Joseph Nevels has followed a tangled Google map of life paths in his brief existence. But through all those disparate experiences, Nevels never abandoned music, and that tenacity resulted in two indescribably cool R&B/Soul/Pop EPs, 2015’s Rest and Rule and his Cincinnati Entertainment Awards New Artist of the Year nomination under the artistic reimagining of his given name, JSPH.
“I think it’s a matter of trying to be original, not limiting yourself to any category,” Nevels says. “I have foundations that are a part of who I am, but that doesn’t completely define what I do.”
Rest and Rule, soon to be joined by the impending Abide in a self-described trilogy of releases, are brilliant evocations of JSPH’s classic Soul/R&B influences (Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye), more contemporary classics (Prince) and current R&B/Pop sensations (The Weeknd, John Legend). JSPH and producer DJ Corbett perform and arrange everything with a fearless edge, an experimental sensibility and the expansive idea that anything is achievable.
“I’ve always been open,” Nevels says. “I try to appreciate the artistry — I think you can gain something from any style. I grew up with that older school Soul stuff; then I met different people and was exposed to all types of music. I was just keeping my ears open and paying attention.”
Calling JSPH’s EPs a trilogy implies a thematic connection, and Nevels is quick to acknowledge the philosophical link between his first three releases.
“They’re related and have their own feel,” he says. “I won’t go super deep, but Rest is first. With all the hustle in society today, people overlook the benefit of rest, not necessarily sleep but just breaking your pattern — fast food, social media, writing stories; for me it’s writing music. Whatever it is, it’s important to step away.”
“Once you have that foundation, after that comes Rule, which is doing whatever you do 100 percent, grinding it out,” he continues. “Abide is just maintaining the level of consistency.”Nevels’ backstory is beyond the belief of even the most inventive screenwriter. The Northern Kentucky native discovered music through his family early on; he was largely silent until he began to sing.
“When I was really small, I didn’t talk a whole lot. People were like, ‘Is something wrong with him?,’ ” he says, laughing. “But if I got to a karaoke machine or something, that was the greatest thing. I have an older sister and she would put Soul Train on, and I would be more interested in that than a normal 5-year-old. I don’t think there was ever a certain time where I made a conscious decision to do this.”
Nevels was a standout football star at Simon Kenton High School, but as a University of Kentucky redshirt freshman, he suffered concussions, which ended his gridiron dream.“I never wanted to be that close to home, so I transferred to Florida International (University) in Miami,” he says. “It was pretty amazing. It opened my mind to so many cultures — it was a whole different world. I like experiencing that diversity.”
After FIU, Nevels returned home and entered Northern Kentucky University’s Chase College of Law, concentrating on entertainment and contract law. Even as Nevels pursued his legal career, he maintained a musical mindset.
“It would be easy to get distracted. We’d be in class talking about legal theories, and I’d get an idea and write it down in my casebook,” he says. “I know it seems confusing to some people, but music’s always been my true passion.”
Nevels was already recording on a relatively sparse level when he met Corbett through a mutual musical contact. Warned that the producer was odd and rarely left his home (an exaggeration, Nevels now says), he met Corbett and discovered a kindred spirit in more ways than one.
“We actually grew up 10 minutes from each other, but had never met,” Nevels says. “We even played sports against each other but didn’t know we were both into music until the last couple of years. He’s a real humble guy; he doesn’t talk about it, but he’s worked with all kinds of people.”
Just months after his 2014 Chase graduation, JSPH signed a publishing deal with Heyday Media Group in Los Angeles. That led to the song “Forever,” the first single from Rest, being used in the Lifetime movie Wuthering High School, a contemporary Wuthering Heights update featuring James Caan. Nevels subsequently met director Anthony DiBlasi, who has shot JSPH’s compellingly cinematic music videos.
In addition to his triumphant MidPoint Music Festival set last September, JSPH has played Bogart’s and the Ubahn Music Festival and is looking to expand his local-and-beyond presence. He’s working on the trilogy-completing Abide, but he’s also recorded stray songs apart from the EP that he’ll tease as singles and videos soon. He’s done collaborative work and would like to do more — local rapper Buggs Tha Rocka is an intriguing possibility — and the West Coast continues to loom as a potential destination. All JSPH needs to do is to keep doing.
“Not to be cliché, but if somebody sets their mind to do something, they can do it,” Nevels says. “The young kids that I mentor, I tell them that all the time. I had different people tell me, ‘How you gonna do that?’ or ‘You can’t be a singer.’ You just have to keep your mindset a certain way and keep good vibes around you. And you got to work. Hard.”
Find out more about JSPH at jsphnvls.com.
For more on the 2016 CINCINNATI ENTERTAINMENT AWARDS, visit citybeat.com's CEA page.
