About
“Everybody has their own ordinary, no matter how extraordinary the story might be. In the end, it’s all to the beat of your own drum.” – Steph Jones
Steph Jones was born on July 3rd in Houston Texas, and raised in nearby Missouri City Texas. His mom Sherian was a local DJ and supported the family; his father Anthony was murdered when Steph was just twelve years old. Such traumatic early youth motivated him to lead a completely clean lifestyle to this day: no alcohol, no drugs. A very hyperactive child, Steph’s mom was constantly directing his energy into physical
activities like sports, where he later won a scholarship for track & field. Which upon graduating from high school at 17, immediately led him to Los Angeles, California.
Steph had been in Los Angeles no longer than six months when, at the suggestion of a coworker, he pursued modeling work. Ford Models signed him up and soon after Steph found himself dropping out of college and whisked into the fashion world. National campaigns for The Gap, Old Navy, Enyce, Loreal, and Reebok quickly followed. “I never ever expected things to get that big so fast,” he recalls. “I was just working. But c’mon, people don’t take you seriously. A model? Even if you tried to say “but I can sing!” in the
back of the mind you know they’re saying, “shut up and take these pictures heyah, boi!”
Two years into a superstar modeling career, everything came to a crashing halt in Paris, France. Steph was in the country modeling and while there, spent time with some American friends in Paris- not knowing they were also people French authorities had long been investigating. The mere association with them was enough, though. Steph was taken into custody for questioning and pressured with extended time if he didn’t offer information. Since he didn’t have the info they wanted, with no trial, Police threw him into Longuenesse Prison. The conditions were harsh. A full year passed before he was ever formally charged or sentenced. He was told he would be there until 2014.
With the only contact from loved ones being letters that came months apart, and the self disciplined health nut being housed in a jail cell with two French chain-smokers, Steph was despondent. “But I kept myself alive in there by reading, and with melody. By making up cool little melodies I noticed right away that, the more I read, the better my songwriting got. Reading that much taught me to put lyrics in story form, or learn how to use new words a certain way. It brought all that out of me.” Steph quickly wrote Mr.
Ordinary and Melody To Snap To, and considering the circumstances in which both were composed—is certainly a testament in itself for staying positive and upbeat despite your circumstances. 25 months later, with no warning and no explanation, Steph was released from prison. Two days later he recorded his first song, Breathe It In.
Nothing like time being taken away from you, to make you value your time. Steph used his newfound freedom as the catalyst to actively pursue his dreams of being an artist. He began writing songs, and with the help of his brother Deray, performed them after the comedians hit the stage at the LA Improv. One night, Ludacris rolled in. Within months, Steph was signed to Luda’s label imprint thru Def Jam: DTP Records. But two years later in early 2008, with still no debut album on the schedule and a real creative disconnect on
his musical direction, Steph amicably requested a full release from DTP. In June 08 he was granted his freedom once again, and by August he quickly rebounded by securing a worldwide publishing deal as a songwriter and solo artist with Kobalt Music Publishing. He continues to write and record songs for his debut effort as well as writing for many other artists, and is currently shopping the Mr. Ordinary album to other interested majors.
