In the third chapter of the Book of Ecclesiastes, it says: “For everything there is a season/And a time for every purpose under heaven.” J Moss’s life has been one filled with changing seasons—almost all of them revolving around music and ministry—and the release of THE J. MOSS PROJECT marks the unfolding of still a new era in the life and career of one of modern Gospel music’s most prolific talents.

As a third of one of urban contemporary’s hottest production companies, the three-man team known as PAJAM, he’s been the co-writer and/or producer behind some of the biggest artists in both Gospel and secular music for the better part of the last decade, including Karen Clark-Sheard, Hezekiah Walker, N’SYNC, Michelle Williams, Trin-i-tee 5:7, Dru Hill, Boyz II Men and Kelly Price.

But unknown to many, J Moss, the “man behind the mixing board,” is an equally gifted singer and performer, who for most of his life has prayerfully and carefully sought and waited for his time to step from behind-the-scenes to the forefront. With the arrival of THE J. MOSS PROJECT, that moment has clearly come, and one listen makes it abundantly clear it was well worth the wait.

Though PAJAM have built their reputation in large part by cutting a sharp and decidedly urban swath through Gospel music, THE J. MOSS PROJECT is most notable for its striking stylistic diversity. Threads of hip-hop, modern R&B, pop, and traditional Gospel are all ingeniously woven together into a work that is cutting-edge contemporary but with a perfect touch of familiarity and tradition. THE J. MOSS PROJECT is a collection of 11 PAJAM signature songs, as unique and arresting as they are accessible and always irresistibly catchy.

“I Wanna Be” is a happy, spirited jam, with J recounting all the virtuous qualities to which sincere Christians aspire. “That’s me affirming to God that wherever it is He wants me to go with this ministry, that’s where I’m going. I want people to see Him through me.”

The gentle, gorgeous “Unto Thee” is an acoustic-guitar-flavored song of devotion and commitment to the Lord, while “Psalm 150” becomes a driving urban workout that virtually commands the listener to sing and dance their praises to the Savior. “I’m Livin’ For You” is smooth, melodic, and hooky R&B, and the album-closing “Me Again,” is a self-revealing, heart-on-the-sleeve piano ballad asking God’s forgiveness of sin, that builds to a dramatic crescendo, bearing all the earmarks of a classic-in-the-making.

J Moss, born and raised in Detroit, where he still resides today, also arrives on the performance stage with a highly impressive pedigree as the nephew of Gospel’s legendary Dr. Mattie Moss Clark, cousin of her daughters, the inimitable Clark sisters, and son of Bill Moss, Sr., founder and leader of popular ‘70s Gospel act Bill Moss & the Celestials. Singing since the age of four, at his father’s insistence, while his pals were out making mud-pies and playing dodgeball, J grew up in an environment where music was the focal point of life itself.

J’s father Bill was instrumental in launching the career of the now-renowned Clark Sisters—Dorinda, Jackie, Karen and Twinkie—giving them opening slots on his never-ending tours with the Celestials, and by ages seven and ten respectively, J and his brother Bill, Jr., were spending major portions of their summers touring with their dad’s band as well, playing package tours with some of traditional Gospel’s greatest names, among them the Mighty Clouds of Joy, the Highway QC’s, and the Gospel Keynotes.

After J spent time as a part-time Celestial, his father paired him with his brother, Bill Jr., in a group called the Moss Brothers, which continued for the next seven years, recording two major label albums and playing locally and regionally on weekends, until Bill Jr. left for college with J soon to graduate high school.

“When I was a kid, I didn’t think anything about singing,” J recalls. “I just wanted to be out playing with my friends. But somewhere in high school I really began to feel a tugging from God telling me music was my calling in life.”

J’s parents and brother were all gifted keyboardists, and he himself picked up the piano at a young age through a combination of osmosis, impromptu lessons from his parents, and several years of formal lessons. His father also constantly encouraged him to pursue his songwriting skills, and having written much of the Moss Brothers’ material, he had become a skilled songwriter by the time he headed for college.

J attended Michigan State University for two years until his musical calling became his primary preoccupation in life. “I only stayed for two years because I’d gotten to a place where all I wanted to do was write and play and sing music, all the time, and that’s all I did,” he remembers, laughing.

Enlisted by his college roommate to co-produce a musical variety show at the university, J realized in the process that he had a strong talent and interest in the “backstage” aspects of the music field, and thoughts of a career in production, as well as performance, began to seriously cross his mind. After a heart-to-heart talk with his brother, who gave his full blessings to J’s plans, the Moss Brothers decided to pursue their own individual aspirations in the world of music and ministry.

J did two solo projects on a small, Detroit-based independent label in the early ‘80s that failed to generate any commercial success but, as he recalls, were invaluable learning experiences in his development as a writer, artist and producer, and also his introduction to Paul Allen, and later Walter Kearney, the other two thirds of PAJAM.

A series of odd-jobs over the next several years also helped pay the rent, before J took a job with a computer programming firm. Still feeling a calling to a career in music, he nonetheless began to wonder if it was all just a dream. His doubts didn’t linger too long, however, as an opportunity arose in the mid-‘90s to tour with his cousins, the Clark Sisters, by then one of Gospel’s major acts.

In 1996, J came to the attention of mainstream giant Island/Def Jam Records, which signed him to a recording contract. Once again, J’s efforts as an artist generated relatively sparse attention, as Island also signed his cousin, Karen Clark-Sheard, around whom most of its promotional muscle became centered. Once again God demonstrated that there is a time and season later to come for the J. Moss Project, as Clark-Sheard’s first solo album became a smash gospel hit in late 1997, and also heralded the official debut of PAJAM, which produced four of the album’s songs.

Clark-Sheard’s album rode the Gospel charts for the better part of the next two years, during which time J and his partners in PAJAM saw their own star as a production team begin a rapid and notable ascent, contributing to projects by
both major Gospel and secular artists. Still, J’s dreams of being an artist in his own right never waned.

“I have to admit that, at the time, when things came apart for me again as an artist, I was getting a little discouraged,” J recalls. “I couldn’t help wondering when it was going to be my time. I prayed over it, and I felt God telling me to trust
Him, because it still wasn’t time for that yet…that there were still other steps to be taken on the journey, largely out of the public eye. I needed to continue maturing as a writer, and to learn what goes on in the studio in the making of an album, and dealing with artists and business-people effectively.

The early-to-mid 2000s saw PAJAM’s roll turn into an avalanche, as they added even more stellar writing and production credits to their resume that included Dorinda Clark-Cole, Virtue, Patti LaBelle, and both of Karen Clark-Sheard’s subsequent projects and their own artists, starting with Ramiyah.

J and his PAJAM partners continued to hold fast to the vision of his career as an artist, even when preoccupied with demands for their talents as a production team, God also moved them into creating their own artists, which became a sacrifice because of the time, attention and investment that it required. In 2003, J and Paul wrote and recorded THE J. MOSS PROJECT in a four-week outburst of inspiration, and it soon became clear that J’s long-awaited “season” was in fact at hand. The album immediately captured the attention and excitement of Gospo Centric Records, and J’s dream finally came to fruition.

“My parents worked hard, and always saw to it that their kids were well taken care of,” J says, “so I never really wanted for anything important. But when PAJAM hit, it was like a whole different level. The phone was ringing off the hook, and I was making more money than I’d ever seen, and I just thought I had it made, until one day God showed me more was required of me. When He took me through the process of making this album, I was at my lowest state. Everything earthly thing I’d acquired was on the line: my home, my cars, insurance for my wife and children.

“Well, He came through again,” J concludes, “just in time. And He made it clear to me that He had to do that, because I was starting to lean too heavily on all those `things’ and not nearly enough on Him. I had to truly be prepared and able to go before people and tell them they can make it, even when all hope seems gone, if they really believe in the Lord, and that He loves them, and that He will care and provide for them. I had to believe that, know that, and be able to say it with complete honesty and conviction. And no matter what happens with this album now, I know that I can do that without any question or doubt. I hope this CD does for others even just a portion of what God did for me in making it.”