It was my grandfather’s name, a jazz musician and composer who wrote music for the live band of The Johnny Carson Show. He was the first black man to have his original music played on late night television. It was my uncle’s middle name, a passionate performer and dancer who never got his due and died far too young but who was celebrated by everyone who knew him. I am fourth in line with the name in my family and I wear it proudly. It brings me closer to where I come from.

I grew up in the San Fernando Valley of California, raised by Hollywood obsessed aunties and a music loving mother. I discovered theater at around 9 years old, taking classes with the now-shuttered Children’s Theater Group of Southern California and culminating in placing first runner up at the regional Jerry Herman Awards my senior year of high school. I started working as an actor my senior year at Emerson College, starring as Stuart Little in a production at Wheelock Family Theater. My family watched as I graduated and closed my first professional show in the same day in what is still probably the best day of my life. I have gone on to act in and choreograph for many productions in both Boston and NYC.

My music is equally inspired by the past and the present, drawing influences from classic melodies as well as modern production. The subject matter is often autobiographical, and the point is always JOY. Music is where I feel the most connected to history and culture, as well as my place in them. The sound of my seven singles (streaming everywhere) has been compared to Bruno Mars, Jamiroquai, and Lenny Kravitz. MUSIC IS THE GENRE.

Now based in NYC, I am looking forward to expanding out into television and film as well as telling more jokes in basements (I did stand-up comedy once, it was the scariest thing I’ve ever done and can’t wait to do it again).