ETIQUETTE
(R & B Professional Artist)
Jon Bradford Massey IV was born on April 14th 1989 in Seattle, Washington. Jon goes by the stage name Etiquette and he was raised by his mother during his early years, and they had very little money. Jon’s mother struggled to make sure her son was well taken care of. Even during those times when it was a challenge to pay the rent, little Jon was always well dressed and never went hungry. Jon was fortunate and was able to attend private Christian Schools on scholarship. He truly had no clue of the sacrifices his mother was making to support her young son.
Jon discovered his talent for singing at the early age of six and was selected to sing a solo in the schools spring and Christmas programs on several occasions. Jon was somewhat shy as a child, but onstage with a mic, he was transformed. Everyone who watched knew that he absolutely loved singing.
During Jon’s junior high school years, with his father back in his life, he was more focused on sports. Basketball took center stage – but it in no way replaced the love Jon had for singing. Basketball was just something fun to do. During his free time he found himself still singing in the school hallways or getting in trouble in class for harmonizing in the back of the room with the other kids. At the age of 17, he became very interested in writing poems and stories. Jon’s mom thought he should be a reporter with such strong writing skills, but he had other ideas and it was not journalism. Later Jon would discover that this talent would help him to become an exceptional songwriter. He would easily sit for hours on end writing lyrics. When Jon entered his senior year in high school he was already taking classes at a community college where he began to perfect his song writing skills.
At the age of 18 Jon signed his first recording deal with an independent label in Seattle and gave himself the stage name “Etiquette”. He had high hopes of making music his life, and opened for major groups such as 112, Jagged Edge and even Marquis Houston. Unfortunately after two years Etiquette did not see much progress with the path he was taking.
With no album released and no publicity, Etiquette was discouraged and decided to break from his record label and take a new direction. In 2010, Etiquette was introduced to Actor and Hip-Hop artist ‘Fatal Mack’ while visiting in Los Angeles. After hearing Etiquette sing, he insisted that they record a single which resulted in the creation of a music video. In December of 2010, Fatal and Etiquette released the song “It’s Not Right” along with the music video. The song made it into the hands of the Grammy committee, but no further.
At the age of 22 Etiquette was introduced to an artist/producer named “Outtasite”, who worked under Sir Mixalot. They hit it off immediately creating single after single. Etiquette was given the opportunity to appear in a music video with Sir Mixalot – titled “Be Careful What You Wish For”. Still Etiquette did not have the exposure he needed. Etiquette tried out for television shows like American Idol, and America’s Got Talent, but was not selected. The Producer on American Idol had him sing for him 5 times and then brought another producer in to hear him because he thought he should go through – unfortunately Etiquette was not selected. Etiquette was told to try out again next year. That was exactly what he intended to do until a near fatal accident on a Sunday morning July 17th 2011. Etiquette was riding his motorcycle and hit by a 26 ft U-Haul truck. With his pelvis in pieces, two collapsed lungs, broken ribs, punctured internal organs and the loss of almost all his blood, Etiquette was expected to die on the scene. Etiquette was in intensive care for almost two weeks and underwent over 15 major surgeries to put him back together and even more major praying. Jon was in the hospital for 38 days and went home to a hospital bed in his parent’s front room until after Christmas. During Etiquette’s stay in the hospital he would sometimes play his music for the nurses that were caring for him. They were thoroughly entertained and he quickly became the hospital celebrity.
While struggling through painful rehabilitation, Etiquette continued to book his studio sessions, recording his latest three singles in a wheel chair. Now at age 23 – 1 year after the accident, Etiquette is back on stage rocking nightclubs with a local DJ – DJ Philero. Etiquette’s music is now available on I-Tunes, featured on the album entitled –“Planet 206” with DJ Funk daddy. Etiquette possesses the talent, strength, and desire to become a recognized player in the music game today. He is one of those talents, you will not soon forget.
When asked about his life changing accident – Etiquette’s reply is “God wasn’t trying to kill me – he wanted to make me stronger”. Clearly there is a greater plan for this young man.
