Mixed Media Artist Emmitt James: From Milwaukee Native To California Transplant
Emmitt James pre-Covid-19 performing live. (Photo by Mahdi Atif)
If you’re looking for a musician who isn’t afraid to push boundaries and blur lines between genres and mediums, 28-year-old artist Emmitt James can’t help himself — whether it’s Jazz and Hip-Hop, music and food, or the Midwest and So-Cal.
“When people ask [what genre my music is], I typically tell them hip-hop jazz, especially if you see me live, a lot of the time I play with a band,” James said. “There’s an 80 percent chance that if you listen to my music after a while, you’ll hear some trap beats or R&B and soul stuff, but it’s all in that lane of hip-hop.”
Emmitt James moved to Los Angeles, CA in 2015 and stayed a while. (Photo by Brandon “Ramdas” Stanciell)
James is a rapper, musician and creative originally from Milwaukee. After moving to Los Angeles to complete a fashion internship for his degree in arts management from the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, the Wisconsin native became a California migrant following graduation, positively inspired by a community of artists.
“For me, the goal is to make art and make music. And so that could be on a very large scale… or that could be what I like to call the artists’ working class where you'd make enough money from just the art to live off of,” James said.
At the core, the line between music and poetry is very slim and can overlap. For 28-year-old James, the transition between the two was seamless in high school, leading to an aspiring music career.
“It started with poetry… I met this girl my freshman year of high school, and I wrote my first six poems about her and then I went to my first slam,” James said. “And then that kind of turned into my junior year doing music at school when our music teacher, he set up a recording studio for us to record after school.”
But while some rappers may have tunnel vision on the music, James’ art branches out into all different art sectors, from designing merchandise to creating quirky product packages to sell his content. One of James’ most recent projects, “The FourPlay EP,” is a four-part series made up of four EPs and four producers. But most interestingly, each part can be purchased with a pack of limited edition juices. The first part came with glass-bottled hibiscus lemonade. And in the past, he’s even sold chocolate molds of his own mouth for his capsule release, “Jazz Cavities.”
“The FourPlay EP” album art. (Courtesy of Emmitt James)
“What I like to do is I like to combine music and merch together. Over the last year, I've been doing a lot of stuff like that. I have a song I put out last year called ‘Yams,’ so to go with the song, I made my own bag of sweet potato chips,” he said.
The Drip and Dip pop-up shop takes place once a month. (Photo by Tyler Watt)
Another project James launched is a pop-up called Drip and Dip, which combines coffee and thrifting. Every month he releases a special along with the limited drink menu. James was inspired by his previous experience working as a barista.
“I found a coffee shop job really quickly, so that’s what I did. December 11 was my last day, and I said I don’t want to clock in anymore,” James said. “So I enjoyed making coffee, but I enjoyed making it on my own terms.”
What can we expect to see in the future from James? You’ll probably never be able to guess. But he’s often inspired by niche artists with loyal fanbases that get to live in their truth as creators.
“My philosophy is like, being DIY but with a big budget. Still being independent but being able to do things that a commercial act would do,” James said.
To keep up with Emmitt, follow him on Instagram or go to EmmittJames.com.
Listen to “The FourPlay EP” here.
The next Drip and Dip will be held on April 17, 2021 at Marsh Skate Park in Los Angeles.