Gene Noble (Born James Eugene Roston III) is an American singer and songwriter, based in New York and Los Angeles. He is best known for the 2016 song " Only Love" which received airplay on radio stations around the world. He has written songs for artists such as

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, Usher,

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and Diddy.

Early life and career

Noble was born James Eugene Roston III in

Manhattan, Kansas Manhattan is a city in and the county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County, Kansas, Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big ...

. He grew up traveling with his father, who served in the US military and traveled to wherever in the world he was stationed. His father died in an attempt to rescue another man in 1986 when Noble was aged four. He later moved to

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

with his mother and brother. A year later, he began playing the piano and writing poetry. Inspired by singer

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 ...

and R&B musician

D’Angelo Michael Eugene Archer (born February 11, 1974), better known by his stage name D'Angelo (), is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He first garnered attention after co-producing the single " U Will Know" ...

, Noble decided to pursue a career as a musical artist. On March 4, 2014, Noble released his debut EP, ''Rebirth of Gene'', which was described by

Noisey ''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. It was founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, and its founders later launched the youth media company ...

as "Everything from his lofty vocals to the electro production." He released a cover of the 2013 song " Say Something" by

A Great Big World A Great Big World is an American musical duo from New York made up of singer/songwriters Ian Axel and Chad King and signed to Epic Records. The group is best known for their single "This Is the New Year", which was performed by the cast in an epi ...

. In 2015, he released the song "Trust". He previously released another song, titled "Money Over Bullshit". On October 6, 2017, he released the single "Never Know". In 2017, he released the song "Stolen Moments", which features LaChardon. It would be included on his debut studio album ''The Cost''. The song, as described by Noble, is about "the story of two people who can't officially be together because they are in other situations but it doesn't prevent them from finding time for each other." In 2019 he appeared with Sting and Shaggy on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

's Tiny Desk Concert series. His vocal contributions were featured prominently on the last track: a mashup of Shape of My Heart and Lucid Dreams.

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Guest appearances

References

External links

"A Touch Of Nobility: Soulster Gene Noble" — Etvas Magazine"The Travel Seven: Gene Noble" — Parlour Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Noble, Gene Singers from Kansas 21st-century African-American male singers American contemporary R&B singers 21st-century American singers Songwriters from New York (state) 21st-century American male singers African-American songwriters American male songwriters 1982 births Living people