J.Lee / Mezus

J.Lee – 1/2 gangster, 1/2 nerd, is the founder of AudioDose, Ground Zero Studios, and SPACE.  Also known as Mezus, he is a producer, musician, emcee, singer, entrepreneur, leader, and above all….an artist.  Since the day he wrote and recorded his first song as a kid growing up in Philadelphia (around 1987), he has never stopped.  Before the age of 18, he managed to write over 500 original songs, taught himself how to play almost every musical instrument, and dove head first into the early days of computer-based recording and electronic production.  By the time he wasgrown up he had developed a style that was clearly his own, drawing influences from hip-hop, reggae, 80′s hardcore, and funk.

Spending several years in Colorado while perfecting his mixing and recording skills, he continued to write original songs, and began a career producing music for film and television.  During that time he scored two independent films and wrote tracks that featured on dozens of shows across major networks, including NBC, CBS, VH1, MTV, Discovery Channel, History Channel, and more.  In 2002, after years of being in various bands, deejaying, and making mixtapes, he released his first LP entitled Be Smart Don’t Think.  The album received rave reviews from critics and gained J a cult following, with tracks that are still heard on independent radio stations across the globe.  AudioDose was born.

In 2004, J moved home base to Seattle, where he opened his first professional recording studio- The Seattle Chop Shop.  There he began to network and immerse himself into the local music scene, and helped form and the 7-emcee hip-hop crew Top Left.  While short-lived, the group released an LP and gained a small following that would become the groundwork for what AudioDose would become.  In 2008, he released Active I - The M Thesis, featuring several members from his crew.  Among the highlights of the release was a single (with Unlimited MC) that won first place in an international song writing contest.   The same year, he continued to produce and develop 4 other LPs on AudioDose- (Paradame’s Ion Cannon, Auraswon’s 2Ls Mixtape, Unlimited MC’s The Key, and the A.D. Compilation SOulDOpe) that would all be released within a year’s time.

Also in 2008, he opened Ground Zero Studios/SPACE- a recording studio with an attached venue which has become a staple of the Seattle late-night scene.  SPACE has since hosted countless events featuring hundreds of well known artists and DJs from around the world.  Since Ground Zero opened, J has recorded and helped develop the music careers of over 100 artists.  He is currently performing shows with several acts, and is working on the electronic/hip-hop project Illenium Fulcrum (with Paradame and Lefty Spitswick).

J successfully created a full-time career out of music by the age of 30, and has solidified his place in music history as an innovator and underground renegade who has never stopped being himself.  Many people have tried to copy him, but no one can replicate the one and only Mezus.