UB Hot Video: Giovanni James – ‘Shame On You’

“Plenty of people in the world need shaming right now,” believes Giovanni James. But rather than explicitly implicating the subject of his animosity, the New York native would rather let listeners decide.

He tells The FADER, “I have my personal reasons for writing it, but would rather let the listeners’ own life narratives dictate the meaning for them. That’s the beauty of art – it has the ability to be interpreted on many levels depending on how it hits you.”

And it hits with every calculated move. “‘Shame On You’ is rockabilly, gut-bucket pop, rock, and soul madness,” he further explains. “Classic Americana circa 1950’s but somehow futuristic in a Stanley Kubrick kinda way.”

Half-African American, half-Italian, Giovanni James sings, raps, dances, produces, slings a guitar, plays keyboards, and even does magic. A chess-loving aesthete with a clothing/art collection named Butcher James, this Renaissance man’s style and music go-hand-in-hand, threading together a patchwork of rock, soul, R&B, and hip-hop that sits at the crossroads between Rebel Without A Cause and The Rat Pack. His particular, steampunk swagger earned him a comparison to Alexander McQueen in the New York Times. Enamored by music and film, he equally nods to Turner Classic Movies, James Dean, Marlon Brando, and Montgomery Clift, as well as Sam Cooke, Jimi Hendrix, and Otis Redding.

Out this spring via Money Dope/Warner Bros. Records, his debut EP Whutcha Want introduces every facet of this dynamic performer with a little something for everyone unashamed to enjoy the ride.