Jonathan McReynolds is on a roll with the energy of a Duracell bunny. His tenacity and vision is unique, bringing a refreshing and melodic style of Gospel music to the front of the line.
The 27-year old has an impressive background, earning a BA at Columbia College, becoming an adjunct professor at his alma mater and later acquiring his MBA in Biblical Studies at Moody Theological Seminary in Chicago. In 2015, he established his nonprofit organization, Elihu Nation awarding students in Christian faith with over $9,000 in scholarship awards.
Growing up in the South Shore community, his roots run deep in the church—playing both drums and the piano every Sunday. From creating music in his college dorm room, he has been successful in releasing his breakout album, Life Music (2012) and Life Music: Stage Two (2015), staying on the Billboard Gospel charts at #1 for four weeks and garnering a Grammy nomination, seven Stellar nominations and one Dove win in the process.
His touring schedule is non-stop, performing on various television and network platforms, traveling abroad and gearing up to release a new live album in early 2018.
Did you always know that music was going to be your calling and how did that really pair with your ministry?
No, not at all. Not even close. If you ask any of my grammar school teachers, music was not what they would've expected from me. I was very much a nerd. An eyeglass-wearing, researching everything, student council, robotic club kind-of-kid. I always had some kind of music going on. I was playing the drums and the organ pretty young and playing at my church every Sunday. That didn't define me or identify me as I was growing up though. I was normally fine with being the leader but moreso on the intellectual side—academically. Music didn't start stepping to the forefront until about high school.
When you start realizing girls like it and it's becoming your identity, it makes you different. Music came to the forefront in my last couple years at Whitney Young.
You’ve toured with both Lalah Hathaway and India Arie. What's influenced your musical selection, growing to set you apart from the traditional Gospel sound?
I'm not sure. You don't really document it because you don't expect it to ever be important. Growing up, I listened to whatever music came through the church. The more I think about it, it affected me more than I realized. It wasn't the music on the radio. I wasn't aware of the Gospel music industry or the powerhouses of that time—Fred Hammond, John P. Kee or Bishop Hezekiah Walker. I just knew whatever we sang at my church. Some of the Christian Contemporary music affected me. My songwriting style and everything that came was affected most recently by India Arie and John Mayer. I went to school for music so we had to study Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. I can't really trace directly to some artists, but I know all of that mixed together plus the fact that I had such a strong church upbringing had an impact. I'm a bit of a rebel anyway.
Although, you are in the category of Gospel, I find your music reaches beyond that category. Do you find your appeal as a younger artist targets the millennials which carries less boundaries?
I believe there is only two entities that should worry about genre. That's the [record] label and the stores. Everyone should do what they're called to do. The people that God has chosen, the people that have chosen God and people who are believers in God. Some of them might be in the club—I don't know who they are. I can't assume that I'm reaching out to them by staying in one venue. It's something that God understands. He's orchestrated his life in that manner.
I realized age and wisdom aren't always proportional. You don’t have to be old to understand, and you can be young and wise. That really spoke to me. It's an amazing concept for this generation. You don’t always have to experience everything to wisely navigate them if you put wisdom and God at the forefront of your life.
What's the best advice your mom has given you and continues to give you?
A long time ago, she told me God has preceded me in everything. God does not set me up to fail. We walk onstage, into interviews or situations preparing for the worst even though God never did. He doesn't prepare for the worse. Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28—He's not set up for you to fail and now neither should you. My entire life is out of my comfort zone so I have to remember I’m not here to fail. Failure is not waiting for me—success is.
Originally published in The Chicago Defender | June 2017
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