Exposed Vocals just caught an interview with ‘Lotu$ James’

The Lotus Flower grows in the deep mud, far away from the sun. But, sooner or later, the Lotus reaches the light becoming the most beautiful flower ever.

The life of the Lotus Flower is emblematic of perseverance and success in the face of adversity. Lotu$ James, the artist who has adopted the flora as his alias, is no stranger to either of these qualities. Lotu$ was introduced to hardship early in his life, when his father walked out on his mother and him only days after being born on October 13, 1991 in Toronto. The pair was forced to fend for themselves as virtual nomads, bouncing around from project to project as they sought to establish an existence amongst unsavory individuals.

Lotu$’ surroundings helped develop his strong will, but his character is what drove him to begin hustling in just the beginning of his teenage years. Completely embracing the persona of Lotu$ James, he would vent his frustrations on paper, allowing his thoughts to materialize in a powerful lyrical form. Lotu$ honed his craft during afterschool stairwell battles and ciphers at the subway station. Choosing to avoid the devastation that he had witnessed personally, Lotu$ walked away from drugs and the fast life, instead pursuing the long term gratification of family and music.

Lotu$ James’ newest EP is titled ‘Come Up Here’, and is entirely produced by Swiff LaRoc (from the Da GrassRoots). It is but the latest product of an ongoing process that has been both therapeutic and an outlet for his life’s experiences.

Fully equipped with a strong and devoted team, Lotu$ James is focused on making his dream a reality. His upcoming single “Winning Breed” and movement will align him as a contender -Welcome to the Winning Breed!

Exposed Vocals:  So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?  

Lotus:  Well my story is the usual as far as “rappers” go… I moved around a lot. Not a heap of stability. Pops was gone so, mom dukes went from welfare checks to working insane hours for shit money and still being welfare broke…
I had “behavioural” issues, so I have been to more schools than I have pairs of socks, really just typical stuff where I grew up.
I guess making music is also something that just fell into my lap based on my surroundings, it’s something we all had in common, the love of music was just something that kept all of us debating, passionate, and kind of bonded us.
I’ve always dabbled with rapping, just more because all my dogs did it… It wasn’t until 2008 or so that I got serious and wanted to make something happen.

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

Lotus: Well I had a few names over the years, I have never really nicknamed myself… More just homies from round the way saying something that stuck.
“Lotus” came from some old heads I used to look up to back in the day; most of the dudes my age called me something else… But a few old heads called me Lotus; I guess I held it more dearly.
When I first started taking music seriously I stepped away from that stage name as it was associated with some other shit outside of music I was involved in, but through the years I just couldn’t shake it and everyone that knew me called me it regardless, so essentially I just said fuck it.
James was just added to separate myself from everything else that pops up when you google Lotus haha….
It’s also my middle name therefore it worked out.

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

Lotus: This is a tough one for me…
It really is a gift and a curse in my opinion.
I mean, I think it’s great for the consumer… They win for sure.
It’s this never ending plethora of music accessible with one touch, you can never find enough… And it all fits on a tiny little piece of technology that fits into your pocket.
On the other hand it is somewhat crippling as an artist, it dilutes the market. Anybody can put their product out there into the ocean of music; you can record your first song ever on a computer mic over a garage band beat and throw it online.
It creates an assumption by the consumer- that all up and coming music is whack, based solely on the experiences they tend to encounter.
So- Why take the leap of faith on someone you’ve never heard of when the new Drake record is one Google search away?
I believe all my music should be free right now; to be honest I think all music should be free in general. I believe building your brand is more important, if someone supports your movement enough to pay for something I think it should be to watch you perform, to buy merchandise, to feel like they are part of something. Music to me is supposed to be for the people. To share your emotion, your story in hopes that it helps someone that maybe going through a hard time in their life is by far more gratifying to me.

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

Lotus: Be you. Stay consistent. Build relationships. And don’t always aim for the big platforms; look for the small blogs, small shows, and smaller radio stations. Start there.
Create the appeal and separate yourself from the pack.
The small guy will have a mutual respect for you that the big guys won’t; they are more willing to show you the love and take the risk to co-sign something that a lot of other people won’t.
My other advice is to learn the business or surround yourself with people that have experience. Don’t get taken advantage by promoters. Read the fine print and make sure all of the boxes are checked!

Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?

Lotus: I would like to think that everyone has slip ups. I am don’t consider myself where I want to be as a performer and I do not think I ever will be there, but that’s just the perfectionist in me.
I recommend that if you slip up on stage play they mistake out like it never happened, just go with the flow and be flexible. And for the sake of God, as an up and comer….. NEVER tell the DJ to pull up a record that he just slipped up on- especially if no one knows your song. Keep it moving!

Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?

Lotus: I have yet to do a city to city tour. I look forward to it.
I do have some stories as far as local shows go though… I have an interesting group of friends, some in different ways.
We’ll save that for the movie, haha.

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?  

Lotus: Typically I don’t like to force anything; it has to come naturally. However whatever I’m feeling at that moment usually sets the tone. Many things factor in, the beat obviously has the biggest impact of the direction I’m heading in so I can’t usually find the initial inspiration from that and use my feelings to guide the rest. Essentially, life is my song writing inspiration.
I have a few methods I lean on when I start to write a song. Typically I start with the flow; I don’t even use real words at first.
I get my bounce set up and then I begin the structure, I am very picky on the way I word things. Some songs can be written in 30 minutes, others it takes months. They have to be perfect!

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

Lotus: www.lotusjames.com will direct you to my SoundCloud right now, my team and I and building the site up at the moment and it will be fully functional shortly.
I am a huge fan of SoundCloud, I love how in depth it is regarding listener engagement. I am on all social media platforms but I am not as in touch as I should be, hashtag slacking. Haha.
I think it’s really important to stay active on social media, entertainment is not what it once was, and people want to see your life! Go Follow me on Twitter…@thatdudelotus

Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?

Lotus: Nothing is embarrassing to me as far as music goes, I listen to everything. My mom duke is a country/ classic rock stan so I have some of that, I like everything.
I have everything from Van Halen to Justin Bieber on my playlist… Some get spun more than others; it just depends on the day. I just love music. I don’t go one day without listening to something.

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?  

Lotus: A large would go back into music, probably build a decent studio.
I have children so I would definitely be smart with my money, as their future is the most important thing to me. I think owning something is key to long term success. Nothing is stronger than equity. So I would probably buy an affordable house that I could pay off one shot. 200 k will purchase a decent house a short drive out of the city other than that, I would live how I’m living except music would be my main focus.

Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?  

Lotus: I need to upgrade my MacBook very soon, I’m running with the dinosaurs in that department ha-ha, but you got to make do with what you have…
My interface is dope for now, my mic is okay but I want upgrade to the Neumann.
I’m running a 2012 MacBook Pro, Logic X an Apogee Duet and an AKG C214.
They work but I am definitely out growing them.

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

Lotus: Honestly, I don’t even have the answer… I have been fortunate to have a team that rides out when it comes time to push a product, I don’t think anyone has a definitive answer on how to promote music; it is all in promoting the brand. Be interesting. Word of mouth seems to work and Networking. But promoting the music in itself is a tricky thing to do if it isn’t a part of a total package. Social media is an incredible tool to assist you, but you still have to be interesting enough for people to engage what you’re talking about before you can get them to give the music a chance. I think that creating a fan base is the best promotion. If you can get 5 die hard fans to push everything for you is better than forcing it yourself. That happens organically in my opinion.

Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why? 

Lotus: MAAAANNNN. That is tough.
Garth Brooks free concert that he did in Times Square would’ve been insane.
But that’s a hard question.
EMINEM in Detroit.
OVO fest because I’m a homegrown suck for my city.
Hov is NY.
I couldn’t pick one.

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

Lotus: Well, we are still running with ‘Come Up Here’ the EP I dropped this summer with Swiff LaRoc which you can peep on my soundcloud.
Right now it’s all about progression, making sure the next project is even better. No dates locked in, but I’d like to have another project out around Halloween, we have a few records done but it’s still a process before I can give a date! Stay tuned.

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?  

Lotus: Debating in a barbershop about who’s the nicest rapper.

Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?  

Lotus: I don’t remember buying my first album… I think either Ushers 8701 or Country Grammar by Nelly was the first album that I personally purchased… Like with my money. I remember the first time hearing Country Grammar the record…. That’s when I became obsessed with hip hop, I’d love to say it was Illmatic or Ready to Die… But I’d be fronting.
I was always around hip hop where I grew up, but at home it was Rock or Country so When I finally owned a full album of Rap/HipHop… It was all I did.

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?  

Lotus: It really is a circus act.
It’s a balance that’s hard to keep but I have an incredible support system. I think the biggest thing is to try and make the most of the time I do have. When my dad hat is on, I have to make my kids number 1, when my spouse hat is on it’s the same. When I get into the studio that has to be all that I am focused on… It’s hard to do sometimes but I’m fortunate to have kids with someone who understands how bad I want this and someone who has been there since a before it all started.

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016

More Winning Breed; More Music; Visuals; and More Lotus James.
“You build it, they will come!”