How would you describe your image in one word?
Natural.
What does a good grooming routine mean to you as a man who prefers a natural style?
It means using products that contain a lot of natural ingredients, I use hair and beard oils and natural scented oils that smell good and are healthy for my skin and body.
How do you keep your hair and beard looking healthy while still letting them feel free and natural?
I take my time to do my hair when I shampoo and oil my scalp and retwist the roots of my locks. Once I do this consistently, so they look well taken care of. My beard is oiled and brushed, sometimes plaited, or other times left open. Either way it looks good with a little glimmer. I mix scented oils myself, otherwise I use products like alverde Hair Oil Repair Organic Avocado Organic Shea Butter, when I’m in Vienna.
Are there any specific products or ingredients you swear by for your hair, skin or beard care?
Argan oil is great and jojoba oil too. I use these oils naturally or in a blend with essential like patchouli, sandalwood and frankincense. Neal’s Yard has a great selection especially for things like bergamot or cedar wood, but there are many brands that create good quality oils. You find some of the best natural products in independent stores like the Ankh Well Being Centre, NW10. In stores like this you can find products that are well made especially for Afro Skin or you can find the raw ingredients like shea butter and cocoa butter.
Note: Ankh Well Being Centre is now closed. For similar alternatives, try Holistic Village (35-37 Ludgate Hill, EC4M 7JN); Spiritual Wellbeing London (77 Lower Clapton Road, E5 0PQ); or Tree of Etermnal Life (124a W Green Road, N15 5AA).
Grooming is often seen as just cosmetic, but it can also be connected to health, discipline or even self-respect. What’s your view?
It’s far more than simply cosmetic and it certainly includes all the above. If you are not disciplined and consistent when it comes to looking after yourself, you won’t only look rough and tumble, but you will also be damaging your health. Whatever you put on yourself is absorbed by your skin; imagine a rack of chemicals that you put on your head are soaking into the blood and tissue of your brain? Apply that same thought to your body and even your teeth. It is about self-love and self-value. We talk about some products being expensive, but being cheap puts you on a slow course to NHS beds instead of a healthy body and enjoyable life.
You speak a lot about science and spirituality. Do those worlds influence how you care for your health, body and appearance?
For sure! Your body gives you a unique access to spirit, so now that everyone knows the powerful effects of turmeric to protect your body, people add it to their smoothies for fun, not knowing they are pretty much wasting their money. Turmeric is only absorbed by the body in fatty substances; this makes it 100 per cent more available to your body and if you add black pepper to turmeric it boosts it further. A little knowledge goes a long way.
Do you have any advice for someone seeking a naturalist path?
Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food. Remember, you feed yourself through your skin and eyes too. Sunlight is a healer and provides us with more than just light to see, so let it feed your eyes and skin. Beyond that, do your own research and listen to your body.
How has your Shaolin Kung Fu practice shaped your approach to wellness?
It challenges me to show up and move past my comfort and keep going. It helps me as much with the sharpness of my mind as it does with the health and fitness of my body.
Your heritage spans London and Montserrat. Do those cultural influences show up in your personal style?
Definitely… Khaki colours is a Caribbean influence I carry to this day and sometimes I still rock a pin roll in my pants. When it comes to what I adorn myself with, it’s a lot of natural materials on me, from cowry shells to gemstones, silver, copper.
As someone who is both a scientist and an artist, do you find that logic and creativity ever clash when you’re making music, or do they support each other?
They complement each other 100 per cent. You know it when an artist expresses feelings or emotions that you had but you couldn’t quite put your finger on it, or know how to let someone else know, that’s logic and emotional intelligence at its finest. All the artists that I love aren’t lost in some illogical world but grounded in reality. So, the more I know logically, is the more ingredients I have to cook with. Or vice versa in science, many of the best scientists were deeply inspired by dreams and visions. For example, Carter G Woodson, Einstein and Tesla. Even Karry Mullis the Noble laureate and inventor of the PCR test was known to be a wildcard, but quite brilliant.
You released solo music as Jahson The Scientist in 2025. How does your creative process differ when you’re making music alone compared to working with bands like Scattah Brain or Sketches on Duality?
When I am creating solo there’s only myself to answer to. When working with others, it’s more give and take. It’s not better or worse. When alone I’m simply the executive, where final decisions on arrangement or vocal processing are mine. Also, the process of building is a little different, when working in bands we can work on ideas together and influence each other in the rehearsal room. When I create solo, I’m doing something similar but with producers and I make the arrangements from intro to outro.
What do you hope people feel – emotionally or physically – when they listen to your music or experience your spoken word live?
I hope for them to be moved in some way. I want my music to touch some aspect of their humanness or their journey, the struggle and the overcoming. I want them to acknowledge clouds but know they all have the same silver lining.
