Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

"Same James" by Jimmy Powers

Same James,” by Jimmy Powers, was the most-downloaded MP3 from SDReader.com during May. Below is an interview with the songwriter.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The theme of the song is about how you’ve stayed true to your roots. What made you pick this subject?

Jimmy Powers: I chose this concept because, being originally from the Boston area, I don’t get to keep in close and continuing contact with [the] friends and family that I grew up with. I wrote this track to reassure the people who helped mold me into a man that, although I may be 2500 miles away, very busy, and not talking to them as much as I used to, that I am still the “same James.”

One of the lines of the song is “we know times change.” How have they changed for you, even though you are the “same James”?

My life has been centered around change since I was born. I have lived in five different states in my short 26 years on this rock, [and] I think that I have grabbed a lot of different knowledge from not ever being stuck in one place. I honestly believe that my outlook on life changes with every passing situation or responsibility, but some just trump the others and that keeps me looking and moving forward.

Switching subjects: there seems to be some sampling going on in your song. What did you use and why?

Sampling is an integral part of hip-hop. To me, hip-hop without samples is like [a bathroom] without toilet paper. There [weren’t] any computer programs or things of that nature to create music with when hip-hop was about individual expression and artistry in the early ‘90s, which is when I fell in love with it.

I did not produce the track; it was produced by my friend LONEgevity, who I was able to connect with on a forum called BANTCESS. Basically, LONE sent me the beat, I heard the sample in it saying “Your love for me is gone” and immediately started writing an explanation to my peers that things change, but I am still the same loyal and boring person that I have always been.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Centennial Salute to San Diego’s Military, East Village Block Party, Birding Basics Class

Events March 29-March 30, 2024

Same James,” by Jimmy Powers, was the most-downloaded MP3 from SDReader.com during May. Below is an interview with the songwriter.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The theme of the song is about how you’ve stayed true to your roots. What made you pick this subject?

Jimmy Powers: I chose this concept because, being originally from the Boston area, I don’t get to keep in close and continuing contact with [the] friends and family that I grew up with. I wrote this track to reassure the people who helped mold me into a man that, although I may be 2500 miles away, very busy, and not talking to them as much as I used to, that I am still the “same James.”

One of the lines of the song is “we know times change.” How have they changed for you, even though you are the “same James”?

My life has been centered around change since I was born. I have lived in five different states in my short 26 years on this rock, [and] I think that I have grabbed a lot of different knowledge from not ever being stuck in one place. I honestly believe that my outlook on life changes with every passing situation or responsibility, but some just trump the others and that keeps me looking and moving forward.

Switching subjects: there seems to be some sampling going on in your song. What did you use and why?

Sampling is an integral part of hip-hop. To me, hip-hop without samples is like [a bathroom] without toilet paper. There [weren’t] any computer programs or things of that nature to create music with when hip-hop was about individual expression and artistry in the early ‘90s, which is when I fell in love with it.

I did not produce the track; it was produced by my friend LONEgevity, who I was able to connect with on a forum called BANTCESS. Basically, LONE sent me the beat, I heard the sample in it saying “Your love for me is gone” and immediately started writing an explanation to my peers that things change, but I am still the same loyal and boring person that I have always been.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Melissa Etheridge, The Imaginary Amazon

Events April 1-April 3, 2024
Next Article

San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue

Favorite fakers: Baby Bushka, Fleetwood Max, Electric Waste Band, Oceans, Geezer – plus upcoming tribute schedule
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.