Johnny Deas Edutainer Biography

At age 12 Johnny wrote his first hip-hop song. The inspiration came after his house had been robbed yet again by one of his siblings. As Johnny watched his mother weeping, he felt he needed an outlet to express himself, so he did so with his pen. He knew his mother’s tears were not from the missing items, but rather from the heartache associated with having children addicted to drugs. While Johnny was able to avoid the pitfalls of the inner-city; he saw his older siblings fall victim to the crack epidemic that has plagued underserved communities for decades.

But what started out as a way for a young man to cope with his feelings, evolved into a passion that he worked diligently to polish. By age 16, Johnny had won or placed in every local talent contest he entered. One of those contests was hosted by a local radio station that provided the winner with a free studio recording and a guarantee to play the recording on the radio. Johnny used that opportunity to record Florida Boy. The song became a local hit and was the most requested song on the radio for 3 weeks. With a heavily rotated song, Johnny’s mother attempted to make the most of her son’s growing popularity and with very few resources, and even less experience, she launched Fresh Talent Records Inc.

Under Fresh Talent, Johnny performed at local schools and at various community events. His high school group, Johnny Deas and the Crew performed together for about 3 years. During that time, Fresh Talent made several attempts to take the act to the next level, but without industry contacts or sufficient capital to launch an independent effort, the fledgling company would not survive. As a young man, Johnny believed that a career in the entertainment industry was unlikely so he decided to join the Marine Corps after graduating high school.

After joining the Marines, Johnny’s priorities shifted dramatically from entertainment to education. Being an enlisted recruit in the highly controlled environment of basic training quickly taught him that an education was essential. Johnny knew that if he wanted to gain power over his own destiny, an education would be a crucial component. After he completed basic training, he focused intensely on getting the best education that he could. Upon reaching his first permanent duty station, Johnny began attending college in the evenings. He would go on to receive a BBA cum laude while still on active duty. After getting his degree, he served an additional tour as an Officer of Marines before leaving military service to get his MBA.

His passion for writing hip-hop music would be revived just before completing graduate school. The motivation came after he attended what he considered to be a very boring series of personal finance classes. During the classes, Johnny had an epiphany to use music to teach personal finance. Johnny knew the message of financial literacy was too important to be missed for lack of an engaging presentation. So after receiving his MBA, Johnny spent an additional 18 months completing the Certified Financial Planner® education requirement from Florida State University. 

But Johnny had no desire to become a financial planner.  Instead, he used much of the information he learned to pen several songs that covered every major area of personal finance planning.  Knowing that music wouldn’t be enough to fully educate the masses, he wrote a book/workbook complete with over 190 learning objectives and 17 quizzes.  He named the entire collection Financial Literacy Music™.  The collection is part financial planning, part MBA, part motivation and part inspiration.  Financial Literacy Music™ is presented by GREAT iDEAS EDUTAINMENT LLC™ an edutainment company founded by Johnny Deas in response to demand for his services.

Johnny’s clever edutainment delivery, has received high marks from a wide-ranging body of students encompassing multiple demographics. Additionally, most non-student adults prefer his unique teaching style over traditional instruction. Perhaps the broad appeal is because everyone enjoys being entertained. Johnny makes learning about personal finances hip, entertaining and fun.  He has established GREAT iDEAS EDUTAINMENT LLC™ as the world’s leader in Knowledge Through Music.