Meet Jeremy Kenyel Strong of WE/CLZ ENT in North Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeremy Kenyel Strong.

Jeremy Kenyel, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born in a small town called Goodwater, Alabama. I moved to Atlanta at a super young age and spent my childhood and young adult years there. As a kid, I loved arts and sports. I grew up playing baseball, basketball, wrestling and was in band. I always loved being on stage and putting on performances. My mom has always given me the freedom to explore things that I love to do. When we moved to Atlanta, we moved in with my aunt and she was big in the church. She would have me and my siblings front and center for every Christmas and Easter production or show. When I was 11 my family moved to Gwinnett County Georgia and I met a group of guys that are still my best friends to this day. These are the guys that I literally learned about life with. When I was 13, I was heavy in sports and music and started rapping and doing freestyle battles. I started my first rap group called “Neighborhood Boys” one because we wanted to emulate the “Hot Boys” and two because we lived in the same neighborhood. (Real original) One of my friends, Vince, use to dance all the time and would try and get me to join him but I always refused and thought it wasn’t my thing. One day he invited me to see this movie called “You Got Served.” As I sat there with amazement I knew instantly that this was something that I wanted to do. I loved it, It was like they were superheroes. I also loved the fact that it got the attention of girls.

As soon as we left the theater we went to Vince’s basement and started a dance crew. (Collizion Dance Crew) When I say I was a horrible dancer, I mean HORRIBLE. Lol. It seemed as though everyone else in the crew were naturals but I didn’t let that stop me. I started studying and practicing day and night until I got better and better. I would get in trouble in classes because instead of paying attention, I would be practicing my tut concepts. We eventually became one of the best dance crews in Atlanta and would put on and go to all of the battles around the perimeter. At a battle we would throw called the dance invasion, I met this guy named Codie Wiggins in a cypher. He was cold and at the at time I was so competitive that I didn’t care how good someone was, I wanted to put my skills to the test. Me and Codie instantly became friends and he told me about this place called Dance 411 in the city. I knew nothing about organized dance school and honestly didn’t care about it, but he said that I could make money from dance and he would introduce me to his agents. I didn’t even know what an agent was at the time, but I knew I was broke and if I could make some money then I was down. When I met with the people at the studio they liked my vibe and freestyle but told me I should get into some classes to learn how to pick up on choreography.

From there, I trained at the studio and with my crew as much as I could. I started developing a style that I was known for in Atlanta called raw hip hop. My crew and myself started getting noticed by people like Jamaica Craft and Aakomon Jones. Jamaica would have us come in and work with some of her artists. We would do choreography and dance behind the artist. I got a call one day about meeting with this kid off of YouTube that Aakomon had, who was suppose to be signed to usher. When I showed up at the studio it was 12 years old Justin Bieber. I was Justin’s first Choreographer and choreographed his first single “one time.” When we shot the video it was the first time I was ever flown out to LA. I loved the weather and just the whole vibe of LA. When I got back to Atl me and my crew started hearing about this new crew show called ABDC and we wanted to show our talents on the show. We auditioned for the show two times and didn’t make it, then finally on the 3rd Audition we made it on the show. This was the first time everyone else would be in “Hollywood.” We didn’t win the show but it for sure left a lasting impression on all of us. Around this time, Jamaica had Bieber as an artist and she asked me to come and help choreograph his billboard awards performance to his single “Boyfriend.” At the same time this was going on, I started a hip hop group named “kharactur” with 2 of my close friends Millie and Carlito. We started going from club to club performing our records and putting out mixtapes. Despite us winning a few open mic competitions the music wasn’t making me any money but I just loved to do it.

In my mind, I started thinking about moving to LA. One day I looked at the calendar in my phone and scrolled down with my eyes closed. Where ever I stopped on the calendar is the date I would pack all my stuff and just go to LA. That date was February 4th, 2012. When I told my family and friends I was moving everyone was in shock but knew I was serious because I did everything I put my mind too. I had an uncle I would ask to crash on his couch for a while until I got settled and could afford the high prices of LA living. I had gained a network of people in la because I worked on jobs with a lot of people that were already living there. I had already worked with artists like Usher, Ciara, Heavy D, Justin Bieber and Keri Hilson to name a few. I also did a few movies and tv shows like Pitch Perfect and Nashville. LA since has treated me well. I’ve done multiple music videos award shows and tv shows. I have been choreographing for Jason Derulo and a few other artist for the past six years as well as making a lot of music. Jason has taught me a lot about the music industry as well, and music in general as a writer. I released my first solo EP called Honesty Creates Conversation last year under my first and middle name Jeremy Kenyel and I’m working on my new project now. I have traveled the world at least 3 or 4 times over having gone through 5 passports. I feel as though traveling has taught me more about the world than school could have ever taught me. I’m currently doing shows in LA and performing my music at different clubs around the world.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I have had many obstacles. From being homeless to having something at your fingertips and being told no you’re not good enough. Those things just made me stronger though. One of the things I hate the most about this journey is being sold a dream by someone else that’s supposed to have your best interest at heart and them completely leaving you hanging. I did a lot of side jobs to get by. I even joined the circus for a little while. Me and my crew dealt with this shady promoter that had us do a week of shows and ran off with all the money. We put whatever money we had together to get to the shows with the mindset of being reimbursed. We chased him all the way through Mississippi.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about WE/CLZ ENT – what should we know?
WE/CLZ Ent is and Entertainment Company this a premier entertainment and artist management company. We are comprised of a group of talented young people working in one of the most sought after industries in the world. Our talent has toured the world with some of the biggest artist in the game.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Optimism diligence and crazy work ethic have been the most important characteristics for my success.

Contact Info:

• Email: jstrongmanagement@gmail.com
• Instagram: @TheJeremyStrong
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/thejeremystrong
• Twitter: @thejeremystrong

Image Credit:
Dizzy Graham

Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.