There’s always that lingering question of how to turn a deeply rooted passion for music into an enduring career, of how to go from a small-town upbringing in Staunton, VA to scoring big with over 100 millions of streams on Spotify, remixing music industry icons such as Demi Lovato and Maggie Rogers, and writing music that connects the emotional dots and strikes a chord in whoever listens.

The journey of Mokita (real name John-Luke Carter) perfectly portrays how one can grow, evolve and shine based on nothing more than a musical soul, a considerable amount of raw talent and the ability to reflect upon one’s self.

A classically trained pianist since the age of six and a self-taught guitarist and songwriter by the age of 13, John-Luke knows like no other how to overcome the struggles that come with pursuing a career in music. Always obsessed with melody and ambience, he sang in church, indulged in a singer-songwriter project all throughout college, fell in love with songwriters such as James Taylor, John Mayer, Jackson Browne, Gavin DeGraw, Damien Rice and David Gray, took up production as a way of giving life to his ideas and even moved to Nashville to pursue his dreams. However, trailing trends didn’t resonate with him the way he thought it would. It was unfulfilling and uninspiring.