1978 was a good vintage. The American singer José James is convinced of this. This year, Prince released his first album, George Clinton made Funkadelic shine, Fela Kuti became an indispensable agitator, the Jacksons believed in their future… This year José James was born and the musical mood that accompanied his childhood, continues to inspire him. As we prepare to honor the memory of Marvin Gaye, who died 40 years ago, José James recalls the prosperous 1970s, when the creative spirit of his ancestors was dedicated to the needs of the world.
José James readily acknowledges his inclination to celebrate historical African American heritage. His powerful homages to Billie Holiday and Bill Withers have earned him praise from his contemporaries in recent years. By focusing on 1978, he allows himself to reread a prosperous era in which the planet’s upheavals had instilled a saving spirit of harmony. It wasn’t all rosy, but the pacifist intentions of the artists of the time seemed to ward off warlike desires. The “Peace & Love” intention aimed to expand on the speeches of the late great orators. José James wants to imprint this positive mood into his repertoire. By reviving the musicality of his heroes of yesteryear, he revives the musical freshness of a naive generation that believed in a bright future.
However, José James is not fooled. He knows that the challenges are many and the imperative duty to face obstacles cannot be neglected. By alluding to the May 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and paying tribute to young Trayvon Martin, who was killed by gunfire in Florida in February 2012, he shows his activism in the face of still violent racist attacks in the United States. He is concerned about the fate of the black community across the Atlantic. After extensive research into his original identity, José James discovered that his paternal roots lay in Angola with the Mbundu people. The maternal source of his being comes from his Irish ancestors. This revelation illuminated his personal and artistic journey. José James, like many Americans, is the product of a crossroads caused by the tragedies of slavery.
This effort at cultural reappropriation is a long process to which José James openly submits. Choosing his year of birth as the central axis of his new album is not trivial. It is the expression of a search that takes him back to his early youth, when the contours of his adult life began to emerge. It was a time of enthusiasm, the first setbacks, learning and decisions. 1978 was a good vintage. José James claims him and knocks him out. He is a child of that gullible persuasiveness that imagined a world full of good intentions. Music perhaps has this virtue. Let’s dream a little and travel with nostalgia through the twists and turns of the past.
José James will be present in Europe in May and June 2024. In particular, he will appear at New Morning in Paris on May 29th.
► The website of Joseph James.
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