Recently, I got the chance to sit in on an interview session with recording artist Jonathan McReynolds. He discussed several interesting things regarding himself personally, and his career. He started out talking about how he grew up in the South Shore neighborhood in Chicago. He shared how he was exposed to several different artists across various genres, and one day he made a CD filled with music for his family for Christmas and the CD was heard by a pastor who was working out with another pastor from Chicago. His message quickly began to spread via word of mouth.
After Pastor John Hannah heard the CD, he began to play it on the air, and booked Jonathan to sing at his church. Johnathan was in college at the time, and the night he sung at Pastor John Hannah’s church he sold one thousand cds at $10 making $10,000 in one night. That was enough for him to know that he should pursue singing more seriously. Not long after that Johnathan got a record deal.
This new journey has led to him meeting some amazing people that he never thought that he would meet such as Stevie Wonder, India Arie, and other admired artists. He shared that he stays humble because his family will not allow him to get lifted up in pride. They keep it very real with him. He recently was given a position by Huffington Post as a blogger. He shared how when writing certain posts, he will ask his mom what she thinks about it, and she will say, “ it is good, but make sure you explain to them what sin is.”
Jonathan was asked how he deals with girls who may come at him incorrectly, and he gave a great answer. He shared how most of the young girls that are in their teens are at a stage in life where they will be boy crazy for somebody. While he is not trying to be a gospel heart-throb, he feels that the attention can be used in a good manner to point the young girls to the Lord. He says he would rather the girls give that type of attention to him than a Trey Songz or a Chris Brown because he will share with them how he lives his life. When asked about how he sees urban cities such as Chicago in particular with all of the violence that has ensued, he responded that he felt that many of the problems that we see when it comes to violence is due to a lack of worth, and regard for human life.
He went on stating how back in the day, most of the violence was equated to gangs such as the Gangsta Disciples, and the Vice Lords, but now it is simple rap beefs that young people have on YouTube. He pointed to his organization, “Elihu.” sharing how his organization is there to help young people and to provide scholarships for them as well. Finally, he shared that his inspiration in getting a Master’s Degree at Moody Bible Institute was to keep himself accountable to reading the word, and disseminating the correct information in his music.
Hear more from Johnathan McReynolds on the below Periscope video found at this link Below:
Urban Praise – Jonathan McReynolds, Christ Rep. at Urban… | Facebook
Also, check out some video from his Album release held in Chicago from last summer:
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