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Meet Joseph Ewatuya

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Joseph Ewatuya.

Joseph, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was diagnosed with Sickle Cell Anemia at birth (born in Chicago, IL), and growing up I knew I was always different from others because of my condition. Sickle Cell Anemia is a blood condition that affects the amount of healthy oxygenated blood being circulated through the body. I inherited the disease from my mom, who had the trait, and my dad, who also had the disease. This has given me a lower energy level than most and often times I’ve dealt with high levels of pain to the point of hospitalization for my levels being too low at any point in time. When my family and I moved to TX, most kids around me growing up were interested in sports, or other high-intensity activities, but I would always get so tired that I could never keep up.

In the middle of all of this however, I found myself listening to music at 4 years old and singing “No, no, no pt. 2” by Destiny’s Child. My parents noticed this and realized immediately that I had a gift. I couldn’t wait to get into the choir at my school, but I was so young and couldn’t even join until my 4th grade. So my mom started me on the piano instead. It was never my favorite because I always knew I wanted to sing, but later on, it helped me so much being at an arts magnet high school and then college and learning/developing my passion for songwriting. Before I really started to sing, piano was like a safe haven away from school and trying to make friends with people who couldn’t really understand what I was going through.

I eventually joined the choir once I was old enough, and I absolutely loved it. I stuck with it and trained classically all the way up until high school when I transferred to Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in 10th grade. In the middle of all of this, I actually lost my dad suddenly to Sickle Cell Anemia. He was 50 years old and I was 13. It’s such poor timing because I was also rehearsing to play the lead role of “Aladdin” in my middle school play. The loss was terrible for me and I didn’t grieve until college. But it didn’t stop me from continuing to pursue my dreams because I knew that my dad wouldn’t have wanted me to give up.

Starting Booker T, I lived in Allen at the time so I would take the train to school or sometimes my mom and I would drive into town together since she also worked downtown. The trek was long but so worth it to be at a school that celebrated artistic excellence. It was also at this time that I had to take a break from piano because of my acceptance into the school being centered around everything vocal, and I didn’t have time to practice both with the curriculum there. I continued training classically in choir, however, I also took interest in jazz music & contemporary when I learned that the school offered different ensembles for different styles of music.

Once I started learning jazz, it became another passion of mine that I incorporate into my music to this day. My jazz ensemble even went on to winning Monterrey Jazz Festival, however, it was there that I saw a table for Berklee’s summer program and my friends encouraged me to audition. I did and ended up getting a scholarship to go, which solidified my decision to apply for Berklee’s full-time program after high school and begin a new journey there in Boston, MA. Before attending Berklee, I got accepted into the YoungArts program and went forward to become a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. It was also around this time that I started playing around with piano again in my senior year upon taking a jazz piano class.

So many people around me had been making original music but I never tried my hand at it until hearing all the possibilities in jazz to bring it to the contemporary. I didn’t take it seriously at first because I figured I was only capable of singing other people’s songs, but once I entered college, I realized that Berklee offered a Songwriting program, and I centered my career around writing music. I realized that the music I started to write was very reflective of my life dealing with chronic illness as well as developing depression & anxiety from losing my father at a young age and taking such a long time to grieve. I was so nervous to show anyone my music until the very beginning of 2017 when I officially started my artistry as TEGA. I asked some friends from school if they wanted to be in a band, and from there I started to shape my first album, “Body”.

This album is what I would describe as my journey in learning to love myself throughout all the trials and tribulations of dealing with Sickle Cell Anemia, and it is dedicated to anyone else suffering. Before it was released, I was immediately getting shows through Berklee and all around the Boston area with my band, and it taught me so much about taking control of my life and my career. I worked with a couple of different producers over the course of a year and finally released the album into the world on May 29th, 2018 under my own independent company, which I call Purple Heart Records.

I wanted to call it Purple Heart because 1) my favorite color is purple, but it also represents royalty to me, and 2) the heart is the center of all blood circulation, and I wanted my music to be a reflection of me showing my heart to anyone listening. In the month’s before and after, I kept on performing, however, I also began producing music on my own and experimenting with electronic styles. I then began to center my next project on making a house project to help me overcome this experimental time because the goal is to now produce my next full-length album completely on my own. This led me to write, recording, producing, and releasing my first EP, “TRANSIT”, on May 10th, 2019 (which is also the same weekend that I graduated from Berklee College of Music).

This project has been so important to me because it not only represents my thoughts while riding the public transit for such a long period of time, but it also represents a transitional time in my life where I’ve become a completely independent artist and now a manager in a way of my own collective. Over the summer I worked with my best friend, Cymphony Jaxon (who I went to Booker T. with) on a lot of music, including her EP, “note to self”, which she decided to become the first artist outside of myself to release on my collective, Purple Heart Records.

Once we released her music, a couple other friends of mine expressed interest in becoming artists on the label as well, and that is what I’m currently working on. It’s uplifting for me to be in this position where I can help other artists because, like them, I was struggling to find my place until I created the lane for myself. It brings me nothing but joy to help other artists with writing, production, and mixing as well. As far as my own music is concerned, I’m working on one more EP, called “TRANSIT 2”, which will be the last piece of experimentation for me as I start work on my next full-length album (which is another project I recorded with my band back in 2018). Hopefully I can release that and many more on Purple Heart Records in 2020.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Well, like I previously mentioned, throughout this entire process I’ve been dealing with Sickle Cell Anemia, depression & anxiety from losing my dad at a young age, and all the while trying to figure out what I even want my career to look like. In college, my health deteriorated to it’s worst point, and I was hospitalized a few different times. The curriculum at Berklee was good, but very stressful and didn’t give much leeway to anyone going through the things that I went through.

The stress directly affected my health, and I had to see a doctor once a week for a condition I developed on my ankles called chronic ulceration, as a result of me having Sickle Cell Anemia. Not to mention all of the walking, late-night hours, and a few toxic friends didn’t help. In addition, I felt like I had no idea who I was because I spent so much time in high school trying to suppress my emotions after losing my dad and refusing to grieve. But eventually, the stress of that caught up with me and I had no choice but to take the time to process what grieving truly feels like.

Throughout this, I also dealt with the fear that I would die in the same way as my dad because of how similar our lives played out. He also dealt with chronic ulceration and multiple hospitalizations, so it felt like I was only following in his footsteps. Eventually, I came to realize that I am not him, and I can choose to live a happy & healthy lifestyle. Since college, I’ve moved back home to get my health back on track and I can now say that I am so much better, and I have a tighter grip on my health than I did before.

Musically, the challenges I face have to do with reaching a wider audience. So many of my friends and family know who I am, but I long for the day when I can spread my messages to the world and raise awareness for Sickle Cell Anemia (with the hopes of providing better healthcare for those suffering like I have). I would like my story and all of the challenges I’ve faced to be a beacon for those who feel like they are worthless.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
Purple Heart Records is an independent collective and label. It’s purpose is to bring together creatives from all over and give them a platform for their music. I serve as the head of Purple Heart Records, which also includes managing other artists and helping them grow, as well as collaborating on writing, production, mixing, and promotion.

An artist can send me the shell of their music, to which I will provide my ideas on where I think they should go next, and from there it builds into something very beautiful, I am so proud of my company for starting everything from the ground up and building organically. Most of the people I work with are friends, however, I also aim to provide for any artist who needs a platform. What sets us apart is really the deep-rooted origin of Purple Heart Records, which is to not only provide a platform for artists, but to also give a voice to people of color, and advocate for health & wellness.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I actually don’t think I would start over, because everything that has happened to me, including the loss of my father and refusing to grieve, has led me to this point of emotionally vulnerability and allowing myself to be challenged in all aspects of life. I don’t know if I would even have become the artist I am today without all of the hardships that I’ve faced. If anything, I’ve learned to accept that everything happens for a reason and life has it’s a purpose for me no matter what.

Pricing:

  • For Mixing, the prices are $75-150 depending on the song

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
Team Howard Photography
Adam-Antenor Cruz
Isabella Grossling
Purple Heart Records

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