Jamel Mosely

Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472) is considered by many to be the personification of the widely copied—rarely successfully— ideal of the Renaissance man. The man, or in modern parlance, person, who can do all things if the will is there. The notion formed the basis of the philosophy of humanism, and, arguably, the drive toward widespread and diverse education, recreation and employment that has defined human civilization and progress for the past 600-plus years.

And yet few of us, while possibly being able to balance quarters on our elbows while singing “C’mon Eileen,” or whip off a mean crossstitch while giving directions to a taxi driver in French, are fluent in multiple arenas of human achievement.

Which makes the 35-year-old Jamel Mosely—a filmmaker, photographer, marketing guru, DJ and wellness entrepreneur—and his incredible, broad-ranging accomplishments even more notable. How on earth does he manage to do, if not “it all,” so very much? We sat down to discuss his packed life and of course … his favorite snacks.

Edible Capital District: First things first. How did you become the sort of person who wanted to wear so many hats? And could actually pull it off?

Jamel Mosely: I was born in Queens but moved to Albany when I was three or four, and some of my most prized memories from childhood feature days spent with family in the Albany area. I have always been surrounded by my family, because my mother is one of nine. I attribute a lot of passion for learning and my work ethic to my mother and my aunts and uncles. They are incredibly hard workers, and they’re steadfast. And they’re entrepreneurs, too. I grew up in their beauty and barber salons, their music studios, and even an arcade. My uncle’s construction business helped build up what Arbor Hill is today.

ECD: In other words, you were exposed to a variety of businesses and influences?

JM: Yes, but it was more than that. It was also their philosophy of hard work and incredible, uncomplaining drive. I feel incredibly privileged to have grown up in that kind of family, but also the kind of family that wants to give back. They have always helped people out in small and big ways, and giving back has been a part of my every day life since childhood.

ECD: How did you get your start balancing work and philanthropy?

JM: It happened pretty organically honestly. I graduated from RPI [Troy’s Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute] for Electronic Media, Arts, and Communication, then enrolled in Winter Park, Florida’s Full Sail University for recording arts. I snagged an internship in New York City and began spending three days a week there, then the balance back up to Albany. I started a program at LaSalle School, which specializes in helping youth and families who have experienced trauma or mental illness. I would work with kids in their court-mandated after-school program teaching them words and concepts they’d have to understand to take the SATs through the creative music program I created called Lyrical Leaders. Then, I got a job at GE doing subcontracting, IT, and video work.

ECD: Steady work and paychecks aren’t easy to come by for creatives, so it must have been hard to give that up and go your own way. How did you end up launching your own businesses?

JM: Again, it started organically. I was considering leaving the area to pursue a media career full-time in New York City, but then my uncle brought me into a building, gave me a set of keys and told me this was our new studio. It was obviously an opportunity to really do something, so I jumped on it. I started immersing myself completely in video work. This was 2012, and I officially launched Mel eMedia from there. While balancing my full-time job at GE and running a studio, I also volunteered with organizations like Liberty Partnerships Programs. Here, I met an organization that asked me to join them in creating an international educational multimedia program. I traveled around the world working on multimedia programs with the goal of building cultural awareness among children; we’d feature kids interviewing volcano experts in Guatemala or touring the Serengeti in Tanzania. The experience changed my perspective on everything, from the way people relate to each other, to the power of art to food.

ECD: How has that informed your work?

JM: It opened all kinds of doors. Mel eMedia has worked with Puma, ShopRite, Under Armour, but also the Albany Barn, Youth FX, TruHeart, and the Sanctuary for Independent Media, all of which are focused on mentoring and helping young people, something I’m really passionate about, having been given so many opportunities myself. Then in 2017, I helped found Collectiveffort, a creative agency and coworking space that focuses on community building in the physical and digital space, and in 2019, I founded Root3d, a wellness center in Albany. For me, all of my work is connected and is aimed at a larger goal of finding spaces where communication isn’t happening between groups, where there’s a gap in opportunity and knowledge, and connecting them, often through art and music.

ECD: What issues do you think need the most attention in the Capital District?

JM: I believe that in many ways social disparities and health are deeply connected, and health is so important. Housing disparities, issues of workforce development, food access. Those are all real issues in our community, and if we can give people opportunities and equal access, their physical and mental well-being will improve drastically.

ECD: Was that part of the inspiration for Root3d? Of all of your pursuits, it seems the most different.

JM: I have great business partners, Chelle Pean and Vanessa Marrufo. Chelle is an intuitive healer with training as a clinical social worker, a reiki practitioner and a yoga instructor. She is incredible with running operations and community building. Vanessa has a marketing and project management background and also works with energy healing. She does most of our marketing and community relations. I handle finance and the back-end tasks, along with helping out with some of community relations and marketing. We offer African drumming and dance, therapeutic theater, a few different types of yoga, meditation classes and several mental health support groups.

ECD: How important is food to wellness in your life and others?

JM: I think food and wellness are deeply connected. We are learning more every day about the healing properties of food. We now have more offerings centering nutrition and black health thanks to one of our instructors, Shawn Mack. He’s been able to foster a running relationship with Honest Weight Food Co-op. We’re also connected to the Soul Fire Farm family, which is a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color)–centered community farm committed to ending racism and injustice in the food system.” Once you start putting down roots and reaching out in the community, you discover connections everywhere.

ECD: Do you ever use food as a jumping off point creatively?

JM: Absolutely. Food, in many ways, can be a tool for cultural connections. Going to school at RPI, I realized how relatively limited my view of food was. I became friends with people from across the country to across the world. Having friends from places like China, India or Ghana and eating with them and getting exposure to their foods from their homes opened new doors for me. I began exploring cooking in a different way, learning more about different kinds of rice and noodles, and learning about the cultures they came from in the process. Art is like water, and you can either hinder it or let it flow where it wants. Sometimes my creativity actualizes in food, other times in music, photo or film, and sometimes all of them at the same time.

ECD: How has this challenging time affected your outlook and your business?

JM: We are in a very unique time, in the middle of a pandemic and social justice movements, specifically one centering black people and black lives. It has been extremely challenging as a business person and specifically as a black business person who has to hold a lot of space for other black people. I’m thinking of the community space with Collectiveffort and the human space with Root3d. We are changing what we do ourselves, and pivoting to virtually reaching out and supporting our community instead of doing in person for now. We have also pivoted to accepting donations at Root3d, so that money is not a barrier for access to healing. We are filling gaps in our own finances through sponsorships. 

This has been a time when everyone has to look into their business and not just go with the flow but rethink the structures of your business. We are trying to be very intentional about every single thing we do, and if we are truly serving people and really aligning our business with what we say we want to do. The biggest change we have made is to our brand-storming session. I do this with businesses and it covers everything from the core mission to the target audience; together, we look at the bones of the business, consider how they exist in this society in this moment in this history, and how can they navigate this space in a way that is purposeful and realign their goals and resources. For us, and for others, I think that mentorship is essential. I feel like I am where I am because of my own mentors, including Robert Temple and Jim Snyder. My mentorship is often informal, but I am as open-handed as I can be with the knowledge and skills I have, and I’m happy to see many of the businesses and entrepreneurs I work with doing the same. It will help them, and the next generation, get to a better place.

FIVE RAPID FIRE

Breakfast today?
Smoothie, made from different fruits, chia seeds, coconut yogurt, carrots, turmeric.

Favorite childhood meal?
Corn dogs with syrup and ketchup. And cereal.

Cake, pie or cookies?
Soft chocolate chunk cookie. I don’t need a plate or fork. I can chomp it down with one bite and go. I’ll do the same thing if someone gives me a slice of cake, but it’s more socially acceptable to do that with a cookie, you know?

Guilty indulgence?
Pasta with sauce from scratch.

Midnight snack?
I’ll either make something new from leftovers in my fridge or, right now, I have some green-tea mochi in my freezer.

Jamel Mosely | @jamelmosely
Liberty Partnerships Programs | @ualbanylpp
Mel eMedia | @melemedia
Albany Barn | @albanybarn
Youth FX | @youthfxfilm
Sanctuary for Independent Media
Collectiveffort | @collectiveffort
Root3d | @root3dhealing
Chelle Pean | @chellepean
Honest Weight Food Co-op | @honestweightfoodcoop
Soul Fire Farm | @soulfirefarm