Biography
EARLY LIFE
JP REYNOLDS (born Rodney Jeremiah Reynolds) is a dynamic creative and innovative artist with an eclectic sound. Born in Cleveland, Ohio to Rodney J. Reynolds and Rev. Dr. Lillian F. Reynolds, JP’s parents were told that he would be born brain dead after not receiving enough oxygen to his brain. After defying the odds and surviving, JP was given the middle name “Jeremiah,” after the prophet. Like his namesake, JP would become a storyteller and man of faith.
He spent his early years in Cleveland, where he was raised in the baptist church and surrounded by family. It was there that he found his faith in God and love for music.
When he was eight years old, JP’s family relocated to Mount Vernon, NY. He played saxophone, sang in his church choir and played in the school jazz band. In 1998, his Aunt Ree introduced him to Lauryn Hill. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill album became one of JP’s early influences. A model of a spiritual, hip-hop album that featured love songs, deep lyrics and gospel vibes, JP describes the album as “music that touches your soul like you’re in church.”
In his teenage years JP Reynolds attended a prestigious college preparatory school, which pushed him academically and socially. While he lived in a predominately black, middle-class community, his school community was predominately white and upper class. He learned the complexity of code-switching, balancing the nuances of navigating various communities each day. JP was consistently reminded of who he was and found grounding in his identity through connections to music.
During his 40-minute commute to school each day, JP’s headphones blasted lyrics from Jay-Z, OutKast, Kanye West and the Ruff Ryders. He’d later take these hip hop influences and blend them with the jazz, funk, gospel and soul he was exposed to through his family and the church, creating what would later be called “rap gumbo.”
COLLEGE YEARS
JP holds a B.A. in African-American Studies and an M.Div. from Yale University, where he was the recipient of multiple awards and honors including the 2010 William Pickens Prize. He received the prize for his senior essay entitled “I Know of No Better Way to Express the Struggle of Our People: King, Hughes, and the Poetics of the Civil Rights Movement.” The paper explored previously undiscovered creative work and correspondence between Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Langston Hughes, revealing the rich relationship between the two historic figures.
While at Yale, JP was a member of the 2006 Ivy League Championship football team where he was a running back for 4 years; he was a charter member and president of Yale Black Men’s Union; and he became a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. While pursuing his M.Div. at Yale Divinity School JP informally launched his music career. Under the moniker “J Prophet”, he recorded mixtapes like Getting My Shape Up (2010), Dorm Room Sessions (2012), and I Got Bread (2013) out of his dorm room closets and performed at local showcases, as well as national platforms like Bobby Jones Presents in Nashville, TN and the 50th Anniversary March on Washington in the nation’s capital.
Career beginnings
2016 - 2020
Self described as “a ‘Soul’ man, JP’s love for the nuances of hip hop music reflected a different era. Thus, he stood out on the hip hop circuit because of his poetic cadence and use of live instrumentation. “As a saxophonist, I think about my cadence as reminiscent of John Coltrane, with the feeling of a Gordon Parks photo,” JP said in an interview. “My show on stage aims to give you the electricity of Tina Turner.” JP challenges expectations and changes the way people experience hip-hop’s rich, vibrant, complex culture.
Beginning with his crowdfunded debut Guavamatic Space Dream (2016), JP Reynolds boasts both a discography and a stage presence that feel vintage and futuristic at the same time. In 2017, JP formed The PEACEANDPOWER Band with music director and bassist, Criston Oates. With the band, JP Reynolds gives audiences what the New Haven Arts Paper called a “baptism by music,” as well as what Folded Waffle called “a sonic journey that transcends conventional boundaries.” Propelled by people power, JP Reynolds has produced multiple national tours in the homes of fans and supporters. These Kitchen Sessions began as a way to promote his second crowdfunded project Rap Gumbo (2019). After the first round of Kitchen Sessions were halted by the pandemic, JP Reynolds teamed up with DJ + Producer BACHTROY for Stir Crazy (2020), an experimental fusion of house, rap, funk, and electronic music.
peace and power media
2021 - present
During the pandemic, JP’s creative path as an interdisciplinary artist propelled him into a world of professional consulting and strategy.
JP Reynolds is the Principal at Peace and Power Media, where he delivers white glove service to high-profile clients in need of customized websites, brand packages, pitch decks, and project activations. Some of his clients have included organizations such as Apollo Theater, I Am Other, and WarnerMedia and individuals such as Tarana Burke, Misa Hylton, and Kenneth B. Morris, Jr. Peace and Power Media operates as a creative consulting outfit committed to a clientele oriented towards social advocacy, public intellectualism, cultural storytelling, and community activism.
During the same time of Peace and Power Media’s establishment and evolution, JP Reynolds continued to independently release music projects, tours, and creative content. In 2021, he produced and hosted the Stir Crazy Podcast, which featured 33 conversations with leaders in a variety of fields during an unprecedented time. In 2022, he released Soul Raps, a collection of songs that employ a traditional hip-hop formula of soulful beats, thoughtful lyrics, and rhythmic cadences. In 2023, he launched Kitchen Sessions 2.0, a 10-stop independent tour that visited 9 cities in 7 states and received a product sponsorship from Ten To One Rum. In 2024, he released the crowdfunded debut album with his backing band, Peace and Power Planet, which features original songs they developed for the stage over the course of 6 years on the road along the East Coast in performance venues, basements, churches, and outdoor festivals.
In addition to his work with Peace and Power Media, JP joined his family’s business as Chief Creative Officer of ALN Productions, a multimedia company developing films, documentaries, television and short form content.
COMMunity initiatives
Since 2010, JP Reynolds has supported young people in pursuing passion and purpose through various initiatives and partnerships with organizations and communities within the non-profit sector like The Children’s Defense Fund, Harlem Children’s Zone, and The Future Project. With consideration of his varied skill set, unique network, and abundant faith life, he approaches his activism work with a lens of liberation. And his commitment to social justice often overlaps with his music experiences, creative projects, and brand partnerships.