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J.A.M.E.S Watts - The Game Needs James
Interview By: Eric Adisa
 An artist that promotes the slogan, “The Game Needs James”, must have profound confidence, certainty, and conviction in his craft. Yet, since the New Jersey emcee, J.A.M.E.S Watts, embarked upon his mission to immerse himself in this unconventional Hip-Hop game, he has demonstrated exactly why Hip-Hop needs him. Watts’ ability to create tracks with daunting lyricism and evocative messages that resonate among listeners has helped him to draw stark distinctions from his counterparts. With last summer’s release of the critically acclaimed mixtape, Shameless Promotion Vol: 1, generating enormous buzz on the worldwide web, the future continues to look brighter and brighter for Watts. As he mesmerizes crowds along the East Coast with his spellbinding performance of the intense, passionate crowd favorite, “Dream On”, Watts continues to draw in genuine interest from connoisseurs in the industry that push him to make his dreams into a reality.
 Nobodysmiling.com : What’s up J.A.M.E.S. For those that don’t know you, where are you from and what’s the meaning behind your name?
J.A.M.E.S Watts : For anyone that doesn’t know…my name is James Watts. The acronym of J.A.M.E.S…. that stands for Just Another Man in the Everyday Struggle. The reason why I chose my name to represent those words is because the one thing that was missing in hip-hop as of late is people having an artist they could directly relate to. In recent times a lot of artists that we’ve seen emerge on the scene have been kind of like caricatures…I wanted to bring myself out for the person that I was…. and just being another person walking that goes through everyday things in their life.
Nobodysmiling.com : And where are you from?
J.A.M.E.S Watts : Jersey! Of course. (973) Essex County…Maplewood and South Orange……
Nobodysmiling.com : What is your nationality? How has your racial background been a benefit or drawback to your career?
J.A.M.E.S Watts : I’m mixed. I’m Black and White. Both of my parents are mixed. I have two Black Grandfathers, both are from down South. One is from Georgia, the other being from Alabama. My father’s mother is from German and Polish descent and she’s Jewish. My mother’s mother is of Irish and Welch descent… Whether or not it’s been a drawback or advantage….it really depends on the person. Sometimes I find myself feeling uncomfortable because I don’t have a particular group to latch on to so to speak. Sometimes when you perform or are in a certain venue…in some aspects I wouldn’t call it a drawback but it’s one of those weird things that would make one uncomfortable. I think it’s an advantage because it’s something people are curious about. When people meet me…I always get, “Well are you White or are you Black?” It’s funny that it’s apparent that there is something there in my character that people are seeing a little bit of both. It makes them want to know more. People say you look one way, the way you speak is this way, so in most cases I think it’s a positive thing because it makes people interested in what I do. Furthermore, as far as I can see there aren’t that many people coming where I’m coming from, doing what I do. I’m an original in that case.
Nobodysmiling.com : Recently, you won the largest hip hop showcase in New York City [Best of the Best/Faces In The Crowd Showcase] and single-handedly defeated 30 other emcees that were previous showcase winners as well! What does that accomplishment mean to you and what has this done for your career?
J.A.M.E.S Watts : Thus far, Best of the Best and Faces In the Crowd,[shouts to Reality, J-Hatch, and Chalant] they run one of the most organized and beneficial, regular events in NYC and as far as New York hip-hop…they’ll go down with they’re own little piece of history …I mean…I don’t know. I’m not going to sit up hear and say I’ve been running leaps and bounds since winning that. It was a cool thing to do…I’ve been rocking with them for awhile and to be able to win their biggest event, their ultimate event….it’s cool in that respect, but in terms of it creating any real tangible stuff…that was October…we’re now going into May, I haven’t really seen anything come of it…not to say nothing will come of it. I just saw it as another step…people ask me what’s the most important part of my grind…it’s really everything you do. Its little victories and the big victories….so I see the Best of the Best victory as that…some people would win it and walk around with their chest out like, “yeah…I’m the best of the best!” I don’t feel that way about it…it was another performance opportunity…it was great to walk away with some cash in my pocket and [in that circuit] to be able to sit on top of it, but yeah it’s nothing.
Nobodysmiling.com : We've heard alot about your captivating stage performances. What are they like? Where are you performing next?
J.A.M.E.S Watts : My stage show is built off of raw emotion -- a lot of artists don't give a lot in their performances because they don't truly believe what they're saying. They can't make the audience buy into it because a lot of times they don't fully buy into it. With me, I see my shows as a platform to show people how convicted I am about the things I talk about in my songs. As far as the future, I look to getting into the college market very heavy -- college kids are always looking to find that next thing, so they're very open to new music. Besides that, I'm stepping my game up to work in bigger venues as an opener to national artists. Right now, we're thinking countrywide with this...
Nobodysmiling.com : What is the concept behind your recent video, "Wish You Were Here"?
J.A.M.E.S Watts : "Wish You Were Here" was to serve as somewhat of an introduction to who James Watts is; it was my second music video, but we made it as if it was a debut. I wanted to put something together that was very representative of me, because I feel the song is very representative of where I've been, where I am now, and where I'm trying to go. That's not so explicit in the verses, but that's the underlying theme of the track, so the video aimed to illustrate that.
Nobodysmiling.com : It’s been said that you were Kanye West before Kanye West came on the scene. Why is that so? Explain.
J.A.M.E.S Watts : One of the biggest comparisons that people draw between me and a guy like Kanye West is the fact that aside from being a rapper…you know I’m also very heavy into the production side…I’m a producer as well, and once a guy pops up that raps and makes his own beats…people automatically want to draw a comparison to someone with a similar role and is a prominent figure. So, I think that’s where the whole Kanye West thing came into play, aside from the fact that stylistically, a guy like him and a guy like me, we come from similar backgrounds….there’s a lot of parallels between us from the issues that we talk about in our records …to the soundscape that we create with our music, to even the way that we dress in our…if you have any artist that comes on the scene…and he’s not automatically wearing [at the time a throwback jersey or a long white tee] or something like that, they automatically look to the outsider, so I guess at that time when I first came on the scene Kanye was that guy so it was easy to compare him to me.
Nobodysmiling.com : Based upon your material, you’re an adept emcee and producer. Do you prefer one craft over the other and do you really produce all of your beats?
J.A.M.E.S Watts : For the most part, I handle most of my own production. On the Shameless promotion mixtape, I worked with Chris and FG [these two producers from Jersey]; they are collectively known as the Ish Productions. We actually collaborated on a lot of the beats…they do a lot of live playing, working with live instruments, bringing in outside musicians to bring an extra dimension to the record. But a lot of those beats were started by me and they[Ish Productions] added that extra element. My first mixtape, Welcome Home, that was all me. I don’t see the two things being exclusive to the other in this day and age there aren’t a lot of people that do both. In previous generations of hip-hop there were artists making their own beats without getting credit for doing so. I’ve heard stories of Ras Kass and Quame making their own beats…there always have been artists that do both and rap…I just go in with the idea of making a song… In terms of preference, I don’t see one without the other…in most cases...there’s no beat without the words or no words without the beats.
Nobodysmiling.com : Describe a day in the life of J.A.M.E.S Watts.
J.A.M.E.S Watts : There’s no typical day. Anyone that works in the music industry or anything that’s media related that everyday brings something different and that’s one of the best parts about it. You wake up and it could be the most dead day ever…nothing happens or you could go to sleep and say, “damn, that was one of the most exciting days of my life.” in regards to who you met or what you accomplished on that day. But, usually [depending what’s going on] it could consist of being at home…digging through records and trying to find samples...or come up with ideas for new songs….it could be writing lyrics…..writing to-do lists or writing down concepts for different things I want to do in the future even beyond music...it could be about clothing brand names that I come up with…or a movie idea or video treatments….drawing in notebooks for different concepts and styles that I thought of in regards to visual aspects. It really could be anything….mostly I spend a lot of time in New York City doing shows, getting up with some of my people out there… my days don’t consist to mostly “rapper” activities. [No disrespect to anybody who’s day is like this], but I don’t wake up and drink Hennessy……I don’t smoke an L before I get in the shower. [laughs]
Nobodysmiling.com : Your Myspace homepage states that you’ve only been a member since July 2005. Just exactly how long have you been dedicated to pursuing your music career?
J.A.M.E.S Watts : August 05’. I’ve been doing music forever. I’ve been writing raps since I was 10. I was making beats since I was 13 and that’s been roughly ten to fifteen years since I’ve been into this. But, as far as putting a push forward to making a career, it’s only been about two years
at this point.
Nobodysmiling.com : After listening to your mixtapes, Welcome Home and Shameless Promotion, it’s very hard to pinpoint your style. You have tracks for the ladies like “Trust Me”, a more street joint like “Little Jimmy”, and an introspective track like “Wish You Were Here”. How would you classify J.A.M.E.S Watts’ music?
J.A.M.E.S Watts : That goes back to….like I hate playing that up…but it goes back to that concept…no person is going to be one way all the time. There’s a lot of artists, when you see them on TV…you always see them in front of a Benz…you only see them with four chains on...you only see them with a fresh hair like cut all the time. It creates a false sense of reality thinking that these are how these people really are. See, my music….. it’s like LIFE music…because [you’re right] there’s much diversity in it, but that’s because in life we have a diversity of experience. I guess when some guys go into the studio they only want to highlight certain parts of their experience. They don’t want to be introspective because they don’t want to deal with their pain…they only want to go into the studio and make some feelgood music and I don’t blame them for that. There are so many things going on in the world where they do shows and its’ party time...they want to get away from that, but with me, personally, I need that as an outlet as like a therapy, so when I’m going through something…whether it’d be good or bad…I’ll put it down on a track. If I’m experiencing something or if someone I know is going through something it serves as inspiration through a song…so the only way I can classify my music…I’m aiming to create a soundtrack for people’s lives and that’s why it’s so diverse.
Nobodysmiling.com : The “Young Generic Speaks” interlude on Shameless Promotion Vol. 1 has become a fan favorite on the web. What was the inspiration behind that skit? Is Young Generic a real rapper?
J.A.M.E.S Watts : Young Generic is not a real rapper first and foremost….but we may do some side projects to further the whole epic that has begun as a result of creating that character. I made that in conjunction with one of my best friends…we created that character…actually he’s more responsible for that…as far as inspiration…some of these Street DVDs and these mixtape rappers…these guys that just pop up out of nowhere…God only knows who they are…this shit has gotten fu**ing ridiculous …it’s gone out in the ozone. The night we created that skit we actually spent a lot of time out watching Smack DVD…and I actually feel the whole street battle scene…there are a lot of talented guys that came out of that circuit…from your Jae Millz and Serius Jones….guys like that who were really getting it in and delivering ass whooping to guys on the streets in these battles, but some of these guys… this thing just got out of hand…they started to become a caricature of themselves and we were looking at these dudes like you’re some clowns….there’s a whole sub industry being built off of this stuff …and it was just time that someone shed some light on it….it’s getting out of hand.
Nobodysmiling.com : In my opinion, your most outstanding track on Shameless Promotion Vol. 1 is Dream On where you spit, “Real life it/ it gets hectic/ but I’m looking for a exit/ cause I’m tired of waiting/I’m tired of going to work /and I’m tired of making the next man great when /I know that I am great on my own” That’s a very deep, poignant statement. What exactly was the inspiration behind Dream On?
J.A.M.E.S Watts : Dream On came out of the frustration of getting up everyday and going to work and putting so much energy into something that wasn’t my own. I feel like a lot of people my age are going through something similar. Whether we work for a company or corporation we’re making them money. I feel like so many of us, unwillingly, are used as pawns to make other things or other people great. There’s the guy working 50-60 hours a week making barely enough to support his family, while his upper management is getting signing bonuses or if they’re fired severance packages worth millions…and they are coming to work at 11am and leaving at 3pm…I’ve seen all that happen. So, it[Dream On] was a statement that was definitive for that time in my life to say fuck this. I’m not going to put more energy into anything, but myself because this music thing that I have is the most important thing in my life. It was kind of like an active rebellion from the status quo and not just for me. I put that out there for anyone that was going through the same thing and the people that were close to me enduring the same struggle. This was kind of like our freedom song.
Nobodysmiling.com : All of your accomplishments have helped you to garner attention from quite a few record label reps. Are you interested in bringing your “Jooks The World” imprint to a major label? If so, do you have any particular labels in mind?
J.A.M.E.S Watts : In regards to Jooks The World, absolutely….no question about it. To be able to bring an imprint or build a business relationship with a larger label whether that be through a production deal or a pressing and distribution deal… that’s the ultimate. I feel like most musicians have an entrepreneurial spirit...there’s nothing like running your own ship. As for which label? Ugh..all the label are fu**ed right now….so I can’t point one out in particular. I’m not going to sit up here and be generic and say “whoever got the most cake holla!” I think it would be a combination of whatever label offers the best financial situation and creative control and how much independence I would have and…grooming myself as an artist....and grooming younger artists that came up under me. I can’t say” Jooks The World/Def Jam!” because I don’t feel that way… it could really be anybody. As long as I worked with people that really believed in what we were doing and were supportive of the movement we’re trying to create...that would be a place I could call home..
Nobodysmiling.com : You’ve accomplished a lot in a short period of time. What is the most important lesson you’ve learned about the rap game?
J.A.M.E.S Watts : Aww man…the most important! [laughs] The most important lesson that I’ve learned about the rap game would have to be whatever you accomplish and whatever your aim is and wherever you’re trying to put yourself in regards to your career…always be yourself first…don’t chase, don’t pander, don’t sacrifice, don’t compromise, whatever you wanted to do coming in…of course you’re going to learn and be exposed to new things and your goals and vision may change over time… but go out the way you came…and keep your head intact while your doing this because it’s real easy….I’ve seen it even with unsigned guys…guys that I was doing shows with and they were rapping over underground beats and being real lyrical and then I listen to some of their music today…a year later and you can tell they’re chasing Hot 97! They’re trying to get those spins….they’re not doing the music they have a love for….they’re doing the kind of music that will create an opportunity for them…so anyone that’s coming up in this thing…don’t be that way. Just be yourself and do what you want to do and I feel like the people who have done that 110%.....success has come for them and I hoping it will come for me in the same way.
Nobodysmiling.com : What are three characteristics that set you apart from most of artists in the music industry?
J.A.M.E.S Watts : I’m better…I’m better, and I’m better.…[laughs]
Nobodysmiling.com : You continually tell people that “The Game Needs You”. Please explain to
new and old James Watts fans why we should believe you?
J.A.M.E.S Watts : The beauty of hip hop at one point was that you had a spectrum of different styles. It was like when you were a kid and had the 64-pack Crayola box; imagine if you had to draw your whole life with just the 8-pack? Right now that's where we're at with music. There's no diversity everyone’s doing the same thing. Its time to bring that back, to show people there's other sides to this. The game needs me because I'm going to bring back the color.
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