19 Jun SoulTrain.com – José James

Prince, Bob Dylan, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, and Mint Condition all have one central city instrumental to their career beginnings: Minneapolis. “I think Minneapolis is one of the best cities to get started in,” says Blue Note Records jazz hybrid vocalist José James. Growing up in Minnesota’s biggest city was quite the experience for anyone interested in music, says the artist. “There’s a lot of clubs and great musicians there, especially for alternative rock, hip-hop and jazz,” he explains. It helps that James grew up around music, making him a fan of the art form early on. Having a musician for a father, he remembers attending countless rehearsals and sessions. Calling himself a “sponge,” James gravitated toward numerous forms of music from the Seattle grunge movement spearheaded by Nirvana, jazz aligned swag of A Tribe Called Quest and soulful vocal pipes of Al Green to rock icons The Beatles. Lets not forget Minneapolis’ greatest. “Prince was just a massive inspiration to all of us,” says James, who simply refers to the Purple One as a legend.

Read the rest here.