Ro James | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ronnie James Tucker November 19, 1986 Stuttgart, West Germany |
| Origin | New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | R&B |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | rojamesxix |
Ronnie James Tucker (born November 19, 1986) [1] professionally known as Ro James, 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 chart. He signed with Mark Pitts' ByStorm Entertainment, an imprint of RCA Records to release his debut studio album, Eldorado (2016).
Born in Stuttgart, West Germany, [1] James is of Panamanian [2] and African-American [3] descent. Throughout his childhood, James would sing regularly, but never in public. [4] He eventually moved to New York where he was influenced by his aunt Rosie Gaines, a former singer for Prince. [5] His love for the album Purple Rain landed him in a studio at the age of 19. [5] 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 [6] after forming a bond with him on MySpace. [7]
James performed in and around New York with artists such as Luke James and Wynter Gordon. 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. [4] The EP featured songs that included "A.D.I.D.A.S." and "Pledge Allegiance". It also featured Asher Roth on the song "Lisa". [8] James signed with ByStorm Entertainment/RCA Records 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. [9] His debut album, Eldorado was released May 27, 2016. It debuted at number 71 on the US Billboard 200 [10] and at number eight on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. [11] It subsequently earned him his first nomination for Best R&B Performance at the 59th Grammy Awards in February 2017.
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [10] | US R&B /HH [11] | US R&B [12] | ||
| Eldorado |
| 71 | 8 | 3 |
| Mantic |
| — | — | — |
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Coke, Jack, and Cadillacs |
|
| Smoke |
|
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Bub. [15] | US R&B /HH [9] | US R&B [16] | ||||
| "Permission" | 2015 | 17 | 37 | 12 | Eldorado | |
| "Plan B" (with Brandy) [18] | 2020 | — | — | — | Mantic | |