Marcus Paul James

Brooklyn native Marcus Paul James (MPJ) was born into a Baptist family with a Panamanian DJ father. He was raised in the church and singing in the choir loft as soon as he could stand. At home, MPJ was surrounded by the timeless voices of Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder, Teddy P and other R&B greats. The influence of these artists etched love for R&B, soul, gospel and tender ballads into his soul. MPJ has been writing music and creating harmonies since he was a young boy and continued throughout his college years at Penn State University. During his collegiate years, MPJ wrote for and performed with a 6-man acapella group named PRESSURE. Which quickly became popular enough to move the whole group to the NY area to work. After growing as a singer/songwriter and with a love for new music and experiences in his blood, it was time for MPJ to leave the group. Using nothing but his soulful voice and eclectic flair he landed a role in the Tony Award winning phenomenon "RENT". His work was so well received that since RENT he's been cast in other Broadway hits "Motown The Musical", "In the Heights", "West Side Story" and even performed in "The Wiz Live" broadcast live on NBC. In addition to an impressive amount of work on Broadway, he released his first EP "Electrik Love" in 2007. The album was a soulful house album created with jazz prodigy and producer, Akira Shelton, that made a splash in the European electronic market with the title track getting radio plays and charting on the UK electronic charts. In 2010 he released his first full-length album "Meant To Be" under Silver Towers Productions, in which the title track went on to chart on the UK soul charts. From that album "Wonderful Love" and "Right Now" would go to hold 1st and 3rd on those charts for 5 consecutive weeks. MPJ's music shines as the perfect balance of Soul, R&B, and popular music. A true Singer/Songwriter whose lyrics and music take your heart and ears to places few artist do. MPJ's recent releases "Living In Dreams" and "Romancipation Day" from his upcoming EP Paper Hearts, are a true testament to his vocal versatility and writing prowess.The Paper Hearts EP is a short collection of songs that share different shades of this thing called love. MPJ invites you to think of a paper origami heart, each angle has its own bends and story. He believes it's a misconception to think men don't have a vast array of emotions because he shows you, they do. It just may not be as visible. With Paper Hearts EP MPJ tried to make his emotions audible and resonate. MPJ worked with producers Akira Shelton and Jake Birch, mixing and mastering by Jeremiah Rosenthal from Blank Canvas Music and executively produced by Silver Towers Productions and that has proven to be a truly winning combination to create some amazing music.