Jackson R. Turner

Jackson R. Turner died on July 19, 2020, in Tulum, Mexico, at the age of 37. He was, either by turns or concurrently, a hip-hop artist, an academic, a music technology entrepreneur, and a producer. He was always a seeker of truth. He lived a truly fascinating life, leaving behind hundreds of friends and admirers all over the world.

He is perhaps best know for his music. It has been described as conscious and uplifting, combining elements of hip hop, reggae, and soul music, while still staying true to the rawness and lyricism that birthed hip hop. He rapped about love and loss, about politics and oppression, and about human universality. His compositions and recordings appeared on several Billboard and other hip-hop charts, reaching as high as #4 in the US and #2 in Canada. His videos appeared on MTV, BET, Music Choice, and other platforms. He toured internationally in Asia, Europe, and Africa. 

Jackson was born May 13, 1983, in New York City. He lived for the first few years of his life in Brooklyn before the family relocated to the nearby New York suburbs. Even as a child, his zeal for adventure and physical extremes was apparent: He’d scale 50-foot trees and dangle from windows, confident in his abilities. In his middle school years he was recognized for his talent in the visual arts and he took up martial arts and skateboarding. He attended high school in Nyack, NY, finishing his high school degree requirements and his first year of college simultaneously at Rockland Community College. He then transferred to the University at Buffalo. In college he began studying Mandarin, which led to a semester studying in China. He had a facility with the language and fell in love with the Chinese people, and, after briefly returning to Buffalo, arranged for the university to allow him to finish his degree requirements in Beijing. 

Jackson returned to China, he said, to escape trouble at home in the United States. As a teenager, he’d been angered by American disparities in wealth and discrimination against people of color. He was uneasy with conventional middle-class values, became rebellious and started getting into trouble. In China, he began to value and practice a healthful lifestyle, leading eventually to his practicing yoga, meditation, and vegetarianism, eschewing vices, and embracing a relentless pursuit of personal growth that would serve him well for the rest of his life in nurturing his varied talents.

After receiving his BA in 2006, he set a goal of graduate study at Peking University (“Beida”), China’s elite university. But to have any chance of admission, he knew he had to perfect his Chinese language skills. He spent a year studying at Capital Normal University, and then another year on his own in China, exploring the country and practicing his Mandarin. In 2007, he was admitted to a multi-year master’s program in History at Peking University. He received his MA degree in modern Chinese history in 2010. 

Jackson decided against further graduate study, but did accept a job as Professor at Beijing University of Astronautics and Aeronautics "Beihang," one of China’s top engineering schools. At Beihang, where he spent almost four years, he taught a variety of English language courses, English literature, history, and Anglo-American culture.

But just as he had felt the need to avoid his conflicts with American life and values by planting himself in China, Jackson became re-engaged with aspects of American culture through music. He played the guitar, listened to Blues, and had always loved hip hop, rhyming and performing from the age of 15. He found a small but fast-growing hip hop scene in Beijing, and began writing and performing his own music in his spare time. He co-founded No Play Concepts, a studio and music and entertainment company, and he got to know and work with various Chinese and international performing artists.

As his music became more and more important to him, he left his teaching position in 2014 to work as an English language assessment consultant at The British Council, a job that allowed for extensive travel within China and afforded him more time for music. He continued to help manage No Play and partnered with Chinese music-technology startup Soundchains. He was musically extremely productive during this period, signing with TMG, China’s largest recording label, and releasing his first of two albums, “The Foundation EP,” in 2015. He even began recording songs in Mandarin, and those recordings took off on various Chinese platforms.

While in China, Jackson took time off to travel extensively as a tourist and sometimes as a performer to Tibet, South Korea, Vietnam, India, Japan, Mexico, Germany, France, South Africa, and elsewhere. But his American roots called to him. He returned to New York in 2018, where he continued composing and recording, including collaborations with Grammy award-winning artist Luney Tunez, and reggae artists Fantan Mojah and Bugle. 

Back in the United States, he began working for TuneCore, a Brooklyn-based digital music service, focusing on business development in various emerging markets. At TuneCore Jackson discovered business skills he did not know he possessed and could see a promising future career on the business and artist-management side of the music industry. In the summer of 2020 he set off for Tulum, to work remotely, having decided he could telecommute during the pandemic just as easily from a bungalow on the beach as from a Brooklyn apartment.

None of this touches on Jackson the person. He was a gentle soul who channelled his idealism and became deeply spiritual. He approached others with openness, humility, and kindness. He could be at turns deeply earnest, or turn on a playful wit to either amuse—or set someone straight. He was loyal to his friends, generous with his time and well-considered advice, and always ready to help others. He dreamed big and pursued his ambitious goals with discipline and passion. He used his many talents to make the world a better place.

Upon the news of his death, his family received scores of tributes from Jackson’s friends and colleagues in Asia, in Europe, in Africa, and North America that detailed how they loved and admired him and his music, how he had helped them, and how much they would miss him. He was a truly remarkable man.

Jackson is survived by his mother Laurie Peek, his father Charles Turner, his step-mother Alexandria Lee, his grandmother Elaine Turner, his stepfather Shire Chafkin, his brothers Max Chafkin and Casey Chafkin, his uncles Randy Peek and Hunt Wagstaff, his Aunt Gita Peek and cousin Richard Peek IV. In lieu of flowers please donate to food bank People To People Rockland (link below).

Photos, videos and music of Jackson's can be found on:

https://chillloverradio.net/jackson-turner

https://www.youtube.com/user/EmceeHeretic/videos

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5djYL4AT5UnjnfLvMW3Npq

https://www.instagram.com/jackson_turner_official/

https://www.instagram.com/jackson_turner_media/

vze26m98.net/jrtmem/DiezDiazenChiapas2006.pdf ("Ten Days in Chiapas" article by Jackson, 2006)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jpr6/sets/72157694322815060/ (downloadable photos by Jason Paisley.)

Please let us know if you have more material we can add to this list or email: Laurie Peek, Jackson's mom at lapeek@gmail.com

**We have completed our three Zoom memorials for Jackson. If you would like to view any of them, please email Jackson's mom Laurie: lapeek@gmail.com**