As the curtain close and the room is filled with applause, he smiles and thanks all in attendance before exit the stage to go mingle with the crowd.
That’s the often reaction that follows after inspiring artist, JerMarco Britten, performs.
Standing at 5'7, with brown eyes and wild hair, the 20 year-old, St. Louis native is a part of the music group, MME (Musicals Masterminds Entertainment), which strives to show the different aspects of creativity as they are unique personality wise, religiously, and musically all in one.
“I get nervous every single time I perform, even though I’ve been performing for years, “Britten says smiling. “However, when I start performing all of my nerves go away, and it’s like I’m in a different place, somewhere I belong”.
Not that Britten is new to the craft, or that he doesn’t already have plenty of experience.
At age 8, he began doing music. With his inspiration being his grandfather, a collector of old soul and R&B records, which he lived with while growing up. Since then, he has attended sung in church choirs, the Honor’s Choir at Career Academy High School, and major in Business of Music and Music Technology at Loyola University in New Orleans.
He also received voice lessons at CHIPS where he worked for four years as a peer counselor teaching about health, sexuality, and wellness through theater.
“JerMarco is a sweet, humble, goofy, optimistic guy” Jasmine Blue, friend of Britten says. Music wise, “He is the definition of a true soul singer, from the heart through and through”.
Like many aspiring artists, they come across struggles that make striving for success even more worth wild.
“Becoming a musician anywhere can become hard. It isn’t just St. Louis, but I will say sometimes the lack of unity makes St. Louis a place where artists would rather escape” Britten states very reserved.
Having to take off a year of school, for financial reasons and to work, Britten began on another project. Pushing his own project that he initiated called Sing for Free, Sell for Food. Which is a music album that was released in Sept. 2011, in hopes to help assist in his college funding.
“Sing for Free, Sell for food, is a music album I released that was made in hopes to help assist my college funding, “says Britten.
The summer of 2012, he will also be going on tour with a fellow musician named Julain Keaton apart of his “RISE” initiative which is music to raise awareness of the common and rare issues, African Americans face daily in their communities.
“In high school I would love to listen to JerMarco, sing solos at concerts, his voice is so soft and soothing,” said classmate Jessica Jones.
With inspiration from his grandfather to do music and after that artists like Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, and Prince, inspired him musically. Not only does he sing, write, plays the piano, and is learning the guitar, hoping one day to learn every instrument.
Volunteering and the problems of the community is also what make Britten happy.
While in New Orleans he volunteered in various places helping to rebuild areas destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Back home in St. Louis, he periodically volunteered for Studio STL speaking at events about his experience with the organization.
“I’ve been blessed to make it thus far in life, and if it had not been for the blessings of music and God constantly singing in my ear to keep going I honestly wouldn’t know where I would be” says Britten.
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