Jevaughn J. 'JJ' Parsons is a Mechanical Inspector with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), a professional singer, promoter and building contractor. Photo: Facebook

Singing his heart out at FLOW Soca Monarch BVI, Caribbean Edition on July 23, 2016. Photo: VINO

The reward for hard work! Jevaughn J. 'JJ' Parsons won the 2016 FLOW Soca Monarch BVI, Caribbean Edition. Photo: VINO

Jevaughn J. 'JJ' Parsons (left) wants to focus on developing his music career. Photo: Facebook

Since then Jevaughn has been a man in demand, conducting various media interviews and being invited to perform at events throughout Virgin Islands Emancipation Festival.

But apart from being crowned Flow Soca Monarch BVI, Jevaughn is much more than a professional singer. In fact, our young professional candidly described himself as a ‘Jack of all trades’.

For Jevaughn, it was necessary for him to learn different skills as he had plunged into fatherhood at an early age.

Jack of all trades!

Jevaughn’s 9 to 5 job is as a Mechanical Inspector at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in Pockwood Pond.

Before he went to DMV he worked with his grandfather, who turned over the construction business, Rudel Parsons Construction, over to him. “We can construct from ground up, buildings, houses, whatever you want to build.”

Apart from that, Jevaughn is in partnership with his cousin Khaleel Anthony, operating a mechanic shop.

‘I also do a little promoting.”

Raised in the Green Bank/New Bush area, Jevaughn attended the Enid Scatliffe Pre-Primary and then Althea Scatliffe Primary School before attending the then BVI High School.

Our young professional then did a stint at H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) but, as he puts it, life got in the way. “I got a child and I had to find work to fight for that young one." Therein, music came along.

Music runs in the blood

That’s putting it rather mildly as music runs in the Parsons family. Jevaughn’s father has been with the Foggy Mountain Boys for about 40 years. A teenaged Jevaughn started singing in church, doing ‘A capella’ songs as part of the Road Town Methodist Youth Choir.

He said his love for soca music was developed in the 90s, hanging around his cousin Greg Adams and the Prime Time Band. “I always used to hang around late when they played at Enis Adams Primary School. That was one of the things that got me into the music.”

He said back in the days he used to watch people like Rawle ‘Juggo’ Sprauve and Mac Daddy perform. “Every time Prime Time Band took a break they would run and jump on the mic and do their thing. So the inspiration was there.”

He noted to that artistes like Daddy Friday, Alwyn Baptiste, Dirk Walters and others struck a fire in him and he did a stint with Daddy Jones and the Crew, a band out of St Croix, US Virgin Islands.

No one escapes challenges and frustrations in life and, for Jevaughn, there were times when he even wanted to turn his back on the music. “But when life got tough it is the only thing that I could rely on. I would play a melody, sing along to it, and that would just calm everything for the time, take me over that hump. So I naturally started to lean more on my music and here I am.”

The crowning moment

As for the Caribbean artists he came up against at the FLOW Soca Monarch BVI, Jevaughn said they were no strangers to him and neither was he any stranger to the big stage. “I have been watching those guys for a long time, like Mr Mention from St Kitts, Sekon Sta from Trinidad and Tobago and I have had my fair share of schooling, so to speak, because I have not only played music around the BVI [but] I have been as far Trinidad and Tobago with Dirk Walters and the Extreme Band. And so I put everything into this performance, everything I had learned for the past couple of years and here is the outcome."

It was the third time that Jevaughn had competed in the show and he admitted that this time it was “do or die.”

“I gave it everything I had and it was just breathtaking.”

Further motivated, Jevaughn wants to “link up” with artists from other Caribbean countries as he seeks to further improve his craft.

For now, though, Jevaughn has a packed schedule for Festival. He performs with OMG band on Saturday July 30, 2016 in Rita Francis Festiville, and then makes an appearance with the same band at the Rise and Shine the following day. Jevaughn will also be performing during the August Monday Parade and then he will be back in the village with the OMG Band Monday night.

Advice to youth

With so many responsibilities, things can get very busy for Jevaughn, but he perseveres because he has the drive to be a better individual. He wants young people to find that same drive.

“I see a lot of my peers end up on the news, in jail and what’s not, but being a father figure you have to set the path. If you want your child to follow you then you have to go and be a better individual."

Jevaughn did not forget those young people who have already gone astray, as he believes everyone has ability to be somebody of worth. “There must be some passion that they have. They just need to find it and carry it on. Strive to be a better individual.”