The Jack Knight Songwriting Academy

Jack Knight is the innovative songwriter behind some of music's favorite hit songs. He is the cerebrum of Sean "Diddy" Combs brainchild; Bad Boy Entertainment. Knight provides the story lines, thoughts, concepts and melodies behind those memorable records that are a draft of different chapters of our lives. Whether beautiful, poignant, painful or just fun, Knight's portfolio of songs is a collage of human emotions wrapped up in unforgettable verses and choruses. His messages have been delivered through the voices of Diddy, Keyshia Cole, Christina Aguilera, The Notorious B.I.G, Jennifer Lopez, Ashanti, Faith Evans, Carl Thomas and many more.

Although he is an established hit-maker, Jack Knight has gone beyond the umbrella of mere songwriting. Knight has been dedicating his time and soul to being a mentor, teacher and friend to many of us songwriters and producers. Knight's book, The Art of Writing a Hit is a blueprint and pre-requisite on how to successfully navigate through the music industry while expanding your discography and scoring hits. Knight developed a seven step formula of creating a hit song which has been instrumental in the developement of many of music's talented writers. He has traveled around the world witnessing the diversity of various cultures and traditions. Knight has been exposed to the different dynamics of many countries and is inspired by the great magnitude and effects of music as an agent of change. Through this great exposure, Knight was inspired to create methods of healing through music. Music as an art therapy has become a priority to the multi-talented songwriter and teacher.

"Having the opportunity to work with Puff {Sean "Diddy" Comb} has allowed me to travel to places I never imagined before and I've been able to see just how powerful music is. I now see that as creative people we can use our talents and experiences to really bring healing to others as well as ourselves," he shares. "If you think about it every moment in history has had a song attached to it. Whether it was Vietnam, slavery, the Civil Rights Movement or any moment in time-each period is remembered through music and that's how memorable and effective a song we write can be."

Along with his must have book, Knight has now expanded his teaching platform by creating The Jack Knight Songwriting Academy. The Academy is a virtual classroom that brings together producers, songwriters, and artists to connect and collaborate with each other. As a young artist from Brooklyn, New York; collaboration and togetherness has been the center of Knight's vision since he was first signed by Def Jam founder, Russell Simmons. Initially discovered by Simmons' brother, Reverend Run; Knight is inspired by the forward thinking and progressive actions of Run, Simmons and Diddy. Knight says he's been able to take their positivity, lessons learned and drive and incorporate that in his own goals for the Academy.

"The Academy has been phenomenal," he begins "and what it is is just a reflection and template of what goes on at our studio, {Bad Boy's} Daddy's House. I just took what I learned from Puff on an everyday basis and created a learning and development method to enhance the talents of other songwriters and producers. I used technology to create an avenue for artists to connect with each other no matter what part of the world they are in. I wanted to create a balance for people to network, share and create with one another as well as provide them with another door to get placements. I use traditional components of educational tools and combine that with artistic and fun exercises."

On his blog, Knight explained the research behind the Academy and his goal of also catering it to the youth while providing them with the social and academic tools and assets that are neccesary to be succesful in business and life in general. "When designing this site it was important to understand how youth develop and identify those skills that will contribute to their healthy development. Also continued exposure to positive experiences, settings, and people, as well as opportunities to gain and refine life skills, supports young people in the growth and the acquisition of these assets."

In the last few weeks, Knight has been traveling extensively while working on Diddy's new album, "Last Train to Paris," as well as his own project. In between his very busy schedule we still found time to discuss writing, learning, love and the Universe. Knight also talked about spirituality, progressive thinking and self-acceptance as it relates to the importance of respecting other people's artistry by being original as opposed to simply copying us. We discussed the power of words, losing Biggie and how art imitates life and vice versa depending on what we express in our mediums. Most importantly, Knight spoke about the great era most of us are now moving into as a collective group of positive thinkers. Above all he simply shared his goals and excitement of the Jack Knight Songwriting Academy and the future of Bad Boy Entertainment. Part 1 of 2