Son of James: is a London based Hip Hop artist and producer with a penchant for Urban Rhythms and Vintage Studio Sounds.

He is, he says with some pride, “A West Country Cockney,” born in Hackney, his early years were spent either, immersed in the Hue & Cry of the city’s East End; which was his Fathers’ world, or “running around the arse end of nowhere,” which is how he remembers the time spent living with his Mother in Sharpness, a small port town on the banks of the River Severn. His parents’ separation had left his mother broken; a fact not lost on her son, and this was where they landed when the dust had settled. Among his earliest and fondest memories are days spent writing poetry, so young that he doesn’t remember how old he actually was, while his mother busied herself around the house and working any jobs she could to get by, she was always singing, a little sadly perhaps but all the same her angelic voice stays with him to this day. Looking back he sees this as a magical time, a time that undoubtedly sparked his love of wordplay and music.

Perhaps predictably, a troubled adolescence lay in store for the young man. Forays into music production were short lived, and overshadowed by other less acceptable interests, and eventually after having had one brush too many with the local plod, who now had him unfairly but firmly in their sights, and also falling foul of some of the towns criminal element, the time came to leave Nowheresville, in a hurry!

Back in London and reunited with his sister, ‘Egg,’ who once again took on the mothering role, providing stability,support and guidance, he embarked on a new phase in life, one that would lead him into adulthood. It was around this period in 2010 that he really began to cut his musical teeth, the UK Hip Hop scene was exploding and he was listening to and trying to emulate artists and producers such as ( Roastbeatz, Leaf Dog, Pete Cannon, Ghosttown, Dj Premier, J Dilla, Pete Rock, The Alchemist, ) in early sonic experiments on a broken down laptop, using a cracked version of Ableton. Initially he limited his releases to instrumental tracks, anxiety and childhood trauma silenced his voice, kept him quiet

His music is still very much rooted in the homegrown Hip Hop Drum’n Bass tradition, using sampled rhythms and manufactured sound drawn from a panoply of cultural sources to create new and unique textures, an urban groove, it’s like pulling on the threads or getting lost in the folds of the great tapestry that is life in the Capital.

Today, Son of James is no longer silent, there’s just too much that needs to be said, there’s too much inequality and division, so much that needs calling out. His lyrics are often deeply personal and heartfelt, provocative and uncompromising, yet incisive. Pithy social commentary combines with a sharp satirical wit and a love of people, but a marked distrust of the systems by which we’re forced to live. Son of James is a uniquely English voice, drawing back the curtain just a fraction, so as to throw a little light on the madness of our time.