.jpg)
Instagram: @miyajones1996
Twitter: @miyajones1996
Facebook: Miya Jones
"I liked to make noise as a young kid," chuckled Levens Jean, who goes by L. Jean.
He seems to have calmed down over the years based on his chill demeanor and mature attitude. The now 15-year-old has the mindset of someone 10 years older and is making moves such as organizing events, making crisp beats, despite having no formal training, and managing an artist while getting an education.
The Brooklyn native, who moved to Holtsville about five years ago, first got into music thanks to the church, his older brother Tre Valour and his favorite artist J. Cole. Jean credits his church's Youth Director Mario with helping him channel all of his energy into music.
"We'd stay after the service, and I would go from piano to drums to bass," said Jean. He now plays 10 instruments. He started taking an interest in production specifically around 10-years-old.
"My brother kind of got me into the audio part of it," said L. Jean. "He's seven years above me, so by the time I was like 10 learning piano or guitar, he was in his early stages of recording. I would look over him and learned how to do it from him."
He solidified his passion for production after watching J. Cole's recording session for one of Jean's. favorite songs "I Get Up" from "The Warm Up" mixtape.
"I was just looking at the studio session and I'm hearing all these sounds I've never heard before," said Jean. "I was like yeah, this is it."
Five years later, Jean has a good number of production credits under his belt including two projects with his artist ThatKiddVee entitled "718 (Vol. 1)" and "718 (Vol. 2)."
His work with Vee and other artists led him to be acknowledged by music icon Jermaine Dupri. Due to the power of social media, he connected with the Grammy-award-winning producer.
"I was able to reach out to his assistant, and he was able to hear one of my songs," recalled Jean. "I got an email back and he said, 'I heard your music and I'm really proud of you, especially at such a young age.' It put a little boost in my confidence as a producer and inspired me to continue."
Dupri isn't the only big name that Jean has been able to contact. Artist Devvon Terrell has also become a mentor after the two connected via social media. Jean loved Terrell's music and decided to reach out. He was successful yet again. The two bonded over being from the same borough and he booked Terrell for a performance at his middle school after losing a bet.
"Me and my best friend at the time were playing 2K, and the loser had to run for school president," recalled Jean. "I lost that, and ran, but I really didn't take it seriously."
He lost the bet, but to his surprise he won the election.
When the school had to choose between a clown or a photo booth for their form of entertainment for the dance, Jean took it upon himself to reach out to Terrell's team. He agreed and before Jean knew it, the "Temperature" artist was performing at his school.
Since then, Terrell and Jean have stayed in touch with Terrell continuing to send words of encouragement his way. Jean was also in Terrell's music video "N.F.L."
The young producer is now organizing a series of events for what he calls a Young Kings Weekend around the same time as his birthday on July 22.
There will be an artist showcase hosted by Ms. Tee and a special celebrity guest host, a teen party hosted by DJ Tone, and a celebrity basketball game featuring Jean's mentor Devvon Terrell.
They will also be joined by Savon from The Joe Budden Podcast, who is also the co-host of another podcast Need to Know, Savon's co-hosts Alex and Steph, artist Live Like Davis, Sir Jewlz, ThatKiddVee and more.
"There's not really that big of a united front on the Long Island music scene," explained Jean. "So I'm really trying to bring all of us together for a good cause."
The money will be given to Free Arts NYC and Avenues for Justice. Free Arts empowers underserved youth through arts and mentorship and Avenues of Justice gives alternative options, advocacy, and mentorship to teens facing incarceration for the first time.
While planning, he continues to work on his music and will be dropping a new single with ThatKidVee soon entitled "Love Letter." To get a little preview you can click below:
(EXPLICIT CONTENT)
In the future, the already well-connected and talented young producer wants to go to college to study either music engineering or business. It can be stressful balancing everything, but he has a strategy.
"I'm just trying to take it one day at a time."