considers his downtown Los Angeles home office his primary space. While he filled it with practical necessities such as a whiteboard and 1960s-style desk to force him to work, he also decked it out with a number of design touches, such as a gallery wall filled with mirrors and photos of icons including James Baldwin, Janelle Monae and Langston Hughes, to spark creativity.1920s Harlem is a source of inspiration for Jones, who keeps a manual typewriter behind his desk to evoke an earlier era.
”Also behind his desk: a portable karaoke machine Jones often brings into his writers’ room to add some fun to what could otherwise be the “lonely endeavor” of writing. His go-to songs of the moment include SWV’s “Weak” and Carl Thomas’ “I Wish.” Jones says he always writes specific songs into scenes, even if they don’t make it into the final cut — and he admits they usually don’t, due to budget. “Music is essential to me,” he says.Jones is from Memphis, Tenn.