Jared Lee Gosselin A native of Detroit, aka “The Motor City” and home of the revolutionary Motown Records, Jared Lee Gosselin (J Lee) is the young and gifted super-producer with a phenomenal creative touch and technical aptitude who has contributed to a massive string of hits and to music’s most celebrated artists.
With a resume noting collaborations with India.Arie, Macy Gray, Floetry, Game, Corrine Bailey Rae, Young Jeezy, Keyshia Cole, and Nicole Scherzinger (Pussycat Dolls) to name a few, this extraordinary musician maintains the title of credible and established producer, while transitioning to the forefront as an emerging recording artist.
J Lee took an early lesson at spinning vinyl on his mother’s RCA Victor 45 record player at age 5. By age 15, he had become a mastered DJ fashioning his own turntable disciplines following drum rudiments and transforming his turntables to an instrument. J Lee began transitioning into audio production utilizing his gifted ear for sound and brilliant creative aptitude. His cultivated talents would later land him a Grammy™ nomination for India. Arie’s Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationships.
Enrolled part-time at the Recording Institute of Detroit while still a high school senior, J Lee found himself taking lessons from Motown legendary producers , Barrett Strong and Robert Bateman (Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard it Through The Grapevine”, The Marvelettes’ “Please Mr. Postman’). It was under their mentorship that he became known as the “magic man”, a name awarded to him by Strong for his technical and operational abilities. J Lee’s duties span from electrically wiring basic rooms and converting them to operational studios, synching MP keyboards, to editing and recording in pro-tools and mixing. There was no task he was not capable of doing, surpassing expectations to the point where all Barrett would say was “work your magic!”
By 2000, shortly after graduation, J Lee was operating two recording studios in Detroit, one being his own Asylum Studio. He began engineering for heavy hitting artists Proof, Obie Trice (D-12), Juvenile, Slum Village, MC Breed and Bizzy Bone. J Lee also established himself as a common entity on the hip hop scene. He’s collaborated with several Detroit based DJ’s on mixtape releases and programmed show sets for Eminem and D-12.
That tour brought them to LA where J Lee met the prominent writer/producer Phillip “Whitey” White and the two immediately realized that their combined talents merited a merger. The two joined forces to create Whiteleaf Productions. While collectively working on projects at the famed Enterprise Studios, the duo met songwriter/producer Damon Elliott (Kelly Rowland, Mya, Jessica Simpson, Beyonce) and landed a production deal co-writing and producing tracks for the Shark Tale, 1st Daughter, and Fat Albert movie soundtracks.
Now, more than two decades since he first stood in front of his mother’s old record player, J Lee continues to perfect audio production and engineering, while occasionally gracing the DJ scene. His course has taken him into the studio alongside KRS-1 (16 17 18), Joe New Man, Christina Milian (“I Gotta Get To You” from Bring It On: Fight to the Finish soundtrack), Nicole Scherzinger, Corrine Bailey Rae, Cheri Dennis, and Floetry. J Lee has worked closely with and produced two Macy Gray projects Big and The Sellout as well as touring with Gray as her DJ.
J Lee recently teamed with hip hop great, MC Lyte and Grammy Award winning producer, singer and songwriter, Whitey, as the hip hop trio Almost September under SONY Records and released the group’s first self-titled EP. J Lee quickly recalls the moment a mere introduction transformed into a creative merger. “MC Lyte came to a session that Whitey and I were working,” Jared explains. “She came back to the studio the next day and we recorded the song "Beautiful". She said she wanted to start a group with me and Whitey. It only took us about a month to decide if we wanted to start the group.” www.almostseptember.com J Lee also worked alongside well-known DJ Derek Carter on a ‘house’ remix version of the Almost September EP.
J Lee has teamed up with Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver drummer Matt Sorum to write and produce the newest offering from the electro-rock group Diamond Baby. The single “The Last Rockstar” was released summer 2011 with the project slated for 2012. DMC (from RunDMC) has also tapped J Lee to produce on his highly anticipated heavy metal infused live solo project.
Continuing to diversify his musical alliances, J Lee’s magical mixing skills can be experienced on the Frank Zappa EP Penguin In Bondage / The Little Known History of the Mothers of Invention. This collector’s item, released in 2011, was recorded in Chicago in1974 and contains a previously unreleased live version of Penguin in Bondage, an extended rap about Paul Buff and “The Muthers”, and ends with a blues jam.
Despite his demanding work schedule, the entrepreneur continues to cultivate his brand by developing his forthcoming apparel line - Bombs and Babies. But in all that he does, J Lee never loses sight of the quality in working his “magic”. The Detroit native said it best when summing up his thoughts on his career, “Although I now live in LA, I’m extremely proud to say I’m from the city of Motown,” boasts J Lee. “Motown Records was a forward thinking label that went after making classic hits. LA or Detroit, that’s always my goal when making music.”
The 90’s in Detroit spawned a high-energy rock scene centered on artists like Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent and Bob Seger. Today, fueled by hip hop acts Eminem and D-12, Detroit’s music is an intrinsic component woven into the very fabric that makes the city a musical oasis and Jared Lee Gosselin is without question a multi-talented product of his environment. His accomplishments to date only reflect a foretaste of the success the young producer will undoubtedly achieve during his career. When asked what his goals are, the humble yet ambitious J Lee replies, “All I want to do is make music that stands the test of time.”
Discography
| Year | Album | Artist | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Example | Genius of Soul Disco Funk | Various Artists | Composer |
| 2004 | Shark Tale | Original Soundtrack | Producer |
| 2005 | Searching for Jerry Garcia | Proof | Engineer |
| 2005 | Flo'Ology | Floetry | Composer |
| 2006 | Corinne Bailey Rae [2 CD] | Corinne Bailey Rae | Mixing |
| 2006 | Corinne Bailey Rae [Special Edition] | Corinne Bailey Rae | Mixing |
| 2006 | Testimony, Vol. 1: Life & Relationship | India.Arie | Audio Production, Producer, Composer |
| 2006 | Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship (Circuit City Exclusive Bonus Track) | India.Arie | Producer, Composer |
| 2006 | Afro Strut | Amp Fiddler | Composer |
| 2006 | Déjà vu Soundtrack | Various | Mixing |
| 2007 | Big | Macy Gray | Producer, Programming, Composer |
| 2007 | Big (Bonus Tracks) | Macy Gray | Producer, Programming, Composer |
| 2007 | Shrek the Third | Original Soundtrack | Producer |
| 2007 | Afro Strut (US Version) | Amp Fiddler | Programming, Composer, Producer, Mixing |
| 2007 | Holiday Gift Pack | Corinne Bailey Rae | Mixing |
| 2007 | Karaoke: Jojo | Karaoke | Composer |
| 2007 | Hate It or Love It | Chingy | Producer, Assistant, Mixing |
| 2008 | "Slap A Bitch" | Macy Gray | Producer |
| 2008 | Maximum Bass: Xtreme | Various Artists | Composer |
| 2008 | In and Out of Love | Cheri Dennis | Producer, Composer |
| 2008 | Joe Thomas, New Man | Joe | Programming, Drums, Composer, Producer |
| 2008 | True to the Game | Various Artists | Mixing |
| 2009 | New Gospel Voices | Various Artists | Composer |
| 2009 | Coming Back to You | Melinda Doolittle | Composer |
| 2009 | Testimony, Vol. 2: Love & Politics | India.Arie | Composer |
| 2009 | Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics (Bonus Track) | India.Arie | Composer |
| 2009 | Quite Like Me | Dionyza Sutton | Composer, Producer, Mixing, Programming, Recording |
| 2009 | “All Over Me”/”Home” | MC Lyte | Producer |
| 2009 | "Gotta Get To You” (Bring It On: Fight To the Finish Soundtrack) | Christina Milian | Producer |
| 2010 | Sellout | Macy Gray | Engineer, Composer, Producer |
| 2010 | Fotosintesis | Jaime Kohen | Producer |
| 2010 | “Scandalous” | Pittsburg Slim | Producer |
| 2010 | “Glass Kisses” | Ashley Martinez | Producer |
| 2010 | “I Like It” | Albe Back ft DMC | Producer |
| 2010 | Detroit Diamond ft Carmit EP | Various Artists | |
| 2010 | Frank Zappa Aaafnraaaa Birthday Bundle | Various Artists | Mixing |
| 2010 | “She Can’t” | Kim Hill | Producer |
| 2011 | Fabric 56 | Derrick Carter | Composer |
| 2011 | “The Last Rockstar” | Diamond Baby | Producer |
| 2011 | Penguin In Bondage: The Little Known History of the Mothers of Invention | Frank Zappa | Mixing |
| 2011 | “Bake Me In Clouds” | VIZA | |
| 2011 | Bobby Brown | Get Out The Way | Producer |