Today we’d like to introduce you to Jer-Z Mason.
Hi Jer-Z, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I didn’t start on a big stage I started sitting next to one.
As a kid, I used to go to choir rehearsal with my aunt, and she’d let me sit by the drummer. I didn’t know it then, but that seat changed everything. Watching, listening, feeling the rhythm up close… that’s where it all began.
Church was my training ground. I played drums there for years, locked into that sound, that discipline. But eventually, I wanted more. When I looked around South Jersey, I realized something real quick everybody was a drummer. It was saturated. So instead of waiting for space, I created my own lane. I pivoted to percussion.
That decision opened my first real door. I landed my first live recording with a gospel group The New John Howard Gospel Caravan, recorded live in London. That moment showed me this could be bigger than where I was from.
When I came back home, I stayed active playing percussion with local groups while still holding onto drums. Then more doors opened. I recorded with the Rowan University Gospel Choir, then got called to play on a project with The Bishop’s Choir. One opportunity kept leading to another.
Then came a turning point.
A man who was a stranger at the time but today I call him my brother told me to come to Philadelphia for what was supposed to be an audition. I showed up… and there was nobody else there. No competition. Just me and the moment. And I knew if I showed up the right way, the job was mine.
I did what I needed to do.
That decision carried me into 8–10 years of professional percussion work. Traveling, performing, building a name. And at one point, I hit a peak I became the percussionist for Jay-Z, one of the biggest artists in the world.
But life will humble you just as fast as it elevates you.
Due to issues with my passport, I couldn’t continue. Just like that, everything shifted. The percussion gigs slowed down, opportunities started going in different directions, and I had to regroup.
So I went back to what I knew drums.
For the next 3/4 years, I grinded. Church kept me going. During the week, I was everywhere jam sessions, poetry events, random gigs. Sometimes I took construction work just to stay afloat. If you know a trade, you can always make a call and find work and I did what I had to do.
Then… another call.
That same brother, Eric, reached out again and told me to come on the road not as a player this time, but as a tech. Now, I had never officially been a tech before… but I had spent years around techs. I understood the job, the responsibility, the flow.
He brought me out with Keyshia Cole… and I figured it out in real time.
That moment changed everything.
What started as drum tech work evolved into something much bigger. I became someone who could run an entire stage. Then came the titles Stage Manager. Production Manager.
And now, when people see me, they’re not just seeing one role they’re seeing evolution. Seasons. Different lives lived inside one journey.
I’m still growing. Still building.
I wouldn’t even call this the final product.
This is just another chapter.
And right now… I’m in a season where I’m excited to watch everything I planted finally bloom.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Anyone you see at the top has had friction setbacks, rejection, opposition. I’m no exception. I’d never paint this as an easy road. Sure, sometimes you get a blessing that comes easily but even then, there’s work to be done. If you don’t do that work, that’s when things get rough.
Over my 25-plus years in the music industry, I’ve had those moments—times when the work just wasn’t there. And when that happened, I had to lean on other skills anything to pay the bills and take care of my family. It’s all part of the journey, and it’s made me who I am.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Hello, let me formally introduce myself.
My name is James Mason, but most people know me simply as Jer-Z.
I grew up in the Pleasantville/Atlantic City, New Jersey area. That’s where I really developed my foundation honing my skills as a drummer and percussionist. A lot of that was self-taught, driven by passion, curiosity, and just being around the right energy.
At some point, I knew I needed more. So I made my way to Philadelphia to further my career.
Actually… let me be real that’s not exactly how it happened.
I came to Philadelphia chasing opportunity, trying to grow, trying to figure things out. But it wasn’t until I realized that music could truly sustain me that it could be more than just passion, that it could be life that I made the decision to stay.
And looking back, that decision changed everything.
Philadelphia has been home for the past 28 years. It’s where I grew, where I struggled, where I built, and where I became who I am today. The music didn’t just follow me here it carried me, shaped me, and kept me going through every season.
And honestly, choosing to stay in Philadelphia may have been one of the best decisions of my life.
What matters most to you?
If I’m being honest… it comes down to two things: family and legacy.
Everything I’ve been through the ups, the setbacks, the seasons where things were flowing and the seasons where I had to figure it out none of it was just for me. It was always bigger than me.
My family is my reason. They’re the motivation behind every late night, every sacrifice, every time I had to pivot and do something I didn’t necessarily want to do, but needed to do. When the music wasn’t enough, when the work slowed down, when life got real that’s what kept me grounded. That’s what kept me moving.
And then there’s legacy.
I’ve been in this industry for over two decades, and I’ve lived multiple lives within it musician, percussionist, tech, stage manager, production manager. And what I’ve learned is… titles come and go, but impact stays.
Legacy, for me, is about what I leave behind. Not just in the work, but in the people. The knowledge I pass down. The example I set. The doors I help open for the next person coming up who reminds me of me sitting next to the drummer, just trying to figure it out.
I want my story to mean something. I want it to show that even when the road isn’t straight, even when you have to rebuild, pivot, or start over you can still become something greater than you imagined.
At the end of the day, if my family is good… and I’ve left something behind that outlives me…
Then I’ve done my job.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.jerzmason.net
- Instagram: @jerzmasonentgrp
- Facebook: Jer-Z Mason
- Youtube: James Jer-Z Mason
