Today we’d like to introduce you to Jett Edwards.
Hi Jett, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was born in a small town called Kings Mountain, North Carolina, where I grew up in a house household full of music. My father taught myself and my other brothers how to play instruments.
He was a renowned gospel quartet singer over a group called the southern Crusaders.. I performed my first recording on my father‘s record at the age of 11 years old. It was called. Thank you Lord and highway to heaven.. I went onto write my first hit song at the age of 14 years old recorded on Philadelphia sound by a recording artist named Bunny Brown.. it was entitled, lonely man..
my brothers and I continue to tour and perform with our father’s group and eventually went on to performing with gospel Quartet group, such as the five blind boys in Mississippi, Alabama, the soul stairs, Andraé Crouch and many others gospel groups.
Doing high school I formed a group called the soul occasions which one talent shows all around the area. There are also articles in newspapers. Were they claimed that the Seoul locations saved the Rotary club as a fundraiser? We do concerts to support the Rotary club and our hometown.
After graduating from high school I found the Jett Edwards band and went onto tour and open up for artists like cameo, barques, Commodores, Con Funk Shun, war, and many other others. I eventually moved out to California informed the band and immediately sent for my brother Calvin Edwards, who is on Guitar and my other brother Todd Edwards, who was on drones. A lot of people wondered what style of music we were doing, but I had created a new song called grunge, funk, cutting edge between funk soul And rock.
This music hit the LA scene storm as we sold out shows on our own on Sunset Boulevard the Roxy and other venues in Hollywood.
Is that time? I also had the opportunity of working at Motown and was introduced to the Jacksons where I went to produce and write as a ghost writer and worked with some of the industries greatest.. we worked on and produced movie soundtracks like the movie Twins with Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger I wrote and produced the song for the Los Angeles Lakers, the dream team which included Magic Johnson, James, worthy, Kareem, Abdul-Jabbar, etc. the song was entitled, just say no. It was part of the president Reagan and Nancy Reagan Campaign on a young lady asked her if someone offered you drugs. What do you say and she replied you just say no.
This is doing the year of 19 8485 and then I released a hit song entitled shiver, which was also picked up by George Benson and it was his comeback album comeback song on the album kisses in the Moonlight. At this time we were on the road working with Bobby Womack actually the Womack family adopted myself and my brothers and the only living Womack today. His name is Friendly Womack was our manager as well. We were in the studio with Bobby Womack, Leon Ware who produced and wrote all of Marvin Gaye hit songs Friendly Womack I don’t know who always in the studio at that time, but we came up with an album that was a monster..
Is a ghost rider back in those days I ended up working and all playing bass and performing with artists such as Rick James, Prince, the Jacksons, Latoya, Jackson, Temptations, SKD, there are many many artists.
JAPAN
Around 80 1988 and 89 I met a Japanese multimillionaires that was looking for someone to produce his daughter‘s international album. Some friends invited me to a party. He listened to my music. He liked it and invited me to his office. The next day opened up a briefcase full of money and asked me if this would do it and lovely. I said that will get you started, little did I know she couldn’t even speak English .
Three years later, she hit the charts worldwide with Take me tonight she was known as Hiroko queen of house music, the Madonna of Asia & Europe.. after the release of the album I received a call asking me to put together a band to go on tour to Japan, Europe, South America and I did. I’ve made phone calls too Janet Jackson’s dancers choreographers and we put together an elaborate group to go on tour and we were off to Japan..
Before landing in Japan, if I recall, I had two platinum records and three gold records already established before landing on the source, and it was as if the Beatles had came to America.
Few years later, I ended up working for want to know a productions in Tokyo Japan, producing some of the biggest artist Japanese artist I also work with Bondi, Avex, which became the biggest record label of all times in Asia and later I ended up forming my own label, wisdom records, and wisdom, ENTERTAINMENT And producing concerts bringing in an artist and managing artist like James Brown, Coolio, LL Cool J, The Isley Brothers, Elton John, Bobby Womack, Prince,, Edgar Winter, and too many others to remember Dionne Warwick, Stephanie Mills, KC in the Sunshine band., Whitney Houston, Take 6, you name it.
I controlled the niche of bringing artist to military basis for over 16 years and then I decided to create something even bigger and create Asia’s first English mobile phone company, which was called Mighty Mobile. I flew back to America and license contracts with Walt Disney, deaf Jam, priority records, Warner Brothers, all the major record labels I tied up in contracts using over $200,000 and everyone said I was crazy because the market wasn’t ready for it, but I saw it coming. Creating ringtones and ring bags for the military market and X packs those who couldn’t read Japanese on their phones so I partner with the Japanese company to create servers and a platform that we could distribute digital content throughout Japan and beyond..
JAPAN MASS CHOIR
IN 20 14, 2013 MAYBE I HAVE TO FORM ONE OF THE WORLD LARGEST CHOIRS AND DEFINITELY THE WORLD‘S FIRST LARGEST CHOIR TO BE RECORDED TO DATE. IT WAS 1000 MEMBERS JAPANESE CHOIR CALLED JAPAN MASS CHOIR. I WROTE A SONG CALLED POWERFUL WHICH WENT MASSIVE WORLDWIDE VIDEO I PRODUCED WAS AT A UNIVERSITY IN JAPAN. We ended up receiving and being nominated best album of the year. It’s a 2015 Devil awards where we were honored.. 2016 20 15, 2016 you were on tour in the United States where I brought at least 2 to 300 members at one time to tour throughout from East Coast tour to West Coast tour to mid east Midwest Oliver before the Covid outbreak came along.
Before that and 2005, I worked with the organization deep sea in Japan that was about cleaning the oceans and one of the members we’re one of the final survivors of world war two and he wrote quite a few poems and one of them were the paws words, entitled, green tomatoes. The story was he hated green tomatoes, but when the bomb hit Hiroshima and hit Tokyo Japan, he was without his family and he ended up in a garden where there were only green tomatoes so I had to challenge to produce and write a song that would deliver the experience that he felt in the trauma that he felt, and it was in titled green tomatoes .
We perform this song in Hiroshima and bought and released the album called music for peace. It was to heal America in Japan from the tragedies and traumas of the past..
There’s also a project entitled Love and Peace than I produce, and performed with a group called the imonari project.. this organization does fantastic Stage place they toward New York. They toured Florida, two different parts of United States performing on stage and using the songs that I have written and produced..
2007.. AFRICAN MISSIONI produced a project for Africa and worked with the African mission any 12 piece African band..
March 11, 2011 when the tsunami hit Japan, I created Believers today a music outreach organization that specializes in Trauma Care , healing by using the art of music better known as instrumental healing.
We took Artist food and a group of trauma facilitators to the areas that were needed most we also work with Samaritans Purse,. Second harvest we would heal and form also for the first responders those that were receiving secondary trauma..
Little did I know this was a mission that would also lead me back to America to help advocate against gun violence that was destroying the black communities. Returning to my hometown and setting up a Recording Studio and headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina and working with a lot of the community leaders in those areas there was a 360° return.. I received a phone call from a publicist that was representing HBO and someone who wanted me to do a deal to use the song that I’ve written over 36 years ago just say no, Shaquille O’Neal in his documentary documentary Shack.
When I originally wrote the song, I did not receive a penny when I wrote it for the Los Angeles Lakers it was a Goodwill and donate so they could work with the kids in Compton Crenshaw Boulevard different areas and today my testimony is do it and God will make it grow.
So I decided too take the royalties and rewrite the song and put the funds back into the community to replant to sow the seeds back into the community. As I was rewriting, just say no the creator gave me a vision of another song entitled stop the killing start the healing.. immediately I picked up the phone and called a friend of mine. J Melo a created beats ideal concept and then he and I get together in the magic begin.. I didn’t called one of my friends DJ Byron who introduced me to some other people Jane, who was a choreographer because I wanted to have this song filmed in the low income area and I wanted to have kids involved and by myself being part of the community of Horseman and we did a lot of the Lion dances. I wanted to have a line dance for this song so I reached out to my black community, who never replied and I reached out to Black nightclubs to see if we could have people come in and support this they listen to the idea never hear back from them. .
So let’s cross the railroad tracks. I knew a friend of mine that played drums at Kuti Joe’s here in Charlotte North Carolina gave him a call. He introduced me to the owner of Cal Joe’s and the guru who teaches lion dance there and is known all over the nation as one of the line dance kinks. Is it strange it’s gun violence that is killing our community among ourselves but yet we don’t want to come together to do anything about it so you gotta cross into the Caucasian or white community and when I talk to the owner, he said let’s do it immediately when I talk to Mitchell Mullis Who is the gentleman that created the line dance for stop the killing start the healing the line dance is entitled a change of attitude .
This title is exactly what we needed for our Community a change of attitude. We got T-shirts made oh let me not forget before it took two years to put this project together before I even recorded the videos here in Charlotte. I called Senator Donzella James down in Atlanta Georgia. I called Janice Barnette in Atlanta Georgia. She had put together a community where we could go in and film the song of the video down in Atlanta Georgia. We came later to Gastonia North Carolina Filmed it. We did Charlotte North Carolina at the final in communities and we work with the YMCA or the YWCA in Charlotte North Carolina on West Boulevard so I think everyone that was involved in this project..
We all saw, went on to perform the song at a gala at the Roxy in Atlanta, Georgia, and we’ve performed this song all over and taught the line dance at trail rides and Cowboy, churches and community events all over the Carolinas and various other states.
My latest release I filmed in Hawaii and is entitled God‘s good. 2026 is going to be one of the greatest years ever for Believers today and Jeti Edwards and its partners. We have recently partnered with Camp for heroes in a 311 acre camp property. That includes a ranch 15 acre lake fully stopped, cabins, horseback riding with trails and a program entitled horses for healing, gun ranges a chapel with a Recording Studio in the rear and I’ll be taking my 1961 Greyhound bus out on the road with a Recording Studio And it’s called SOW, songs on wheels or we will be working with Veterans communities and kids helping them to change their direction in music because the music is what is stealing our children’s souls in our communities . Songs on wheels will be also be going to Walter Reed Hospital and performing bedside concerts and concerts for those that can come down to the facilities where they are being held.. we will appear at Walter Reed’s on December 15 and 16th together with Camp for heroes, I will also be announcing a new TV show podcast/video Cast whatever they call it these days entitled power of patriots make sure you look forward on the Roku channel in January.
I’m really excited about this project. We will be working with young teenagers and introducing various summer & fall camps that we will have throughout the facility.
www.camp4heroes.com
www..believers today.org
JettEdwards.com
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
When it comes to obstacles and challenges I guess the biggest challenge is staying focused. You know when God has giving you so many different talents and so many different things not only creative talent with music writing producing, but also talents to be able to work with various organization and staying humble, you know that’s a problem
Returning to the United States from Japan was really one of the biggest challenges I ever had in life. You find that living in a civilized country a country that respects other people’s properties their space there environment, their opinions. And then you return back here where it’s just a bunch of chaos and a lot of people are living in illusion and they are still focused on material things they don’t care about anyone’s values they don’t have any values in value of the kids Today have no values. The parents aren’t raising the kids and we make excuses for ignorance while we applaud dumbfound this we applauded ignorance. We applaud, bad behavior, replot 10 year-old kids, cursing in their appearance Reppe Leod those things the TV shows that we even have now are degrading our black women, but they still watch them anyway they turn all men want to turn our men into homosexuals every TV show you see that is a black TV show. This is what it’s all about the pastors here are disgusting. They are no longer a band of God. They’re just men of the world themselves in a totally negative way you know, greed for money you know..
I’m just I’m just trying to see how can we turn our communities back around to a positive state of mind. If you look into our past, we have so much to be proud of into you know to move forward and to be come together, but for some reason, we just can’t do it.. this is one of the reasons I’m. I’ve moved away from Charlotte to a place where I have peace. I can enjoy my horses. I can enjoy fishing. I can do whatever I need to do with the power and tools of the world, but don’t have to be of the world..
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Specialize in well. I guess you would have to. I’d have to look back on certain segments of my life because you know as a international recording artist I would say you know I’m definitely equipped with the knowledge of understanding artist how to produce artists how to take an artist idea and make it flourish make it come to life, but not take away that artist creativity that is very important as a music producer you let that artist maintain their integrity and their creativity which guides you into directing them Into the space that they need to be guiding them into the journey where they can become a very good artist. There was a time when the music industry and I was A&R director for Jackson records where we developed Artist today they don’t develop Artist. They want them ignorant and dumbfounded, so they can’t do anything with the funds that they receive so they’re too ignorant to go against the system or do anything positive or create anything positive .
I guess one of the things I can see how specialize is entrepreneurship business having business sense gives you freedom gives you the luxury of living anywhere you want to controlling your own destiny and appreciating others those that support you and those that are around you.
Well, if you look at Japan, I would be known for being a Record Producer recording artist I’ve owned companies are still loan companies there and here in America so I would guess I would say I am one that has been blessed to build that bridge of build men neck gap between Japan and the United States, whether it’s music or relations, letting people know that no matter what language you speak, we all desire the same things, happiness and freedom and the right to choose our creator and worship as we please.
I was teaching at a university in Japan and doing music workshops and SIM one ask me how do you know when you are famous I thought about that they said is it the money I said no is it when you hear your song on the radio I said no, is it when you have a lot of fans and I said hell no. I went on to say there was a time when I thought all those things did I said, but you will know when you are successful when you hear the voice of God or when God has a mission for you. That’s when you will know you are successful..
Successes in measured by the material things you have the friends you think you have on Facebook all those that you have around you, but it can be measured by the friends that are there for you when you’re up or when you’re down and when God calls you to form a mission that no one else on this planet can achieve.
What sets me apart from others??
Me. Because daily I’m trying to perfect who I am not who someone wants me to be who just wants me to be that but who God wants me to be and so that sets me apart from anyone else and when I was growing up my father used to asked me to do things all the time and I used to say well why are you always asking me and you never asked my brothers & ET don’t you ever let me hear you compare yourself to your brothers or anyone else.
So this is what sets me apart from others. I am that I am..
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Well, you know there’s a lot of different industries that I am involved in one being the music industry in this going. All downhill music is not being being valued. I mean you take Spotify they are rapist. They take the value a hard earned work of a musician who goes in the studio sit down write a song spends his money to go in the studio and they put it out on a platform that is free to everyone, but they charge for it and they get money and their presidents and board members to get rich off of it while you know it takes you over Well listen use an example. Snoop Dogg had 1 billion streams and he only got $40,000. Had he had 1 billion records to sell he would’ve had over $1 billion. So as long as we continue to allow the greedy to control the industry it’s a dying industry.
Fortunately for me, I’m a business person I invest in various things I have import export businesses overseas. I have concert businesses overseas. I have we build houses affordable housing and I was able to work with Ben Carson when he was over hood and start trying to build home here in the United States that are affordable and affordable, meaning homes that you can afford to pay for so that you can create generational wealth. The housing industry is going to destroy America and it’s all about greed. These houses that they build are not of any value there is a time my father would not even use a piece of pine for anything but to hold up the oak wood.. today the houses of Stixx and you’re paying $350,000 just as a start of family. These other things we need to be protesting against and going against instead of turn down statues that don’t walk around with the drawls hanging down or don’t call out mother’s daughters and sisters, bitches and hoes..
As a black cowboy, we go out to a lot of these events. We wanna take our horses we wanna have fun. We want to relax and enjoy ourselves and here it comes you can’t even do that for having balance in different things and now they got the Twerking in the line dance, who wants all of this Niggerism.
In Japan, you can take a 78 year-old child put them on the train and they can travel 10 12 miles 15 miles by themselves and come home no one touches or bother them. Today you can’t even get on a train here in Charlotte, North Carolina and go from one stop to another without being stabbed. You tell me what are the biggest shift changes and trends that we need to make one is.
Here’s a message to our young man and older men, and I’m beginning to see more older men with that showing their draws than the young ones.
PULL YOUR PANTS UP, AND YOUR BRAINS WILL FOLLOW.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.believerstoday.org
- Other: https://www.jettedwards.com
