By Dyer Whitt
Staff Writer
Emerging onto the entertainment scene, three former CHS students are combining their skills in music, photography, and video to form what is now known as Motion Entertainment Company (Motion).
Motion is a combination of services including professionally integrated photography, audio and video production, and graphic design. Motion features select artists such as Jay Fresh, Cherisse, and soon-to-be-signed Will Jet’son. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the group is that it brought three Coppell High School graduates together with their desires of finding a path within the entertainment industry.
Jordan Michael Johnson, known by his stage name, “Jay Fresh,” founded Motion in 2008 when he began to consider his career opportunities in the music industry. “At first Motion was just a clothing company designed for skateboarders, but as my dreams of being a rapper quickly started to take off, I decided to turn Motion into a full blown entertainment company,” said Johnson.
After quickly becoming a hit with songs like “How I Roll,” “The Story,” and most recently a remix of Jay Z’s, “Otis,” Johnson’s interests soon shifted from managing his entertainment company to solely utilizing his skills in music.
Johnson’s music has been featured throughout many Dallas venues, including Trees, Rio Room, and Ghostbar. Growing as one of the top indie, modern, hip-hop artists in the area, Johnson expanded his operation, bringing his cousin, Tony Mosley, on board last year.
Mosley, a 2011 Coppell HS graduate, manages and assists the company with audio production and advertisement. His role in the company is greatly influenced by his willpower and determination. Mosley, who attends LSU, describes his role at Motion as “having the responsibilities of managing and producing music with Will Jet’son, and taking care of anything related to Motion.”
Plastered on the Facebook walls of many CHS students are various lyrically captivating tracks from Will Jet’son. The artist promotes most of his music on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. “We do most of our advertising on social media sites because that’s where our audience connects and the fastest way to promote new tracks,” said Mosley. “We also released a music video for Will Jet’son that will hopefully create more of a fan base, and give the public a little taste of what he possesses as a rapper.”
Malcolm Wilburn, aka Will Jet’son is also a 2011 CHS graduate, and has been writing music since his early teens. Along with his music video, Wilburn has been turning tracks like his life depended on it, and in reality, he says it does
“Music is my life, and it’s the best connection I have with myself,”
said Wilburn. “Everybody has something they use to get away from the rest of the world, and mine is writing and making music that highlights the moments of my life,” he elaborated. “Without it I’d just be a regular lost soul trying to find what suits me best,“ said Wilburn.
Although running an entertainment business can be frantic, admits Mosley, the “hard work” doesn’t really seem so hard at all.
“In reality there are no real sacrifices; when you’re doing what you love it is all fun and worthwhile,” said Mosley.
Motion has also implemented a “street team” to help with the promotion of the company. The team consists of mainly CHS students and fans that support Motion and its affiliated artists.
“As more and more people jump on board to what we offer as musicians, we decided to organize a team of fans to help keep others updated,” said Mosley.
In a close-knit community like Coppell, criticism will always be presents and unfortunately musicians can’t always please everyone. For Wilburn music has always been something that comes from the heart and soul, and to him that’s enough to get credit from anybody.
Like Wilburn, Mosley also feels that it’s his “haters” that fuel himself to keep striving for perfection.
“For me the inspiration was those who said I couldn’t do it,” said Mosley. “My friends and family have without a doubt supported me, but the real reason why I do it is because of the people who simply say no.”
Coppell is a small town, and Motion offers three huge dreams and hardly enough room to contain them. With the world as their player ground, the trio is merely just getting started.
To get the latest updates on Motion and it’s artists, Will Jet’son and Jay Fresh, be sure to check out their Facebook fan pages and to also follow to them on twitter @thejayfresco, @willbejetting, and @motionent.