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Ain't noboby funking like I do.
In an age filled with mass produced, assembly-line tunes passed off as music, it's accurate to say that 23 year-old Josef is a rare talent. Nothing short of a breath of fresh air for those who still appreciate true musicianship, in just a short time the multi-talented savant has began to carve out his own niche with his many layered and soulful musical compositions. With music in his blood and genius in his hands, he is poised to become one of the great musical minds of our time.
At the tender age of 10, Josef, sensing a natural intuition for sound, began experimenting with an old, out of tune piano on which he learned to play Herbie Hancock's "Chameleon". A year later, his mother suggested to him to try his hand at the upright bass and after only a year of study, he earned a full scholarship to attend the Interlochen Fine Arts Camp in Northern Michigan where he would spend four consecutive summers surrounded by music.
But beneath the joy that he felt when composing or even talking about music lye an inner struggle. During his middle school years, Josef sank into a self-described deep depression that he publicly has never given a reason for. During this tumultuous time in the young man's life, he frequently skipped school to be alone, finding solace only in his music. He toiled at his craft continuously, always pushing the boundaries and limitations of sound. With only his two hands to work with, he began to use electronic tools such as the Roland TR-808 keyboard and a Tascam 4 track tape recorder in order to duplicate himself and his talents, becoming a one-man-band of sorts. Though he may not have known it at the time, he was then laying the foundation for his uniquely refreshing production style that has garnered him much acclaim to this day.
Barely into his teenage years, Josef began to be a fixture in jam sessions with professional jazz groups all around south eastern Michigan. Having musical roots in this world and being touched by a wide array of influences ranging from Chicago Blues to his mother's Scottish folk singing to the legendary jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, the young man was beginning to truly appreciate his place on his way to finding his own sound. That also meant travelling his own path, as Josef would leave school at the age of 16. Using the world as his teacher and the stage as his classroom, Josef would compile an invaluable wealth of musical knowledge that could never be confined to the halls of any school. He then spent a year trying his hand at the real world, making money on the local jazz circuit. During this time a local University (University of Michigan) was short on bass players and hired Josef to participate in theory classes and performance classes. A few years later, after graduating high school, he would join the group Urban Transport, a collective of musicians that perform all original material (a feat in the world of jazz performance) and that would be fated to become Detroit's top jazz ensemble.
The band would release two albums, 2004's Introducing Urban Transport and 2006's Urban Transport Live. A disciplined composer, these albums have hinted at Josef's uncanny natural aural abilities but have not yet truly introduced the world to the pure excitement and talent that the young man has to offer. Linking with other people all over the world who understand his thirst and passion for his craft, Josef would have the opportunity to further test the musical waters, venturing out into the arena of hip hop and further forging his name among those pushing the envelope of the music. Fusing jazz and hip hop has allowed him to become a formidable producer in that realm, with plans of further cultivating that union.
-- Written by Anthony Roberts of RHYME magazine
