James Lackey aka JLack

Is that an old picture of User? Nope! It is actually User's little brother, JLack! 22 years old.

User Raymond's little brother, James Lackey, aka "JLack," has already had R&B success through producing the hit single "Get It Shorty" for Lloyd, and in creating the music for big brother Usher's fragrances for men and women.

On December 6th, it was announced by his momma's management co. that JLack signed an exclusive worldwide publishing deal with EMI Music Publishing. The deal was arranged by his manager and mom, Jonnetta Patton of J-Pat Management.

KWIET STORM

Just when you thought you'd seen the best that R&B has to offer; just when you thought it was safe to settle for mediocrity and gimmicks; just when you thought all was quiet in the world of music, Kwiet Storm comes to shake things up and challenge the status quo.

Hailing from Chicago, a town known for breeding some of R&B's biggest and brightest stars, Kwiet Storm comprises four handsome and talented singer/songwriter/producers who have literally dedicated their lives to the pursuit of their dream.

Cousins Duke Terrell, 18, and Lewis "Drey Skonie" Jackson, 19, hooked up with best friends Russell "Romance" Foster, 20, and Roshawn "Slow Mo" Lyles, 20, two years ago and set out on a journey that would ultimately bring them to Atlanta and JPat Management, the training ground for multi-platinum R&B superstar Usher.

Says Slow Mo, "When we met in Chicago and started recording, rehearsing and vibing, we felt like this could be something big. We all sacrificed what we were doing to come together." And the sacrifice has paid off, says Duke, who was a car salesman before joining the group. "We have a niche," he says. "That's important in this industry."

Slow Mo agrees. "Our music is unique," he notes. "It has a new sound, very diverse. We have all different genres that come together." And Drey says that each member brings his own unique flavor to their musical gumbo. "Slow Mo is the powerful singer," he explains. "Ro is the soulful singer; I'm more smooth with a bit of a pop sound and Duke is more pop and rap. Our sound is a little bit more crossover than other groups."

Kwiet Storm delivers the goods not only in the recording booth but in front of an audience as well. "We're a powerhouse group from stage to studio to image to writing to producing," says Slow Mo. "We're not just singers. We're entertainers."

Drey adds, "We're the total package. "I think that's what people want. People want to see a good show; people want to see pretty faces; they want to hear good voices. And they can get all of that in one package."

And a total package is exactly what Jonnetta Patton, CEO of JPat Management/JPat Records, was looking for. "I knew I wanted to sign them the first time I saw them perform," she says. "They had the package: a great look, great stage presence and great voices. They all have wonderful attitudes and are very respectful. I feel Kwiet Storm is the guy group the music industry is missing. They want major success and are willing to work hard for it. I know they'll continue to have longevity in this business."

Since inking a deal with Kwiet Storm as the first act on her new label, Patton and her crew have helped the guys make a good thing even better by "taking us back to square one and bringing us back old school," says Slow Mo.

JPat label Vice President, Alexander "A.J." Parhm, put the guys through an extensive artist development program that comprised rigorous training and vocal challenges. Slow Mo says the guys rose to the occasion. "We worked everyday, seven days a week for hours and hours and hours," he notes. Says Romance, "We spent a lot of time learning the old songs and seeing how old school singers approached a record. We learned how to put emotion into a record; how to make you feel it by listening to it." Adds Slow Mo, "A.J. taught us how to cry. He made us realize that you really have to sell a record. We don't want to just sing to you. We want to make you feel like you've been through what we've been through just by hearing the vocal."

And sell it they do, especially on songs like "Hands on You," a sensual but tasteful cut that showcases the guys' smoothed out, sexy vocal style, and "Get to Know U," an intricately arranged midtempo laced with flawless harmonies. Says Slow Mo, "With us you're going to get quality music. Our sound is different, our writing is different, the way we approach the record is different. We try not to think like any other person. We think longevity, not just for the moment."

Just when you thought music lovers had been lulled to sleep by an endless parade of run-of-the-mill R&B groups, the lightening flashes, the thunder rolls and Kwiet Storm emerges.

Just in time.

Kwiet Storm sends a little love your way, a musical ecard with soul from a group that knows how to deliver the goods. Just for the fans and would-be fans, right here, right now.

The track included is titled "Get to Know U". The smooth sound and brilliant harmony is a music experience. Turn up your speakers and enjoy this special treat by a group that is going to take the world by "Storm".

Click here to get your Kwiet Storm Ecard.

You never know who's watching you. That's a truism that R&B singer Donte learned a few years ago.

The 20-year-old Philadelphia native was playing the lead role in the musical stage play "The Life of Marvin Gaye" when, during intermission, he was introduced to Jonnetta Patton, CEO of JPat Management and the woman behind the astronomical success of her son, multi-platinum R&B Superstar Usher. "I couldn't stop smiling," says Donte, recalling the night that changed his life. "Meeting her was like seeing a close relative that I hadn't seen in awhile." The chemistry between them was just that magical, he says.

Patton went on to consummate a deal with Donte, signing him to her newly formed JPat Records. "He has that thing. He connects with his audience through his performance and smooth vocals. He's very sexy and has a bright future in acting and music".

What Patton saw in Donte is exactly what she is counting on the public to see in him as well. Tall, muscular and handsome, Donte not only has the looks but the incredible vocal skill to catch the eyes and ears of fans and tastemakers alike.

The soft-spoken Donte grew up on the less than glamorous north side of Philadelphia. He describes his road to success as "a long journey" but he can remember the event that set things in motion like it was yesterday. "I was about 11 years old at the time. I was outside playing while my mom was inside watching 'Showtime at the Apollo'," he says. "She was raving about somebody on the show and I told her, 'That's nothing, mama. I can do that.' She said, 'Okay, let me hear something.' I sang and she loved it."

She loved it so much that she immediately began making calls to anyone and everyone that she thought could help her son get into the music industry, including an uncle who was a jazz and blues artist. Donte cut his teeth on the likes of jazz singer Joe Williams and blues great Muddy Waters but it wasn't long before he dove into R&B, studying the sounds of the late Marvin Gaye and eventually, Usher. It was those singers and others like them, who inspired him the most.

Working with producers and songwriters like J-Lack, Sam Salter and Ryan Lovett, Donte' says that he strives to "bring a sense of my own reality to my music. I want to keep it as real as possible and get out here and sing my heart out and do what I love to do. I'm definitely going to bring the happy side of being a 20-year-old because I haven't been through too much adversity in my life. I want to bring that smooth crooner vibe with a little bit of a rough edge because I'm no gangster but I'm certainly no sweetheart either."

Donte says he has sacrificed a lot for his dream but he doesn't mind putting in the hard work. "I've been doing this quite a while now. I've missed a lot of basketball tournaments and football games so if you're looking to me to throw you a football, you just might be out of luck," he jokes. "I've been through the long hours of training and recording, sleeping on the couch and waking up and hopping right into the recording booth."

Donte says he's not worried about comparisons to Usher or any other R&B singer. What separates him, he notes, is his own story, his own reality. "You can listen to the same story but if you hear the same story by 10 different people, you'll hear something different from each one. I definitely think you'll be captured by the story I have to tell."

"I still wear many hats," says the Chattanooga, TN, native, who gave up her own 9-to-5 working for Blue Cross/Blue Shield to move to Atlanta to guide Usher Raymond IV to the pinnacle of not just the music world, but the realms of film, fashion and business. "The biggest obstacle has been from other people, who try to divide and conquer. That's my challenge, which I love, because it's when I'm most effective. I'm a manager who knows what it takes to build a successful career, and it's going to be a challenge to repeat that from the ground up. I'm excited."

Patton helped guide her sons' careers from the very start, planting the seeds, which fully flowered in 2004 with a whirlwind of success that propelled Usher to bona fide superstardom. Usher's fourth studio album, Confessions, was 2004's top seller, debuting with a record-breaking 1.1 million in first-week sales in March, producing a total of four consecutive crossover chart-toppers in "Yeah!" (with Lil' Jon & Ludacris), "Burn," "Confessions Part II" and "My Boo," the electrifying Alicia Keys duet which was added to the special edition of the album released in October 2004. Confessions also earned the 28-year-old phenom a total of eight Grammy nominations and three awards, including Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals ("My Boo"), Best Contemporary R&B Album and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration ("Yeah!"). To date, Confessions has sold more than 15 million worldwide, including 9.5 million in the U.S.

Those kinds of accomplishments have been Jonnetta Patton's mission since she helped Usher secure a record deal at age 13, applying the principles she learned in balancing the books for the family business as the youngest of seven children in Chattanooga, TN.

"It has truly been a blessing," says Patton. "We had a solid plan that we implemented and followed through. We knew the record would be big from the start. It was a great project, with great substance."

The album was the culmination of 14 years of hard work and preparation, which started when Patton moved her family to Atlanta in hopes of kick-starting Usher's performing career.

"Everyone thinks their kids are great," laughs Patton, "but I saw something in him that was really special. When I first took Usher to LaFace Records, I told [then-label head Antonio] 'L.A.' Reid, 'He is going to be your next superstar.' But I told everybody that, and they all thought I was crazy."

It wasn't an easy ride, though. Usher's self-titled debut, co-produced by Sean "Puffy" Combs, came out in 1994, when he was 16 years old, just as he hit puberty and his voice dropped.

"When his voice changed and he began to have vocal troubles, no one believed in him anymore," says Patton, who continued to ferociously defend his talent. "I told him to keep fighting, that he would be OK."

"That experience taught me that you'll always have your ups and downs in this business. It's how you handle each individual situation on its own, because no two are alike."

Patton's patience was rewarded with the release of Usher's My Way in September 1997, producing the artist's breakthrough hit, the #1 R&B/pop, Grammy-nominated smash, "You Make Me Wanna," and the #1 R&B/#2 pop ballad, "Nice and Slow," leading to more than six million in U.S. sales. The following year, Patton saw her design to turn Usher into a multimedia superstar come true when he made his acting debut on UPN's Moesha opposite Brandy, which resulted in a recurring role, followed by a lead part in the thriller The Faculty.

"I learned to work independently, outside the label system," says Patton about her business acumen, which will certainly help her in her latest ventures. "People didn't help me along the way; they set me up for failure. And I learned from those experiences you have to stay two steps ahead."

She bought a 14,000-square foot office complex in Atlanta to house her growing J Pat Management company and to provide rehearsal space for Usher and J Lack. Patton surrounded herself with a core group of loyalists, which included longtime financial advisor/business partner Solomon Smallwood, ICM booking agent Mark Cheatham, publicist Simone Smalls, and TV and film agent Holly Davis Carter.

"All of Usher's artist development was done from here, all the tours were built right here," she says. "It was a great team of people that had been with him since the beginning of his career, people that were loyal to me and Usher."

"If you tell the truth and do the right thing, you'll always win with me. However. If you don't have strong business ethics and you are dishonest, you will lose with me, " says Patton, describing her self-taught business philosophy. "I'm not difficult, just a straight shooter."

With her carefully assembled team of fellow straight shooters, Patton continued her successful streak, growing Usher into true superstar status with the release of 8701 on August 7, 2001. "U Remind Me" went #1 on both the pop and R&B charts, then earned him his first-ever Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in February 2002, which was followed a year later by a win in the same category for the chart-topping sequel, "U Got It Bad." The two consecutive wins are a feat that only Luther Vandross and Stevie Wonder have accomplished.

For Patton, who had worked so hard to get her son to that point, it was a sweet victory over those who said she-and he-would never make it.

"Winning two Grammys awarded specifically for best vocal performance meant so much to us, because Usher almost lost his record deal for not being able to sing," says Patton. "I knew he had it in him, so I kept pushing and pushing. And fighting and fighting."

"I understand God's purpose for me in life," she says. "These are my kids. They didn't ask to be here, so it is my responsibility as a parent to take care of and protect them. These careers are not something I pushed off on them. They wanted to do this. I've often wished I could go back to my 9-to-5 because this can be a cold business. But it's not about me; it's about Usher and J Lack. All I cared about was making my sons happy and establishing them as successful artists. When people doubted my ability to guide Usher and J Lack to superstardom, I stayed focused."

Patton booked Usher for widely seen and highly publicized live performances on AOL Music and Showtime - for which she was an Executive Producer - as well as roles in Light It Up and TV's American Dreams (playing Marvin Gaye). Usher's 2004 Sold Out "Truth Tour" was one of the most successful tours of the year.

In addition to the music and acting portion of Usher's career, Patton further branded her son through an extensive campaign of lifestyle marketing, including apparel, grooming products, and fragrance.

These days, Patton is directing her energies to her younger son J Lack, a Grammy-nominated, ASCAP-award winning producer and songwriter, forming her own publishing company and record label. J Lack produced five songs for the soundtrack to Usher's movie In The Mix, with six of those tracks featured in the film. He also composed the score to his brother's mini-movie, Rhythm City Caught Up, and his Atlanta Live DVD. J Lack also co-produced the song "Superstar" for the Grammy-nominated Luther Vandross tribute album with Usher. Now, in 2008, J Lack's follow-up with a remix to Gene Kelly's "Singing In The Rain" for Usher CBS performance on Movie Rocks. He has two tracks on Usher's upcoming 2008 CD. He will also produce 5 songs on Kwiet Storms music CD, due to release late 2008.

In her spare time, Jonnetta is an avid interior decorator, who designed her home in suburban Atlanta, not far from the J-Pat Management complex, as well as serving as a party planner for major banquets/weddings and owner of JCarr limousine. "I love Atlanta. I wouldn't live anywhere else," she says about eschewing the business centers of New York and Los Angeles. She's proved that major, multinational business can also be done from the south.

But Patton insists that proving all those who said she'd never make it wrong was never really her goal. All she wanted to do was help her children's dreams come true, and now that she has succeeded, it's time for the next phase of her career.

Jonnetta Patton has done a pretty good job for someone who attended just two years at Middle Tennessee State University to please her father, which she vowed never to do with her own kids-force them to do something against their will.

"My goal has always been to make sure I provided both my children with the best," says Patton. "It was never about what people in this business thought about me. What was important to me, was to be able to go home at night and sleep without guilt nor worry. You can have all the money in the world, but the most important thing is to be happy. And most people can't say that."

In sharing her success with other women and mothers who might want to venture into the male dominated world of the music industry, her advise is just use common sense, stay the course, have self confidence in your own abilities to deliver, don't worry about what other people think and remember, "WHAT GOD HAS FOR YOU IT IS FOR YOU

Your dreams shine as bright as the stars at J-Pat Management.
J-Pat handles your business, career and life choices. We build stars to rise;
music, performance and artistic excellence is our motto.
Our facilities are state of the art. Raw potential becomes star
power through our company's unique concept and vision. Each of the
sessions at JP Tours Rehearsal Hall include a staff to coordinate
phone calls, food or almost anything| else the client requests.
There is also a private lounge area with a variety of relaxing diversions.
Our goal is to provide all of our clients with the best equipment and the
highest level of maintenance available. Also for your convenience,
are on-site equipment technicians and production managers.
The production office will assist with backline and instrument rental.
Administrative services include faxing, copying, and Federal Express.

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