JT Groove   

JT Groove aka JT Thompson CEO of Groove Enterprise was born and raised in the DC/Maryland Metropolitan area, where his gift for music showed itself early on. JT had some musical training in junior and high school, but he was mostly self-taught (he plays more than 10 different instruments). After finishing high school, he attended Tesst College, where he graduated in the top five percent of his class. JT worked for a year at electronic repair, but he soon found that his true passion was to be an entrepreneur and musician.

Knowing what he really wanted led to JT’s decision, in 1989, to transform the part-time business he had been running out of his parents’ basement since high school into a full-fledged recording studio. This was no small task, but it was well worth it. Since then, JT has performed worldwide, touring in Africa, Germany, Finland and London (to name just a few).

JT’s production and performance credits include work with many award-winning and platinum-selling artists, such as Mya, Force MD’s, 2 Live Crew, X-Clan, Will Downing, Levert, Trouble Funk, Sugar Bear & E.U., Chuck Brown, Prince DaJour, Ali Woodson, The Temptations, The Delfonics, Byrd Presley, The Platters, DeBarge, and more.

In September 2004, JT made his acting debut in the film Divided City, starring Big G of the hit HBO series “The Wire.”

Earlier, in 2000, JT debuted a gospel recording complex he called DLDD.com (Dance Like David Dance). Sadly, a tragic accident occurred, and JT had to delay opening the recording facility side of the complex. To help raise funds for the complex, JT started an elementary school summer camp under DLDD. As it happened, the summer camp was such a success that the students’ parents ask JT to launch an after-school program during the school year.

Not one to disappoint, JT bought a secondhand 15-passenger van and a minivan, hired a staff, and set out to create what soon became one of the most popular (and affordable) after-school programs in the Forestville Maryland area. DLDD students hail from every elementary school in the District Heights and Forestville area.

In the mid-‘90s, he began a training program for high school students called The Y.E.A.R. (Youth Entertainment and Records) Network, in Landover, Maryland. This visionary program gave students the chance to learn advanced audio engineering and music technology. The opportunity to learn and record in a professional recording studio is a major draw for high school students, and JT is able to reach and communicate with even the most at-risk kids through the universal language of music. The Y.E.A.R. Program’s only requirement for admission is that students agree to also take a Life Skills class intended to help students with job prep, résumé writing, proper attire for job interviews, and hygiene. Additionally, the program also introduced students to professionals, who lectured on the best ways to break into their respective careers. The Y.E.A.R. Program now known as the Music Technology Tour is consistently contracted by youth centers throughout the metropolitan area.