Masso (Jose III) is born in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The son of a Puerto Rican military officer, Jose Masso grows up in Japan and Puerto Rico, graduates from Antioch College, and moves to Boston to take a job as a bilingual teacher at Copley Square High School. He begins hosting a popular Latin music radio show in 1975,* moves to Hyde Park, and serves as a cultural liaison at city and state level, then as director of policy for the Massport Authority.