Meet The Fellows
Jeremiah Otis
Fort Albany, Canada
Jeremiah “J.Otis” Otis is a dynamic music engineer and indigenous artist, pioneering change as a founder of 67 Records, to reshape the music industry’s predatory structure.
With two albums, 16 singles, and mentorship for eight engineers, J.Otis began his journey in 2016, using music to uplift during a suicide crisis in Fort Albany, ON. Amidst personal trauma, he self-taught various music skills due to a lack of resources.
Tragedy struck in 2018 when he lost loved ones to racism and systemic injustice. This fueled his debut project, “Open Up Your Eyez.” Relocating to Toronto in 2019, he performed at Dundas Square, marking a milestone. Accepted into a post-secondary institution in 2020, he delved into music engineering and industry insights.
Founding 67 Records in 2020, J.Otis prioritizes mentoring aspiring engineers and empowering marginalized voices. With a global outlook, he recruits allies to revolutionize the music industry’s operational structure from within, advocating for equity and opportunity. In his relentless pursuit of change, J.Otis epitomizes resilience, using his platform to amplify unheard narratives and inspire collective action.
Artists Name: J.Otis
Age: 24
Artist Influences: Koosey, 2pac, Winnipegs Most Wanted
Genre: HipHop and alt soul
Social Impact Project: He facilitated a two-week drop-in where he collaborated with local organizations to provide youth with a nutritional supper each day and established connections between at-risk youth and crisis intervention as well as suicide prevention counsellors. Additionally, Jeremiah played a crucial role in organizing and facilitating a community emergency response meeting with community leaders, addressing the mounting drug epidemic impacting Fort Albany youth.
"The Fellowship Program shifted my life by giving me access to opportunities I would otherwise never have access to. It gave me the tools needed for self-care, to be conscious about how I treat myself and how it affects my entire journey. As a fully independent artist, since I was a kid, I had no guidance or support; it was all from the ground up. I had to save and work a 9-5 at the age of 14, pay my own rent and bills, and go to school and still saved enough funds to get myself equipment, and with 0 knowledge, I mixed my own stuff. I did that for years until I got good, eventually pushing myself through music college, and after all of that, I still did not have any support or guidance from my peers and the older ones in the industry. It was at the point where I had to become my own label to even have an opportunity to make something for myself, and after all that and the constant battling, I finally got into the Fellowship, and it was an awakening. The reason is because I was so used to needing to sacrifice most of my needs to be able to do the work that I do. I was not taking care of myself, focusing on my mental health, or taking care of who I am. I was giving away all my time to help others, and in the end, I was wilting away. I still am, but I’m regenerating myself back up to who I need to be to have a chance while maintaining who I want to be as a human, to have my family time, and enjoy life while making all my major moves."
