Bio

James Johnson aka Jaems IV, was born November 7, 1977 in Bryan-College Station, TX. James enjoyed listening to many different styles of music and was introduced to Hip-Hop, when he was in elementary school. James and Hip-Hop were both in their early stages of development when he heard his first M.C. Tracks by early Hip-Hop pioneers Run DMC, LL Cool J and The Beastie Boys, immediately influenced James’ life profoundly. He started to listen to and read about everything that was Hip-Hop. He immersed himself in the culture and because he was a good student he learned quickly. James wrote and performed his first rhyme while in the fourth grade and even at that early age, was known for his style and depth of knowledge. Through his secondary school education James continued to study the Hip-Hop culture and started to think of himself as an artist. In 1997 he moved to Dallas to find out if he had a future as an M.C. In the late nineties, the Dallas Hip-Hop scene was a mixture of both east coast and west coast flavor. James found himself equally drawn to the styles from both coasts when he first arrived in the area, but the east coast trend of “battle rapping”, was the first style he decided to conquer. One of the most challenging aspects of the east coast Hip-Hop scene, “battle rapping”, requires a quick mind and creative thinking. Good battle rappers can create a verse from any and everything in their environment. James has always been an avid reader of everything from books to newspapers and magazines. James also enjoys watching movies and television, so it was simple for him to rap about the various subjects that he read and viewed. Serious and silently observant in his everyday life, James would turn into a ferocious and formidable M.C. when the battles began. He regularly was the winner at Dallas area battles and as his style evolved he assumed the moniker of Jaems IV, because he was earning the respect of the other battle rap royalty in the area. James used the recognition that he gained as a battle rapper to introduce himself to other producers and artists in the north Texas area. The contact with up and coming producers helped James gain valuable experience as a writer, performer and in studio producer. He learned how to build a song with verses and hooks as he studied the producers’ studio production techniques. James continued to evolve as an artist and he became a studio fanatic. He has logged hundreds of hours recording in every type of booth imaginable-from multimillion dollar studios to coat closets-while maintaining a professional work ethic. James continues to record as often as possible and has recorded personally or collaborated on hundreds of tracks. James has worked with several independent labels over the past few years but has always worked as a team player. Though he would (in most cases) have the most dominant and memorable verse on a collaboration, he remained within the parameters of the team and never pushed to move to the forefront. In 2005 he started to work on his own solo project and he has enough material recorded to release several original projects. The last six months of 2006 were his most intense and creative ever. The resulting work has been his best to date. The first solo project is in the final production stages and will be released in early 2007. James has also completed and released two street albums, “Ghostwriters 4 Hire” and “Soundtrack 4 the Streets”. James has found his place in the Hip-Hop world and is ready to leave his mark. His Hip-Hop style consists of battle rapping, reality, conscious and party lyrics. He plans to break the stereotype that southern artists are one-dimensional. Look for Jaems IV to assume his place with the other Hip-Hop royalty.