1. Early life

2. Career

3. Bass Music, House and Touring

4. Musical Philosophy

5. Mindfulness/Meditation

6. Acting

7. Personal Life

8. References

Ofosu Jones-Quartey born on August 16, 1980, known by his stage names Born I Music or Born Infinite is a Ghanaian-American rapper, actor^[2], author and mindfulness educator.

Born I Music is known for his work as a multi-genre artist, creating a catalog of music that includes several Hip Hop, EDM, House Music and hybrid releases. His 2015 single "Supreme Mathematics" garnered attention among hip hop and bass music enthusiasts alike, resulting a nod from Diddy.  In 2017, he collaborated with Bassnectar on the single, "I'm Up^[3]" and has released several records since.

He is also known for his work as a mindfulness meditation practitioner and teacher, sharing the benefits of mindfulness practice in daily life with young people and adults. He has written articles and academic papers about meditation^[4] practice as well as how he incorporates those seams in his music which have been featured in publications like Lion's Roar.

His music has received over 20 million collective across all digital platforms to date.

Early life

Ofosu Jones-Quartey was born on August 16, 1980 in Washington DC. Both of his parents were born in Ghana, making him a first-generation American.

Jones-Quartey grew up in Silver Spring Maryland, a suburb of Washington DC. His father, Gil, an avid music listener, introduced him to music from multiple disciplines, including John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Frank Sinatra, Otis Redding, James Brown, Ghanaian and West African highlife, Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade and Brazilian music from artists like Jao and Astrud Gilberto.

His Mother Gina, introduced him to Buddhism at the age of six, as she was a practitioner of the Nichiren Shoshu/Soka Sakkai tradition, he accompanied her often to temples where they practiced the chanting of nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

As an only child of immigrants growing up in the Washington DC area during the 1980s and early 90s crack epidemic, Jones-Quartey faced issues of racial discrimination and at times social isolation. He suffered from bouts of depression and anxiety, finding art, poetry, meditation and music as outlets.

Jones-Quartey began rapping in high school, after becoming enamored with the East Coast Hip Hop movement of the 1990's. His main influences being Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, The Notorious BIG and Mobb Deep. Later influences would include Jay-Z, Kanye West, the Clipse and Pusha T.

Career

From his early days rapping in high school, Born I Music was a founding member of the Rebels of the Lost Tsun, a collective of rappers, singers, poets individual artists from Montgomery County Maryland and the greater Washington DC metropolitan area.

He became a fixture in the DC hip-hop scene as a solo artist, battle rapper and  eventually as the the host of the popular open mic series "Tru Skool".

In 2004 Born I Music became one half of the hip hop duo "Shambhala^[5]", alongside fellow rapper Agua. The two released their debut album "The Lotus Of...^[6]" to critical acclaim, resulting in a tour in Asia to support the project. During this time he was also a fixture in the local rave scene as a drum n bass MC with DJs AB Logic^[7] and Kian Asamoa

By 2010 Born I Music had embarked on a solo career^[8], releasing lyrical remixes to established Dubstep records via his SoundCloud including a remix to Joker's "Purple City" and Benga and Coki's "Night".

In 2011 Born I Music wrote and recorded an electronically influenced solo album entitled "Tomorrow is Today", but the project was pulled from digital outlets due to creative differences between himself and the label.

That same year, Born I Music become sponsored by fashion/fitness brand Heyday Footwear. He co-curated a mixtape^[9] with the brand entitled the Heyday Mixtape which featured a collaboration between Born I Music and Mobb Deep entitled "Limelight^[10]."

In 2014 Born I Music released the autobiographical single "Blue" independently. The single and corresponding video were both received well by critics, including a positive review from Vibe magazine^[11]. The single was debuted on edm.com's hip hop channel on Soundcloud resulting in larger exposure and attention.

In 2015 Born I Music released the hip hop/bass music hybrid single "Supreme Mathematics^[12][13][14]". The song was featured on edm.com's trap channel on soundcloud, garnering over a million plays and critical acclaim. The video, directed by Nick Brazinsky, was filmed in Miami and featured model Stephanie Rao carrying an AR-15 alongside a Lamborghini Gallardo juxtaposed with Buddhist and ancient Egyptian imagery. It debuted on Revolt TV and received a nod from Diddy via Twitter^[15]. Born I Music's song "Lambs and Lions" aired in the entire opening sequence of "Power" (Episode 2, Season 2), 50 Cent's television show on Starz^[16].

Bass Music, House and Touring

2016-18: Following the release of Supreme Mathematics, Born I Music became a sought-after vocalist among dubstep, trap and Bass music DJs and producers. In 2016 he released the "Wings EP" on Play Me Records with Luzcid^[17], also appearing on Bassnectar's "Music is The Drug" as a credited vocal sample.

By the end of 2016, Born I Music was attached to over 40 releases with various artists across the electronic music spectrum, appearing alongside various producers and DJs at festivals and clubs throughout the country.

In 2017 Born I Music wrote & performed the lyrics to Bassnectar's "I'm Up" . He became frequent collaborator with the electronic music duo ARIUS^[18], releasing "Rise" and "Third Eye^[19]" on Dim Mak Records, receiving support from Steve Aoki on both releases.  For the remainder of the year, Born provided lyrics for high-profile EDM releases with Riot Ten, Fransis Derelle, LUZCID, Dirt Monkey, Figure, Spag Heddy and several others. During this time he began to perform again as a solo artist, as a headliner or direct support at clubs and festivals.

In 2018, Born I Music also wrote & performed the lyrics to Spag Heddy's "Gospel" released on Never Say Die, which they performed together that summer at EDC Vegas.

He released a spoken-word House music record with Saeed Younan and Electronic Youth on Moon Harbor Recordings. Born I Music also provided rap vocals alongside PEZNT on the House music song "Breakfast^[20]" which was released on Dirtybird records.  "Breakfast^[21]" received considerable support from Claude VonStroke and went into regular rotation on Diplo's Revolution channel on Sirius XM Radio.

Born I Music had planned to release a solo EP in 2018 which included production from his regular EDM collaborators. The EP was to be entitled "Salvator Mundi" after the Leonardo DaVinci painting of the same name. While the EP was being shopped, various labels expressed interest in signing individual records on the project that fit their label aesthetic. A decision was made then to break the EP up into a series of singles, the first of which being "Facts^[22]", produced by Spag Heddy, released on Firepower Records^[23]. Additional songs from the Salvator Mundi EP are slated for release through spring of 2019.

Born I Music has stated that his plans for 2019 include a full length, multi genre album as well as select collaboration with fellow artists.

Musical Philosophy

Born I Music has stated that his multi-genre approach to music is an example of his vision of unity through art. "Hip Hop is the foundation of everything that I do, but I want to translate the voice of Hip Hop through as many mediums as possible and bring people together who otherwise might not think that they have anything in common." He is currently in the process of blending Opera with hip hop, trap and dubstep calling it "Bass Opera" as well as creating lyric driven Disco and House music songs which he calls "Street Disco".

Born I Music's lyrical themes center around the power of personal growth and evolution, the achieving of ones dreams, and interplay of the darker and brighter aspects of human nature.

Notable labels that have released singles or projects with Born I Music verses include Amorphous, Dim Mak, Never Say Die, Circus, Disciple, Defected, Dirtybird & Firepower.

Mindfulness/Meditation

Ofosu Jones-Quartey has been practicing and teaching^[24] mindfulness^[25] meditation since 2002. He was taught in the Burmese Vipassana meditation tradition by his teacher Bhante Buddharakkhita.

He has been a teacher^[26] in various communities, offering classes and retreats alongside fellow teachers with the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, the Insight Meditation Society, Spirit Rock, and other local communities. His writings on how he incorporates Buddhist and meditation themes in to his music were published by Maha Chulalongkorn University in Ayutthaya, Thailand where he has spoken as a panelist on multiple occasions at the United Nations International celebration of Vesak.

His philosophical views, work with young people, as well as his approach to incorporating spiritual themes in his music have been profiled in such publications and outlets as Lions Roar^[27][28], The Washington Post^[29], NBC4 News^[30] and Buddhadharma.

Acting

In 2016, Ofosu Jones-Quartey was cast as the role of Stanley the Snail in the Sprout Network/Universal Kids cartoon, Ollie & Moon^[31]. Later that year, he provided voice over work on a Verizon holiday radio campaign. He made an appearance in the short film “Portrait” which win official selection in various film festivals.

In 2016 and 2017, he also performed as a voice actor for various cartoon segments on the Sesame Street Workshop.

Personal Life

A child of Ghanaian immigrants, Ofosu Jones-Quartey is a first-generation American. He is married and he and his wife have 4 children.

In 2018, his manager Tom Dern passed away unexpectedly due to complications from back surgery. Jones-Quartey has said that all future Born I Music/Born Infinite releases will be dedicated to his memory and a festival to honor Dern's multigenre vision will be launched in the future.

Although he is a practitioner of Buddhism, he also is influenced by other religious and spiritual disciplines including Christianity, Taoism, Hinduism, Rastafarianism, West African and Native American spirituality. He is not an adherent to any particular faith, preferring to say that his religion is kindness.

References

• Ranko Tsukigime´s Longest Day
• Rankova Reka
• Rankovićevo
• Ranko Zirojevic
• Ranko Zirojević
• Rank (partition)
• Rank Professor of Engineering
• Rank-revealing QR algorithm
• Rank-revealing QR factorization
• Rank reversals in decision making
• Rank-ring
• Rank ring
• Ranks and insignia of Bangladesh Air force
• Ranks and insignia of Bangladesh Air Force
• Ranks and insignia of Bangladesh Army
• Ranks and insignia of enlisted personnel in NATO air forces
• Ranks and Insignia of Israel Defense Forces/OF/Israeli Air Force
• Ranks and Insignia of Israel Defense Forces/OF/Israeli Army
• Ranks and Insignia of Israel Defense Forces/OF/Israeli Army-small
• Ranks and Insignia of Israel Defense Forces/OF/USAF equivalent
• Ranks and Insignia of Israel Defense Forces/OF/US Army equivalent
• Ranks and insignia of NATO Air Forces Enlisted
• Ranks and insignia of NATO air forces enlisted personnel
• Ranks and insignia of NATO Navies Enlisted
• Ranks and insignia of officers in NATO air forces