JustJames

Born in New York City, JustJames was into writing ever since he could remember. Whether he was taking characters from his favorite childhood cartoons or creating them from scratch, he would write his own stories. He fell in love with Rap music when he first heard the song "Changes" by Tupac Shakur, and from there he began to study. Though he was never much the model student in grade school, he still managed to find teachers he could learn from. Nas, DMX, Big Pun, Big L, Biggie Smalls and Tupac were his professors, and class was in session. By the time JustJames was 19 he decided sitting at home and perfecting his craft of writing and recording wasn't enough, he needed to take things to the stage. After following up with a local DJ named Skott Smitty, who at first tossed his CD to the side, he landed a gig at TNT's Open Mic in Saint Clair Shores, Michigan. Skott Smitty was the host every Wednesday and was so impressed by what he'd heard, that he made JustJames perform first. Just when you thought "His palms are sweaty," were only lyrics to the grammy award winning Eminem song, think again. "I kept looking down at my hand that was holding the mic, and it wouldn't stop shaking. It started to get so bad that I thought I was going to drop the mic," JustJames says about his first experience. After transitioning from New York to Michigan as a child, he now resides back in the Big Apple. It's been a long journey, but his story is far from over.