THE DIGITAL REPOSITORY FOR THE BLACK EXPERIENCE
"In A Minute."
Music and television producer Jun Mhoon was born on June 10, 1954, in Chicago, Illinois, to Justina Williamson Poole and Wilbur Leon Mhoon, Sr. He received his B.A. degree in arts, entertainment, and media management in 1984 from Columbia College Chicago.
In 1968, Mhoon began touring as a drummer with the Staple Singers. Over the next ten years, Mhoon toured and performed with many artists, including Thad Jones, Jessy Dixon, the Bee Gees, the Doors, Paul Simon, and the Count Basie Orchestra. Mhoon was a staff drummer at Brunswick Records and Chess Records in the early 1970s, playing on tracks by The Chi-Lites, Gene Chandler, Jackie Wilson, Jackie Ross and many others.
In the 1970s, Mhoon took a job as a warehouse clerk at Warner Bros. Records, where he soon became director of Midwest Local Marketing. In 1978, Mhoon joined RCA Records as their Midwest regional director, a position he held until 1986, and enrolled at Columbia College in Chicago. While a student at Columbia College, Mhoon founded AEMMP Records, Columbia College’s student-run record label. After receiving his bachelor’s degree, Mhoon became vice president of A&M Records, in Los Angeles, California.
In 1987, Mhoon founded I AM Records (later I AM Music and I AM Music Online), which specialized in hip hop, jazz, gospel, and inspirational music, as well as spoken word albums. In 1999, he founded I AM Digital Media, where he has been a direct digital content supplier for iTunes, Amazon.com, Spotify, Pandora, Facebook, and others. Mhoon also has served as Chief Digital Aggregator/Consultant for Johnson Publishing Company and JPC Digital and vice president of TV production at Burrell Communications.
As a TV producer, Mhoon co-created the The Stellar Awards with Milton Brunson and Don Jackson. He also co-produced Steppin’ at Club 7 with Anna Morris and has produced several other TV shows. In 2014, Mhoon began contributing a weekly segment, “Your Digital Media Evangelist,” on WVON radio’s The Urban Business Network. Mhoon has been a resident lecturer at Chicago State University, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, Tribeca Flashpoint Academy, North Park University, and the Chicago Urban League. He also served as an adjunct professor at Chicago’s Harold Washington College and for over ten years at Columbia College Chicago.
Jun Mhoon was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on July 19, 2004.