Originally, Paul Dateh was only supposed to be a violinist. Beginning his violin studies at the age of four, it seemed that Dateh’s future in the classical industry was set in stone. But, on his first day at The University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, Dateh suddenly dropped his major in Violin Performance and enrolled in the Jazz Studies program instead.

The move shocked his colleagues as it was hard to understand why anyone would walk away from fourteen years of classical training to begin learning an entirely new musical discipline. But, Dateh knew that he wanted to be more than just a classical musician; his goal was to become a musician, in every possible way.

Today, as a singer, an award-winning songwriter, and an instrumentalist, it would appear that Dateh is on track to achieving his goal. His work can be heard on releases by various artists within both mainstream and underground hip hop circles, and he can currently be seen performing throughout the United States with his band “The Live Movement”.