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Monday, August 1, 2011

Exclusive B Wood Interview With Ronnie James

The Brian Wood blog is starting a new series, where each month we will be posting exclusive interviews with various people ranging from musicians to designers who the B Wood team supports and follows. The first interview of the series is with up and coming musician and singer Ronnie James. Last week Ronnie James came by the new Brian Wood office to check out all the new product and say hi to the B Wood team. While he was here, Lucas from the B Wood team sat down with Ronnie to ask him a few questions and discuss topics ranging from the rumors of being signed to G.O.O.D. Music to other r&b musicians like Frank Ocean. Below is the interview:

-Who is Ronnie James?

“Ronnie James is an artist. I sing, I write. I’m a creator and a dreamer.”

-What is your style of music and what would you say it sounds like?

“It’s timeless music. Music that will last forever. If we would put it in a genre, it would be alternative hip-hop and r&b.”

-Who are some of your major musical influences?

“Musical influences of mine range from Prince to Tim McGraw. People like Daryl Coley, Kim Burrell, Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder. It’s all over the place, a lot of 90’s r&b and a gospel music.”

-What’s your opinion on the current state of r&b? It’s a genre that’s constantly shifting and now guys like Frank Ocean and The Weeknd are making headlines. So what are your thoughts?

“Over the past four or five years r&b has kind of sucked, it’s been changed to pop. It hasn’t really been r&b, it’s not about the feeling that r&b used to be. In the 90’s, the genre was all about the feeling and the emotion, and you felt what the single was talking about. But people like Frank Ocean, even though they he’s doing it in a different way, he’s kind of bringing back that feeling and telling a story, and making one get into him as a person and an artist, which is defiantly what’s necessary for r&b to come back.”

-So as an r&b singer, have you ever had a girl request your songs during sex?

[laughter] “There’s a song I have called ‘Takes Your Soul’ and I think that every girl defiantly feels that song in the moment”

-What influences your clothing style?

“My fashion style is just New York. It’s just watching different people on the street and pulling from various influences. Basically it’s just me, whenever I get up in the morning and however I feel is how I get dressed.

-There are a lot of rumors going on about you being signed to G.O.O.D. Music, anything you can say about these rumors?

“I’m just going to tell y’all to stay tuned… good stuff coming”

-What can we expect from you in the future?

“Great, honest, and very vulnerable music. Music that tells a story and gives you emotion, feeling, and everything you’ve wanted in r&b. Stuff that really brings back that 90’s r&b feeling, I thinks that’s very necessary right now.”