Author L.A. Jackson was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and spent his early years in New York City during the exciting advent of a new, yet undeveloped music form eventually named Hip Hop. Listening to the legendary DJ’s and pioneering MC’s, while attending house parties and roller skating events where the music was readily heard, Jackson fell in love with the genre and the music industry as a whole. He became interested in the formation of beats and sounds, the mechanics of the tools used by DJ’s and studio engineers; and the production side of putting an album together. He decided to be a part of the structure and expansion of music in all its facets… but from behind the scenes.
Jackson attended Georgia State University; with a Bill Lowery scholarship, he majored in Commercial Music & Recording. By the time he graduated from Georgia State University with a Bachelor of Science degree, Jackson had a full-time job with CBS Records, where he marketed records by Columbia, Epic and Def Jam. During his 10 years, CBS Records became Sony Music and Jackson had personally worked with just about every act on the label’s roster including Mariah Carey, Luther Vandross, Gloria Estefan, and Public Enemy. Implementing dozens of sales and marketing campaigns, artist promotions and in-store appearances, he received numerous gold/platinum albums and traveled throughout the U.S., Canada and Jamaica attending industry events.
In 1990, Jackson built MKM Studios to oversee production, promotion and marketing for artists around the country. He was also a technician with a top audiovisual company -Total Audio Visual Services. Jackson currently owns media a management company, MKM Multimedia Works, and oversees operations of audiovisual and home theater, music production, marketing, rental and sales. Through MKM Multimedia Works, Jackson executive produced the “Atlanta Artists Against Gun Violence” compilation CD for the Million Mom March Foundation and secured an international advertising contract with clothing retail store The GAP, for Baba Oje of the Grammy-winning music group Arrested Development—it ran in several different countries.
Going back, Jackson’s foray into writing was as a valedictorian and contributing author in several books by author/educator Bernard Percy, published by Price/Stern/Sloan (“How To Grow A Child: A Child’s Advice To Parents”) and Prentice Hall (“The Power Of Creative Writing”).
Currently residing in Atlanta, GA, Jackson is developing a line of music-related books and multimedia products. The first in a four (4) part series is MUSICOLOGY 2101 and is scheduled for a fall 2011 release. Musicology 2101 leaves no stones unturned, as they give readers accurate historic, cultural and geographical insight into the original purpose of music: which was to tell stories, celebrate events and acknowledge rites of passage. Jackson and Williams delve into transparent views of how the music industry evolved, “pay to play” with radio DJ’s, and the major record labels’ market domination. With a Foreword written by the former President of Quincy Jones’ Qwest Entertainment Group, MUSICOLOGY 2101 lands readers right at the doorstep of today’s independent and digital music movement. Using interviews, research and over thirty-five years of personal experiences in and around the music industry, Jackson and Williams demonstrate contributions varying cultures have made to the evolution of both ancient and contemporary music. The chapters of MUSICOLOGY provide thorough insight into Africa, Latin and Caribbean music and styles such as Blues, Country, Jazz, R&B, Rock, Funk and more surprises.