Ronnie James Tucker is an American R&B singer. He is best known for his 2015 single " Permission", which peaked at number 37 on the US

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart. He signed with

Mark Pitts Mark Pitts is an American record executive and talent manager who has served as President of RCA Records since 2021. He also co-founded the record label ByStorm Entertainment with Wayne Barrow in 1998, through which he has signed artists includin ...

' ByStorm Entertainment, an imprint of

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

to release his debut studio album, ''Eldorado'' (2016).

Career

Born in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, West Germany, James is of Panamanian and African-American descent. Throughout his childhood, James would sing regularly, but never in public. He eventually moved to New York where he was influenced by his aunt

Rosie Gaines Rosie Gaines (born Rosemary Gaines; June 26, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer from Pittsburg, California. Gaines is a former band member of Prince's group the New Power Generation. She duetted with singer Prince on th ...

, a former singer for

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

. His love for the album '' Purple Rain'' landed him in a studio at the age of 19. His skills as a songwriter began with the song "Portrait", leading up to a credit on the single " Use Me" by R&B singer

Miguel --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places * Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands *São Miguel (disamb ...

after forming a bond with him on

MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

. James performed in and around New York with artists such as Luke James and

Wynter Gordon Diana Gordon, formerly known as Wynter Gordon (born August 25, 1985), is an American singer and songwriter. She began her career writing music for other artists, later signing with Atlantic Records where she started to work on her own album. He ...

. In 2013 he released his first EP, a three-part entitled ''Coke, Jack and Cadillacs''. Each part represented important themes in his life - first love, first drink, first car. The EP featured songs that included "A.D.I.D.A.S." and "Pledge Allegiance". It also featured

Asher Roth Asher Paul Roth (born August 11, 1985) is an American rapper from Morrisville, Pennsylvania. He is best known for his 2009 debut single " I Love College," which peaked at number 12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and foresaw the birth of frat ra ...

on the song "Lisa". James signed with ByStorm Entertainment/

in 2015 and subsequently released "Permission", his first single from a major record label, reaching number 37 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. His debut album, ''Eldorado'' was released May 27, 2016. It debuted at number 71 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and at number eight on the US

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

. It subsequently earned him his first nomination for

Best R&B Performance The Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guide it is designed for s ...

at the

59th Grammy Awards The 59th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 12, 2017. The CBS network broadcast the show live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility yea ...

in February 2017.

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

Tours

Headlining tour

* XIX Tour (2017)

Co-headlining tour

* The R&B Tour (with BJ The Chicago Kid) (2018)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Ro Living people RCA Records artists Musicians from Stuttgart German rhythm and blues musicians English-language singers from Germany African-American male singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Rappers from New York City Year of birth missing (living people) American expatriates in West Germany