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Jo-l

Born in New York City to Puerto Rican parents, Jo-l grew up between the Bronx, New York, and Luquillo, Puerto Rico. His love for the art of singing was awakened at the early age of 4 while watching television appearances by legendary performers like Tom Jones, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson.

The power and the presence of these great entertainers were crucial and very influential in the development of Jo-l and his musical career. His cousin Tito Ramos is one of the biggest names and pioneers of the Boogaloo era in the 60s & 70s; Ramos wrote, composed and sang the Boogaloo classic hit Boogaloo blues, for the Johnny Colon Orchestra, which became their trademark song, and is now a classic for the genre. "I remember watching my cousin on television and hearing his songs on the radio, and thinking to myself that’s what I want do when I grow up", says Jo-l.

At 15, Jo-l was already on a national television show called Putting on the Hits, where he performed songs of one of his mentors Michael Jackson. When he was 16 yrs old the NAACP awarded him a songwriter award, and on his high school graduation day, he was given another award for his work as a prolific composer. Since then Jo-l writes, arranges, composes, and produces most of his material.

During his school days he decided to get together with two friends and form a group in the style of New Edition, and that’s how Nite & Day became a reality. The group lasted from 1985 to 2000.

In 1989, Jo-l was casted as a dancer for Club MTV, a popular dance show hosted by Downtown Julie Brown. But his first professional opportunity as a singer took place in Boston, Massachusetts, when Nite & Day was given the chance to open up for the biggest group at that time, The New Kids On The Block, at the Lynn Memorial Auditorium.

This opportunity led the way to open shows for Brenda K. Starr, Will To Power, The Cover Girls, The Commodores, and the Boston Dance Music Award Show.

They also opened shows for a variety of Latin artists including Domingo Quinones, Millie Quesada, Frankie Negron, The Barrio Boys, T.K.A., Angel Lopez (of Son by Four) and La India.

Now Jo-l is ready to launch his second production as a solo artist entitled Doble Vida (Double Life). With this album Jo-l is trying something new and fresh, he created his own genre of music “Sal-Fuzion”, which is a fusion of salsa, reggaeton, R&B with a hip hop swing.

This is the way that Jo-l wants to reach the younger generation that normally doesn’t listen to Latin music. “If you give them what they’re used to hearing from the American market, and add some Latin flavor to it, we can persuade our people to stay in tune with their Latin roots, and we can turn other people to our music. It’s all in how you blend it”, says Jo-l.

The album includes 12 songs, most of them in “Spanglish” (a mixture of Spanish and English) in order to appeal to a wider younger audience. “One of the best things about the songs on this album is that you don’t have to know Spanish to enjoy it”, explains the singer. It has a lot of the flavor of salsa while still staying true to today’s street urban sound.

The driving rhythms and the kicking beats make a big difference, especially on tracks like “Mi Gente” which is a Hector lavoe remake done in sal-fuzion style, with elements of dance hall reggae, r&b, salsa & reggaeton.

Another highlight is “Papi Chulo” a Spanish r&b song with a smooth vocal performance by Jo-l. The song carries a catchy hook and a thriving beat that is very contagious on the dance floor.

“Dale Candela” is a more dancehall based song, but still with a lot of salsa influence and hip hop inuendos. “No se” is a beautiful ballad with a full live string section produced and written by Jo-l himself. “Culebra” is a fusion of boogaloo, dancehall, reggaeton, and hiphop, featuring the Sonora Carruseles of Columbia, and written and composed by Jo-l…its electrifying!

Doble Vida was partly recorded at Blue Sky studios in Miami, and Drim studios in Miramar; mastered by Michael Fuller of Fuller Sound (Bee Gees, Rod Stewart, Juan Gabriel).

The production team for this album includes Dante Vargas; the producer and musical director of the world famous columbian band Sonora Carruseles; Veteran producer and composer Miles Pena; Ronnie Torres, the musical engineer of Gilberto Santa Rosa, Daddy Yankee, and Juan Luis Guerra.

With his experience as a dancer Jo-l completes his talents as a singer with a show that is visual, dramatic and musical. He wants the public to have the opportunity to see a show involving choreography, dancers, costumes, a female DJ, lighting effects, and a great band, which is the nature of a true performer.

Jo-L was one of the featured artists during the 2005 Latin Billboard Award Showcase that took place in Miami, FL. By the end of the same year, he started his international career with a performance at the world famous Feria de Cali in Colombia. His success during the event opened the door for him in Panama, where he took his “sal-fuzion” in the beginnings of 2006, with a promotional tour and two shows in the popular Festival La Chorrera. He also had the honor of opening up the show for the biggest salsa band in the history of latin music, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico and Yomo Toro. MTVtr3 has entered two of Jo-l’s videos on their top twenty countdown; Wikepedia (the internet’s largest encyclopedia) has crowned Jo-l as the pioneer and creator of “sal-fuzion,” a musical style that has currently many musicians and producers implementing in their music.

On his second solo album Jo-l has taken salsa, reggaeton, and the hip hop genre and given it a refreshingly, Latin twist. With his new sound of “sal-fuzion” and his new album, Doble Vida, Jo-L is definitely showing the world that his music has no boundaries!