Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeremiah Neil.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was born in West Palm Beach, Florida. My early years were simultaneously the best and worst years of my life. My parents split when I was a baby and I grew up like many millennials, split between two worlds. My father’s side of the family are all musicians, so that’s exactly where I inherited my music bug. My father is actually a Christian Rapper and paved the way for spiritual rap to be cool in South Florida. Being a queer kid in such a religious filter, I’ve always noticed that I was a little different than the rest from the jump. The teasing came from all kids (at church, at school, Baseball team), but I always could go into my little hiding place in my head (my imagination) and feel safe. When my father remarried in ’98, my bonus mother decided to enroll me into dance and that changed my life. Being on stage finally gave me the shot to express everything (from within) that I’ve always wanted to.
After spending years training in dance and diving into education, I went to undergrad at The University of Florida. Again, being the oddball and sticking out from the crowd, I found it really hard to find a tribe that I connected with on campus. Ironically, I ended up being the Head Choreographer of Sabor Latino (instagram.com/saborlatinouf), which was the official dance team of the Hispanic Student Association. I am not of Hispanic descent, but again this was another wonderful moment to express my creativity and make history. Under my leadership, our team was able to open up for stars like The Goo Goo Dolls, Kevin Hart, Aziz Ansari, and many more. I also began my YouTube career here, teaching free choreography classes to the students on campus. I was stacking 100K views an upload prior to “viral” being a thing, which is what I miss. To me, it was always most fun making content I loved, rather than trying to stay on a trend.
Upon graduation, I moved to Los Angeles in 2013. I met my roommate via Youtube and the first time we actually met in person was the day we moved into a tiny studio in Koreatown. We had very little money but a whole lot of ambition. We started our own media outlet, TechtonicPop. I’m most appreciative of this experience because it showed me the ends and outs of the industry swiftly. We were on red carpets standing next to E! News with our Cybershot Camera (no microphone) and still landed interviews with some of the biggest pop stars in the industry (Jason Derulo, Austin Mahone, Kelly Rowland, Justin Bieber).
I had to step away from this business because I also created (and was a member in) the Boyband Phase Five (instagram.com/phasevmusic). We were together for little under four years and released multiple singles and our own EP. My favorite experience from this journey was touring The UK. We did about eight shows in ten days and even experienced our first paparazzi experience. As entertainers, we should never do our craft for the glitz and glam, but it was very nice to get recognition abroad when sometimes you feel so small in a city like Los Angeles. With the successes also came the turmoil (management disagreement, scammed production deals, etc.). These are all stories you will hear from many people who move to big cities. A lot of this turmoil activated my spiral down into heavy drugs and alcohol use. It’s like having a baby and then having it snatched right from your hands with no know recovery plan. At this bottom point, I had to make the decision to either move back home to Florida and hide (because I thought I failed), or simply just try again.
Since the band, I’ve participated in so many more projects and have released my own solo material. I created a Mukbang show on YouTube and dove into songwriting. I also began my longtime desire of Drag(check out Eden Barbarella instagram.com/edenbarbarella). However, it was here that I realized mentorship is super needed right now. Everyone has a problem, but not many want to figure out a solution. That’s why I’m doing with instagram.com/colorsoftheworldco. Creating a safe space for any creative ready to make change in this world. Through this coalition, I’ve been able to meet some of my favorite friends ever.
Has it been a smooth road?
I’d say my biggest struggles have come from self-esteem issues. I didn’t grow up in an environment of hugs, kisses, or expressing your emotions, so I am always very naive to everyone’s intentions around me. Moreover, I’m also the type of person that can see the potential in a person or situation, so I will hold on until the final breath because I want it to work so bad. Sometimes it isn’t meant to work. I think in these situations, we’re supposed to pay attention to what we can learn, but not the actual result. That can aid in moving on.
Also, communication in general is really tough in a city like Los Angeles. We’ve got the best of the best in every field, so of course competition is on everyone’s mind. For me, I have always preferred more group activities and working with others, but I never have had the language to communicate what goes on in my brain to the 3D World. Therefore, there’s been TONS of opportunities that never came into fruition simply due to being misunderstood.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
Colors of the World is my latest project. We’re a collective of dope industry creators who are fed up with the BS we see everyday in our communities and want to make a difference in a positive way. If you go on Instagram or Twitter nowadays, it’s just constant negative energy, sad stories, death, rage, etc. Especially blogs like The Shaderoom, where I feel they enable a lot of poor behaviors and comments on purpose to create more divide. I would love to help recondition our generation (plus Gen Z + Baby Alphas) to find the good in this world and let it shine over the darkness.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Los Angeles is the best because there are like 30 mini-cities within one big city. You can’t really get bored here because Encino is completely different than Silverlake, which is different from Hollywood, which is different from Marina Del Rey. I also am obsessed with the weather. Coming from Florida, where it will be 90 degrees at night during the summer (and humid af), you can’t beat our evening temperature drops.
One thing I am over about LA is the amount of homelessness. I’ve seen countless officers ticketing, harassing, and displacing our homeless folks, knowing good and well they have nowhere to go and no steady resources to get a helping hand (ESPECIALLY DURING A PANDEMIC). Empathy and compassion need to be the core fundamentals of anyone working with others. Maybe then, we could actually create facilities to actually help these folx get back on track.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colorsoftheworldco/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeremiahneil_v
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