Josiah Bell

Like many artists and songwriters, 21-year-old Josiah Bell grew up surrounded by music. But while others took those experiences and grew slowly into their craft, Josiah leapt into it. "I would come home from school and sit down at the piano and start writing," he recalls. "Other kids were hanging out or playing video games; I was trying to come up with a new beat." His recording career started at the age of 16, when he wrote and produced 6 songs for Gospel legend Vickie Winans. Following several other projects with new artists, Josiah then hooked up with gospel act Smokie Norful to produce and co-write his Grammy-winning Nothing Without You album and hit single "Can't Nobody." At around this time Josiah traveled to Nashville, where he met Robert Marvin and formed a writing/producing partnership and established the Double Dutch production company. All these different musical experiences have helped shape Josiah as an artist. "I've recorded an album that reflects all my influences, from the Winans to the Beatles, from Stevie Wonder to Bob Dylan," he states. "I'm not limiting myself to one genre; I just want to write music that's popular, feels good and has a message." Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.