Born in Trinidad, transplanted to Brooklyn and now thriving in Los Angeles, John Lashley AKA Juakali has a background as diverse as his creative talents are wide. An architect and Ragga vocalist, John is a true renaissance man who responds to the questions of life through creative expression and seeks to infuse his world with an original artistic grace, from designing production studios to hosting underground electronic music shows.
Diving into architectural design at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, John also pursued his drafting studies in Italy as a Rome scholar and earned an appreciation for classic lines and ancient forms with his studies. A long-time lover of musical performance, John discovered a new passion and natural talent for the spoken word after mesmerizing an open-mic crowd with a poignant account of experiencing snow for the first time. In 2005 after working with Koeningsberg Engineering, Vema Contracting and Dupoux Design Inc. over a number of years, John began pursuing a music career full-time while freelancing in architectural design, and in 2008 he moved to LA to chase his dreams even further.
Solid experience in the music industry gives John an edge as the project architect with Delta H Design, a firm that fuses design and technology to create custom production spaces for the entertainment world and residences for the discerning client. An architect, an MC, an artist; creative expression is not a hobby but rather a lifestyle for John, whose optimism and conscious outlook is evident in each design drafted and every rhyme dropped. As he continues to document his world through music and architecture, John brings a fresh and unique perspective to every endeavor he encounters.