We’re looking forward to introducing you to Jaughn Meshack. Check out our conversation below.
Good morning Jaughn, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
The Series. Elemental Rounds started as just a concept, beginning with just one music video it has now matured into an ongoing Web Series along with the Brand. Originated as a showcase of weaponry expertise, gradually mixing in different elemental effects, abilities, and users. The process always starts off organically, with simple competitive gameplay, but over time it has elevated to a display of great subtleties. The way certain hits happen on beat, the signature moves being used, the matchups in the videos, the character design and outfit, the song being used in the background, the transition of videos; All these aspects are now being taken into consideration while creating now, for in the past it was as simple as highlights from a single title. Designer Artillery itself was its own project, and I was able to successfully visualize that first, now I have my own project in ER, and able to mesh in my work with DA is just the ultimate cherry on top. It doesn’t matter if you were a long time viewer or just started today, you can hit the playlist and view it like any other series or movie. It is no longer just a collection of random videos, but now an actual story with direction, reoccurring characters, and outstanding cinematics.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am Jaughn Meshack; Music Producer, Video Editor, and Model out of Dallas, Tx. I am the creator of Elemental Rounds, the brand that intertwines Gaming, Music, and Fashion into one entity. Elemental Rounds doubles a Fashion Brand and a Web series. Think of your favorite anime or gaming franchise, and imagine throwing yourself into that world to compete against your favorite characters of fiction. The Series consists of gaming music videos, using classic timeless hits across all eras and genres, mixed with the best gaming titles you can think of. Fashion is embedded into the brand as well for with each video release, you can see me modeling the same styles as the characters from the videos. Right now it’s mostly jerseys and accessories, but there are expansion plans for merchandise coming 2026. The inspiration came from personal interest and situation. Growing up I had many different friends of all ages and races, and through activities such as gaming sports and parties, we were always able to find common ground and connect. I never truly fit into one category, I was much of a sports guy, and a nerd as well, so I could be around basically and clique of friends with ease. Much of the content is nostalgic, and pays homage to my personal childhood and favorites, and seeing as how so many people have similar taste, its only right if I showcase it for all of us.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Before I became “Uh Oh Tre Five” I was simply “Lil J”, straight up just the little brother. As far as aliases go, I went by Lil J up until about middle school, where I decided to make my own name, UhOhTreFive. At the time, my older brother was really Myspace Famous, due to the trending 3 Letter cliques all the kids around the city were in. Every time we went out to a party or something, he would get recognized, called out, and approached. Parks Mall, Arlington Skatium, Fun Time, Club Lotus, Thunderbird Skating Rink, Red Bird Skating Rink, Red Bird Mall, you name it where ever we went he was noticed and I was just there. Now trust me I wasn’t jealous that pretty girls were running up to him and not acknowledging my existence, he’s 3 years older and has his own life and I’m both proud and surprised they are doing so. My discrepancy came from the randomness of the situation, girls running up on him like they know him or something, from my perspective it was like “who are you, you don’t even know him for real cause I be with him.” So going to all these said locations and parties we were always a duo and had our friends with us, but they just knew ME as the “Little Brother.” That same summer I had started going to the Desoto Recreation Center to play pickup basketball, solo, and started to develop my game a little bit. I would watch the older kids first, just to gain as much knowledge as a could, then a week before school started something changed. One of the kids had left their shoes, he asked if anybody had an extra pair they could use, and I let him use mine. Granted he was an older kid and I didn’t know him, but had seen him in the gym before. He could have easily tried to bully me out my shoes or whatever, but instead he offered me to play with him. We went 3-1 that day and at that moment I realized I had just enough skill and or talent to play with the high schoolers, and that from there on its time to make my own name. A couple months later once the basketball rosters came out I just knew I would be on the “A team,” and after it was confirmed, they let us pick our jerseys. Carmelo Anthony was my favorite player at the time, I wore my socks like him, wore 15 in his honor during the previous season, and even had my created player on NBA Live 06 on the Nuggets. I could have easily kept my same number but I told myself just to see if something stuck out to me. Cycling through the jerseys I ended up picking up number 35 and literally something inside me said “This is the one.” Thus that day, the man, the myth, the legend you see today was born in Uh-Oh (35).
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
Two years later after discovering my passions in gaming and basketball, I experienced a random tragic event; a torn patella tendon. A non contact injury where my leg basically snapped in half at the knee. It happened during off season basketball practice my sophomore year in high school. I jumped up to dunk the ball, soon as I attempted it snapped and I went straight down. It didn’t hurt when it happened, but I thought someone had hit or tripped me before I went up, so I smacked my lips and was about to get upset. Immediately the trainer goes “Don’t get up!” walked over, saw the damage and gave a subtle “Oooh.” I had no idea the severity of the injury, even after getting a stretcher to the ambulance. Surgery for me was exactly like a movie scene, every time I opened my eyes it was a new figure in front of me, and what was really 4 hours was just a couple blinks for me. I arose and the surgeon told me the damage, I now have a permanent nail in my knee. I was told I have the option of never playing basketball again, I literally said “No way.” I was not about to give up doing something I love so easily. Although I had outstanding development, no real scouts or schools were looking at me yet, so in the back of my mind I knew if I actually wanted a future in this sport I would have to work outstandingly hard, just to catch back up. That summer while I was bedridden and recovering, all I did was play video games and watch basketball. I became a WNBA fan, found the best youtube highlights, and beat some of my favorite titles on my Gamecube. The amount of basketball knowledge I gained was amazing, now all I had to do was get back right physically. Before the injury, I had just unlocked the ability to dunk of one leg in a half court setting, I had no idea how difficult the journey back to full health would be. During physical therapy, I had to literally learn how to walk again. I had been in a brace, wheelchair, and crutches for so long, my brain legitimately forgot how to put my left leg in front of my right leg. I already had a chip on my shoulder because I was the skinny, funny kid, so I was already out to prove myself, but this setback just gave me even more motivation. It changed basically the whole way I played. I turned into a two foot jumper, took more jump-shots and less dribbles, and even wore kneepads for extra safety, but the knowledge I gained that summer is what kept me on par. I just had a knack for guessing the next move, or knowing where someone wanted to go. I was still good at blocking shots, but somehow my ability to get steals improved vastly. Even still, mentally every know and then, I would still get flashbacks of the injury, and sometimes it would alter my decision making while playing I started on Junior Varsity, and played sporadically on Varsity during my recover, but it was good for me because I got to develop leadership skills, be a vocal defensive point for the team. I ended up being just a good player, not great, and eventually ended up catching a tip in dunk during one of the games. That right there let me know I was almost back to my former self. I played full Senior year, and was actually a decent undersized center, playing against future NBA stars such as Julius Randle and Luke Kornett. I only had one small school in Mississippi show interest in me, but I ended up choosing to go to Midwestern State University, a Division 2 school in Wichita Falls, Tx, about 2 hours away from home. I was almost, a walk on my Sophomore year, but never made it to the team but I was ok with that. Because I enjoyed the game so much, I was at the school gym maybe 5 days out the week, and needless to say I was a problem. I earned a position they call “Top 10 All time Wellness” for my record on that court was hovering around 65% victories. Physically, I didn’t reach my peak until Junior year, where at the end of a tie game, I stole the ball and successfully pulled off a windmill on a fast break for the win. At that moment, I knew all the time I spent in the gym was not in vain, for even if I didn’t make it to an actual team, I myself was in peak condition, and that was enough for me. I had a couple homemade videos and highlights, and some people even thought I was just trying to “live out my hoop dreams.” All wrong. I was good at something and enjoyed doing it, it was that simple.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What’s a cultural value you protect at all costs?
Individualism. Growing up there were always this stigmas about what we as black people cant do. Cant listen to Rock Music, Cant watch Anime, cant dress a certain way or cant like certain cuisines, I think that is self destructive and extremely limiting as a culture. Not only do we as people gatekeep, but to also not expand our horizons is so counter productive. Literally some of the best shows, movies, songs, games, fashion brands, and even meals; arguably some of the greatest products of all time came from different cultures. Now everyone knows how much of an impact African Americans have on many of these topics and the influence is undeniable. People used to be shamed for publicly liking a Japanese anime show, now people are including the characters in their songs, wearing their clothes, and even getting them tattooed. Black characters in video games used to have maybe only two skin tones and two hair styles, now we fully customizable tones, hair colors, voices, clothing, and even leads. The way our music can start off on a small block in Texas and make it to the clubs in Paris, the way our Fashion brand can start off in Chicago and be successful overseas in Milan, the way a movie can be written produced and shot in California but sell 1,000 copies in Australia, none of this would be possible if those individuals didn’t have a mind of their own and wanted to create something unique. Too many people are scared to stand out, too many people are scared to ask questions, too many people fall victim to fear of judgement. I knew fully well once I started my brand how unique it was, what an instrumental gameplay music video would look like to the average listener, but there was no way I would let that stop me. It’s all about perspective for me, if I’m able to create something thats beyond someone’s mental comprehension that means I did something right. I am a proud advocate for Individualism, I recommend and hope to inspire people to artistically express themselves, if they release it or not just to see whats inside them.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
I would change nothing if I knew I had 10 years left, for I am already Intentional with my time. I have already had my near death experience, so I have already asked myself “What have I been doing all this time” and “What is it I want to do.” Right After the new year in 2016, my friends and I got together for a casual night out. The night itself was fun, went to a friend’s party, stopped by a Bar afterwards, met a couple of cool people it was a great time. Im driving home, I have my brother in the passenger and a good friend of ours behind me. Growing up, Ludacris was probably my favorite rapper, we are currently rapping along to the classic hit “Southern Hospitality” just because shuffle deemed it necessary. Our light changes to green and we’re all amped up because of how well the night went and our song is playing. Now i could have easily shot out soon as the light changed, or maybe even raced the car to the left, but for some reason I hesitate. The car to the left of us went out first, and someone ran the light and ran T boned them. Right then and there I understood how easily that could’ve been me, and seeing as how my friend was in the back behind me, he would’ve been hit as well. We didn’t move for like 10 seconds after the wreck and we all said “ooooooh.” I personally was furious, due to the timing because enough time had passed for them to stop, and because MY side would have been affected. I had taken off my seatbelt and was about to give the driver a piece of my mind, right before I could, my brother had grabbed my arm to stop me. He mentioned how all three of us were just partaking in festivities, so it wouldn’t be the wisest move to go out there. We turned the music back on to something more subtle and continued to go home, but the rest of the whole ride, I was contemplating. I had convinced myself the knee injury happened for a reason, my school selection happened for a reason, the people that are actively in my life are here for a reason, and yet somehow that I haven’t “done enough,” as if at that moment, if I were to go, there would’ve been no legacy left behind. After that there weren’t too many reconsiderations, for I had a general idea and direction where I wanted to take my life and talents, but this event really made me lock in and start to actively reach those aspirations as oppose to just considering what I wanted. Flash forward almost 10 years I actually have a substantial legacy; The Brand, Fashion merchandise, a Web Series, CD’s, Collaborations, multiple Articles, and my own personal catalog. Im not satisfied for sure, but seeing how far I’ve come and what I was able to create, if there was an unfortunate situation I am content with my accomplishments. It’s all about how you define success, some people do it by monetary gains, some people judge it by notoriety, but my success is objective. If I set out to make or create something, and I do that according to my mental blueprint, I am therefore successful in my creation (which was the point.) If I make 100 videos, exactly how I imagined to titles I wanted with my favorite songs, but never earned a single dollar and they all average 5 views on youtube, I am still successful, for I completed what I set out to do, rather than how many people choose to acknowledge or understand it. Granted, I understand how niche and unique my content particularly is, so I fully understand I wont get any credit until im looong gone, and thats cool whatever.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.Allmylinks.com/Uhohtrefive
- Instagram: @Uhohtrefive
- Linkedin: Jaughnm
- Twitter: Uhohtrefive
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JaughnMeshack35
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/uhohtrefive
Image Credits
Caton Bailey, Jaughn Meshack, @Hi.Im.Storm
