Today we’d like to introduce you to Maurice Mosley.
Maurice, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I am a Houston, TX native (H-Town) born and raised, and I became interested in drums around the age of 3 or 4 years old. My mom said that as a kid, I would just go around the house beating on the furniture til one day I was playing on her glass end table and it shattered lol, and that’s when a set of drums entered the house. Once I got those drums, the first song I played was Phil Collins “In the Air Tonight” and as a kid, it was just something about that intro when the drums came in. I also grew up in church around a lot of amazing talented musicians but I didn’t get to play much because we had lots of musicians already for the many choirs the church had, but I always hung around to watch and learn. Around the age of 13, I ended up being the only drummer having to play for all the choirs and also played on my first live album recording with the late Dr. Theola Booker and the Greater St Matthew Mass Choir titled “I’m An Heir.” This opportunity was the turning point for me as a musician.
Moving forward, I attended Willowridge High School, where I joined and also recorded with the Marching, Concert, and Jazz Bands. While there my band directors Ronald Thornton Sr, Delcenia Thomas-Hill, Maurice Ross, and Tracy Shivers really pushed me, challenging me to learn to read music, sight – reading, and learn more about drums and percussion. After graduating from high school, I received a scholarship to study music at Prairie View A&M University, where I was an active member of the Concert band under Dr. Lucius Wyatt and the “Marching Storm” marching band under the direction of Prof. George Edwards, Prof. William McQueen, and Prof. Larry Jones, those amazing directors really took things up a notch and pushed me above and beyond. I also served as section leader of the bands drumline formally known as “The BOX” and went on to receive my BA in Music degree.
After graduating from college, I worked in corporate but continued to play locally around Houston with well-known gospel artists at churches and a few R&B artists that would come into town to perform shows at different venues. In 2011, I got a call from my good friend/brother Larry Allen about an audition opportunity for the off-Broadway stage production “DrumlineLive,” which is directed by Atlanta’s own Don P. Roberts. About a week after my audition Mr. Roberts and music director Brian Snell called me and said the position is yours if you accept and of course, I did (lol). This was great for me as I was the featured drum set player in the show and was able to tour internationally in Japan and across the U.S to do what I love.
In 2013 I relocated to Atlanta, GA to elevate my music career and was blessed to land some film roles as a jazz band member on episodes of the WB TV show “The Originals” (2013), featured in VH1’s movie “Drumline2 A New Beat” (2014), and BET series “The Quad” seasons 1-2 (2017-18). I also was featured in the music video “DOSE” with r&b singer Ciara (2018), performed on stage at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, CA with Nile Rogers and Chic (2019), and my biggest performance of them all Coachella aka “BEYchella” with the Queen B “Beyonce” in which I was also featured in and received a Grammy award for the NETFLIX movie “HOMECOMING”. I still perform and tour with DrumlineLIVE, and also play for local and corporate bands in and around Atlanta, percussion instructor for Mundys Mill High School Band (Atlanta GA), drummer for gospel artist Benita Jones, and drummer/music director for Christian Hip-hop artist Tedashii.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely was not a smooth road, especially leaving home and relocating but with the strong support of family, friends and lots of networking, it made things easier.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Yes, and that’s the ability to get along and work well with others. Having a good character, positive attitude, and not being a distraction will take you a long way in whatever it is you’re doing.
Contact Info:
- Email: iamreese25@gmail.com
- Instagram: reesedrumz
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maurice.mosley.3
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