Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Joshua.
Jason, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Well, I lived in Miami my whole life. I used to be in a funk & soul band called Ketchy Shuby for 13 yrs before we disbanded. When we did, I started a label called Mango Hill Records to house my friends musically with no compromises. At that same time, I met organ player Adam Scone from the legendary Sugarman 3, who had just moved to Fort Lauderdale. Once we got together, we instantly started touring with his group the Scone Cash Players for about a year straight. On tour, we got to meet Gabe Roth who was the owner of Daptone Records and bass player for Dap-Kings & a bunch of records you probably heard.
While on tour, I would release stuff on Mango Hill Records, and my first record “Rose Gold” sold 500 copies in four days, just by word of mouth and Instagram. I went eventually went back and forth to tour and record with Gabe Roth, for he also plays bass live in my west coast group, The Penrose Scholars. I put out my first record on Gabe’s legendary Daptone Records alongside Adam Scone’s Scone Cash Players, which would create some hype for us and have Adam and I putting out records with Daptone together and individually. This February (tomorrow marks a full month), I dropped my debut Lp, which sold 1,000 records in 2 weeks and almost half a million streams in little under a month. Then three weeks ago, Daptone Records Unleashed their new Souldies imprint Penrose Records and released records from friends The Altons, Thee Sinseers, Los Yesterdays & Thee Sacred Souls & myself all simultaneously. & here we are ha!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Well, unfortunately, nothing is smooth. Its all a rocky road but one thing I will say is that I am blessed! I am the only artist in the Penrose label that is not from southern California. I spent all my money for the last three years going back and forth and recording and going on tour on the west coast. I worked two jobs, pretty much confined myself for the last three or four years to focus on this. Not going out in Miami is not easy. I mean look at the people now people are not even taking this crisis seriously lol.
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
Well me and my Mango Hill/Penrose family we make quality soul music and we are proud to just be here haha. I don’t know what sets us apart because we’re not really into trying to do anything but our own thing, we’re in our own lane making the music we love.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Hahaha everything. Na, I’m just teasing, God puts things in your way at the right time. We all make mistakes musically & personally for we are human. I try not to focus on what I could I have done because ultimately, there are a million ways I could’ve done it. But I did it my way and I trusted the process.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.Daptonerecords.com, https://www.fatbeats.com/collections/mango-hill-records
- Instagram: Instagram.com/MangoHillRecords, instagram.com/PenroseRecordings, Instagram.com/Mr.JasonJoshua
Image Credit:
Travis Acker, Summerlove.Jpg, Bryan Herrero, Bryan Ponce, Rod Deal
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