Hayze... Errr. Prayze Effect Music?

Welcome fans, friends, and family to my blog. I am Jason Webber, the producer and musician formerly known as "Hayze Effect".  For those that have known me for a while and know my music know that I've recently changed my musical focus. Although not a very easy decision, it was one that has proved to be very rewarding so far.

"No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." -- Philippians 3:13-14
     I started off with that scripture because I can clearly say that I am a work in progress. I remember being at the tender age of 16 when I realized I wanted to produce music. Music was always something I was good at. I never fully understood it, but I knew it enough to generate something that was pleasing to the ear. In the Hip-Hop world at the turn of the century, the producers were the real stars of the music industry. I wanted to be a part of that. I studied the sounds of Timbaland, The Neptunes, Swizz Beats, and many others and became very good in my own right. I figured that I would become truly happy if I became rich and famous like those guys.
     I spent several years toiling away at my computer with nothing but a computer keyboard, a mouse, and a copy of FL Studio. I was able to compose tracks that would even be considered industry quality to some, but the recognition that I so desperately craved wasn't there. One day it came however, and I went into it head on. I took to doing things that I grew up knowing wasn't right. I adopted a habit of drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana in order to cope with my insecurities and soon I found that I was also depending on these very things to make music. I became Hayze Effect, which was a play on words. Hayze was a nickname given to me by a very close friend, because I used to wear hazel colored contacts, but the name implied much more which is why it stuck.

Man! Was I hungry back then!

   In the spring of 2008 I got hooked up with a local Hip-Hop group that were doing really big things and I knew I just had to be a part of it. I appreciated the acceptance and the appreciation of my talents and I vowed to become the greatest producer the world has ever seen. Those are times that I'll never forget. Those were times where I can say that I truly lived out some of my dreams of working in a studio with some very talented artists, traveling to different cities to promote our music, and getting to hear my songs on the radio just to name a few. It was all on a very small scale, but I got to peek into the life I always thought I wanted to live. Little did I know what was going to happen next.
     The other part of this story is that I grew up as a young church musician. With a few piano lessons under my belt, I began playing the piano at a church at the age of 12. My lifestyle and goals had led me away from the church in 2005, but in 2009 I had received a call from a church member stating that they had desperately needed a musician temporarily and I was the only one left that knew how to play their music. God started working on me during this time. My relationship with the lord grew stronger and what started out temporary became more long term. I began to realize that helping lead people into worship was a much more rewarding experience than anything I was doing. For the first time I felt that I found my true calling. The problem was that I still was living a lifestyle that keeping me in conflict with what God was seeming to ultimately do for me. One day the feeling of his calling was so strong that I had to answer. I realized that I had work to do and I would need to make a change in order to become more effective. I literally gave up the best opportunity I may have had at the time in order to reach the goals that I believe are most important now.
     Currently, I'm involved with the church I grew up in which is New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church located on Syracuse's south side. I'm the church musician there and play the piano with a rather unique musical set up. I also play keys for the Velocity praise and worship team. Velocity is a youth ministry for junior and senior high school students which is a part of a much larger church, Abundant Life Christian Center in East Syracuse. I thank God for the privilege to use my gifts to minister to such a different assortment of believers. I wouldn't trade this time in for anything in the world. As far as music production goes, I'm now working on creating a new and different sound for christian music. so I'm looking ahead for what God it going to bring me next. Hayze Effect is now Prayze Effect because I praise God for allowing me the space to be human while trying to figure out what it is he wants me to do. I'm not a perfect saint by any means and I make many mistakes, but I continue to press on towards the goal. It's that heavenly prize that I'm after and I'm gonna make sure that I will continue to run this race.

Posted in: The Mind of Prayze