Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Pridgen.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
# My Story
I’ve always been a creative person, but I didn’t always see myself that way.
As a kid growing up in Philadelphia, I was extremely shy. I struggled with confidence and self-esteem, and honestly, some of those struggles are things I still wrestle with today. I was never particularly good at the things that seemed to make other kids stand out. I wasn’t great at sports, I wasn’t the most outgoing or naturally likable person, and I often felt like I didn’t quite fit in.
But I could create.
As a little kid, I started drawing my favorite cartoons. I loved being able to take something that existed in my imagination and put it on paper. Eventually, I discovered poetry almost by accident.
In elementary school, I was given an assignment to create a book of poetry. I took it seriously, but I had no idea at the time that the assignment would become such an important moment in my life. My grandmother read what I wrote, and she was blown away. She was so proud of me.
My grandmother was my world, so having her look at something I created and genuinely believe I was good at it meant everything to me.
That was the day I fell in love with poetry.
Not long after that, I discovered hip-hop.
My mother didn’t allow me to listen to rap music, but one day I discovered my father’s old stereo system. I found Power 99 FM, a local Philadelphia radio station, and started listening to it at night. I would literally fall asleep listening to hip-hop.
I was fascinated by everything about it.
I loved the confidence of the artists. I loved the stories they told. I loved the wordplay and the way they could take words and arrange them in ways I had never considered. There was something incredibly powerful about hearing someone express themselves so boldly.
And I wanted that.
As a kid, I often felt unseen. I felt weak. I didn’t feel like I had much that made me stand out.
Hip-hop gave me a voice.
Once I started rapping, people finally recognized me for something I was good at. Suddenly, I was interesting. I had something that people wanted to hear. It gave me a sense of confidence that I didn’t really have in other areas of my life.
Looking back, though, I realize that some of that confidence was built on an identity that wasn’t really mine.
I started adopting what I thought was the image of a rapper. I developed this “thug” persona and began writing about things I had never experienced. My early music imitated a lifestyle I didn’t actually know.
In a lot of ways, I was playing a character because I thought that character was cool.
But eventually, my entire perspective on music—and on myself—changed.
I found Christ.
That changed everything.
My relationship with Christ completely changed the way I looked at my creativity. The gift I had spent years using to find acceptance and validation began becoming something God could use to minister to me.
Music became personal.
It became a way for me to process my own life, my failures, my questions, my faith, my struggles, and my growth. I started realizing that maybe the gift wasn’t given to me simply so I could be heard. Maybe it was given to me so I could communicate something that could help someone else.
Eventually, I felt God planting the idea of making an album.
And honestly, it terrified me.
There is a huge difference between making music and putting your heart into an album and then releasing it for other people to hear. I had to confront a lot of fear and insecurity. I had to ask myself whether what I had to say was actually worth hearing.
But I decided to see it through.
That album became *A Disciple’s Journey*, a project that reflects my experience of trying to follow Christ while still navigating the reality of being human. It isn’t about pretending I have everything figured out. It’s about the journey—the highs, the lows, the failures, the growth, the questions, the grace, and everything in between.
Creating and releasing that album has been one of the biggest blessings of my life.
Not only because I accomplished something I was once terrified to do, but because I’ve had people tell me that the music encouraged them, challenged them, or helped them through something they were experiencing.
That means more to me than numbers ever could.
I think that’s also why I’ve never been particularly interested in the traditional “promotion game.”
I’ve had friends and colleagues encourage me to push harder, promote myself more, and continue putting myself out there. And I understand why. As an independent artist, I know there is a certain amount of work that comes with building an audience.
But I’m honestly pretty comfortable living a humble life.
I love making music when I’m inspired to make it. If something is on my heart, I’ll create it. I’ll put it out into the world, and then I trust God with the rest.
I’ve learned that I don’t have to force everything.
If God wants a song to reach someone, He can get it there.
That mindset has also carried into my work as a filmmaker and visual storyteller.
Film gives me another language for the things I’ve always been interested in exploring—people, emotion, identity, struggle, faith, beauty, and the stories that exist beneath the surface. Whether I’m writing, directing, editing, shooting, or creating music, I’m ultimately interested in the same thing: telling stories that mean something.
When I look back at my childhood, it’s interesting to realize that the things I once saw as weaknesses were actually connected to the person I was becoming.
Being quiet gave me space to observe.
Feeling unseen made me sensitive to the experiences of other people.
Struggling with confidence made me understand what it feels like to search for an identity.
And creativity gave me a way to process all of it.
I spent years trying to become someone I thought people would respect. Hip-hop initially gave me a version of that person. But Christ eventually taught me that I didn’t have to manufacture an identity to have value.
I could simply become who God created me to be.
I’m still figuring out what that looks like.
I’m still growing. I’m still wrestling with confidence. I’m still learning. I’m still creating.
But now I don’t feel the same pressure to prove that I belong.
I’m grateful for the shy kid I used to be. I’m grateful for the poetry assignment that introduced me to writing. I’m grateful for my grandmother believing in me before I really knew how to believe in myself. I’m grateful for my father’s old stereo and those late nights listening to Power 99. I’m grateful for hip-hop giving me a voice.
And I’m especially grateful that God took all of those pieces—the poetry, the music, the insecurity, the creativity, the mistakes, the experiences—and showed me that none of it had to be wasted.
I don’t know exactly where the music or filmmaking will take me next.
And I’m okay with that.
I’ll keep creating when I’m inspired.
I’ll keep telling stories.
I’ll keep making music.
And I’ll keep trusting God to take it wherever it needs to go.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Nothing is ever smooth. I struggle with insecurities, perfectionism, lack of resources and most of all, putting myself out there.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a professional videographer / editor (specializing in editing) for the City of Raleigh, a budding cinematographer and a music artist. Honestly, I don’t think Ii’m most proud of anything. I just love to create. Sometimes I am inspired to write music, and other times work on films. I am just grateful that the Lord saw fit to grant me the ability to create.
What sets me apart from others is that I do not create solely for myself. I create first to honor the Lord and second to give a voice to the voiceless. I want others to be seen and heard as I longed to be seen and heard my entire life
Pricing:
- Short film editing: starting at $1,500 / Up to 15 minutes finished runtime Footage organization & project setup Story/assembly edit Narrative pacing Sound design Music integration Basic color correction Basic titles 2 rounds of revisions Final master export
- Corporate Testimonial: starting at $900 / Includes: 1 interview Up to 60 minutes of source footage B-roll integration Professional dialogue cleanup Music Color correction Lower thirds Logo/end card 2 revision rounds Final 4K master Add-ons Additional interview: +$250 Additional hour of footage: +$100 Additional revision round: +$150 Social media cutdown: +$150 each Captions: +$75 Motion graphics: starting at +$200
- Business Promotion: starting at $1,500 / Include: Story structure B-roll editing Music selection Sound design Color grading Basic motion graphics Logo animation/end card Titles 2 rounds of revisions 16:9 master Social media version Then offer: Business Promo + Social Package — $2,000 Everything above +: 3 vertical social cutdowns 1 square version Captioned versions 1 teaser/trailer
- Abstract / Artistic Content: starting at $1,000 / Starting price for a 30–90 second piece. Includes: Creative edit Music synchronization Sound design Advanced pacing Color grade Visual effects Transitions Typography 2 revisions More involved pieces: $1,500–$3,000+
- EDITING & VISUAL STORYTELLING SHORT FILMS Starting at $2,500 CORPORATE TESTIMONIALS Starting at $900 BUSINESS PROMOTIONAL FILMS Starting at $1,500 VISUAL / ABSTRACT CONTENT Starting at $1,000 SOCIAL MEDIA CUTDOWNS Starting at $150 CUSTOM PROJECTS Let’s talk. Every project is different. Final pricing is based on footage volume, finished runtime, creative complexity, graphics, revisions and turnaround.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: brimezvisionfilms; brimezmusic
- Youtube: brimezvisionfilms
- Other: https://brimezmusic.hearnow.com/
