
These introduced to me my first love and my lifetime love of the art of Emcee-ing.
The final portion of this brewing storm of my life as a Recording Artist and Educator, was being re introduced to being in relationship with Christ.
Taking hold of my faith propelled me into my pursuit with a mission. 5 albums, 5 mixtapes, 18 countries, and 50 recorded featured appearances later, I am still hear alongside my incredibly gifted husband, label head, and producer creating, merging my heart and art with the hopes that the listeners who encounter my music, leave with the souls touched and lives changed for the better.
My husband through his label, The Thirties, released my latest album, “Better”.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The three qualities I believe that that been a major part of the strides I have been able to make have been: resilience, 10,000 hours, and faith.
There is always going to be a no, there is always going to be a road block, but there is always a solution on the other side when you are refusing to accept any thing other than success. My quality to be stubborn and resilient has been the source of so much of my innovation when it comes to my approach and my willingness to give it a try.
10,oo0 hours.. Being great, undeniably great, requires a decision to be invested in being your absolute best.
The greats the masters, have invested 10,000 hours and better in order to claim the title.
Faith, perfect love casts out fear. Faith and my love for God, people, my art- those have been the driving forces that have kept me going when I wanted to quit. I have experienced God open windows, where doors were bolted shut and it was “impossible.
If you are just embarking on your journey as an artist, or you feel that your “call” is calling out to you, the best gift you will give yourself is the decision to not turn back.
See it through to the other side.
When you see that you are in the process of arriving, don’t forget to remember, how far you’ve come- especially when it feels like you have the furthest to go.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
Currently I am facing a few challenges- generating the capital to grow my brand and expand. I think over the years, I invested so much in the quality of my content, that I neglected properly marketing and promoting my music and services. I am grateful for how accessible social media makes things, but its a double edged sword, because now it’s so much available to audiences that it makes the pool huge and makes it harder to be found. My next challenge is one I am sure the more life I live, I will continue to face is having difficulty creating a work life balance. As a wife and mom, the needs of my family are crucial to me, and all that’s involved in making sure I am doing my best to meet those needs, while still maintaining self care is real!
So in a perfect world, I’d have an angel investor bless me with the funds to hire a marketing team, a business manager, a booking agent, and a housekeeper/nanny to hold us down.
“Soon come” ( said in my thickest Jamaican accent)
Contact Info:
- Website: www.MahoganyJones.com
- Instagram: @realmahoganyjones
- Facebook: MahoganyJones
- Linkedin: mahoganyjones
- Twitter: @mahoganyjonez
- Youtube: MahoganyJones
- SoundCloud: MahoganyJones
Image Credits
Abby O Shaq
