Amin De Jesus

Amin De Jesus was born into a family of artists: his father was an innovative photographer, his mother an ingenious craftswoman, his sister an astute poet, painter, and architect, and his brother a genre-defying producer and engineer who achieved great success by his early 20s. Growing up in such a creatively rich environment instilled in Amin a strong emphasis on living a creative life. This upbringing helped him overcome the fear of failure and develop his mind as a tool for expression. Even at a young age, his creative efforts were well received. By age 12, he was interning for the Miami Herald's Editorial Art Department. At the same time, he began engaging with hip-hop culture as a MC, developing his skills through schoolyard battles in Miami and later through informal rap sessions in Jamaica, Queens. As time passed, the internship turned into a part-time job, and his interest in lyricism deepened into a consuming passion. Amin began living a double life: by day, he was a young designer attending various art programs at magnet schools; by night, he was a wandering wordsmith, drawing crowds with a "machine-like flow." What started as casual fun with friends soon became a more serious pursuit. As he entered the battle scene, he would seek out groups of rappers, like a shark searching for prey. He pushed his craft further into creative writing and eventually recorded several collaborative projects with groups such as Children of the Well, Demented Righters, DoubleCross Ent., Idee4, Common Ground, Players Dynasty, SoundVision, the GBC, and others. Upon graduating from South Miami Senior High (located just three blocks from the hospital where he was born), his visual portfolio had matured and earned national recognition. Among the awards he received was a Silver Key from the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers (Scholastic Art & Writing Awards), which allowed him to attend the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. However, his return to the city was soon interrupted by the demands of his growing career. Amin began designing for Urban Latino Magazine, Sol Concepts, HOLA Records, and Johnny Blaze, and became overwhelmed by a flood of freelance projects that ultimately led him to drop out and return to Miami. Years later, the balance between Amin's artistic and professional lives has reached a stable yet evolving state. Now an Art Director, he has contributed to the visual identities of brands such as Chrysler, Nike, Microsoft, Corona, Coke Zero, Volkswagen, Best Buy, and Geek Squad, working at firms like CP+B, Sapient Publicis, La Comunidad, Republika, and The Martin Agency. Musically, he has focused on his band Suénalo, which recently celebrated its fifteenth anniversary. The band blends a mix of sounds and rhythms inspired by South Florida's Latin-based diversity. Amin has performed across the country at events such as SXSW and in New York at the Latin Alternative Music Conference. He is also involved in the philanthropic effort Guitars Over Guns, founded by his best friend Dr. Chad Bernstein, where he mentors inner-city youth in schools lacking musical education, including his former school, North Miami Middle School. Currently living in Los Angeles and working to expand the program to a bi-coastal or national operation, while continuing to make music, Amin remains a student of his students, always striving to evolve and refine his craft.