James Curran (a.k.a. James the Mormon) has said on numerous occasions that he is not a rapper. The title of his latest 6 track EP that bears the title “I’m Not a Rapper” emphasizes his point.
James’ mother is a United States diplomat, and he grew up in such places as Russia, China, Taiwan, and Uzbekistan. In his recent blog post, dated 17 April 2016, he states that he didn’t even know what rap was until he was 14-years-old. At the age of 14, he moved to the Washington, D.C. area for a couple years where he was introduced to the BET television network and heard rap for the first time. He states, “It took me all of one Ja Rule song to fall in love, and from then on HIP HOP was my drug of choice.” From that point on, any new beat that he heard and liked, he added his own flair of melodies and lyrics to make it something uniquely his own.
James indicates that he did not have a great childhood. He now realizes, after gaining a testimony at the age of 22, that it was the gospel, and more specifically, the atonement of Jesus Christ that helped him to recover from the pain of the first 17 years of his life. However, before gaining that testimony, he found solace in rap music which provided an escape from the day-to-day turmoil. He states, “It wasn’t until recently that I found out why I had such a connection to rap music and why it had always been a therapeutic remedy.”
He spent his final year of high school at age 17 living in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. One day his younger brother’s friend came over with his computer and some new software that he had for recording music. He was invited into his brother’s room to listen to the beat that they had created, and before long he had formulated the lyrics and melody to a chorus which he decided to sing for them. Their response was positive which encouraged him to start writing and recording rap verses.
In 2004, during his freshman year at Brigham Young University (BYU), he formed a rap group called ACLASS with the 3 other Black students at the school at that time. In 2008, he started a Hip Hop band called “James Devine” and continued to write and record music until he left on his two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
While serving his Russian-speaking mission to Everett, Washington he became frustrated at the number of members who were either not willing or too afraid to share the gospel with their friends and neighbors, and also those who would not let anyone outside of the Church know that they were Mormon. When he returned home from his mission, he promised himself and the Lord that he would never let an opportunity pass by where he did not share with others what he believes and stands for. Two days after returning home is when he changed his social media handles to @jamesthemormon.
James goes on to state in his blog post that rapping is a hobby for him. He is not looking to become rich nor famous by becoming a popular rapper. He has no plans to make rap music a career, and there are no future plans for a tour of any kind. It is not about making money as far as he is concerned. For him, creating rap music is more therapeutic than anything else. Furthermore, he has a much higher purpose, and that is to bring souls unto Christ. He states, “Although I have released music that mentions LDS beliefs and doctrine, do not get it confused … I am not making music for Mormons. I’m making music to be used as a tool to share the gospel.” By tool, he is talking about preaching to people, but rather turning a song into a teaching opportunity.”
Speaking of his new EP I’m Not a Rapper, he comments that it “delves into topics such as my extremely abusive childhood, my issues with communication in relationships, my divorce, how I deal with contention, even what motivates me to keep going.” He hopes that the album will be shared with people of all faiths and beliefs and that he can dispel the myth that Mormons are more than just the guys you see wearing white shirts and ties and riding bicycles. He wants people to understand that we are all different and each of us have our own set of trials and problems. He wants people to know that “a “Mormon” is not defined by the rules we keep, but instead by the person we turn to when misfortune comes our way.”
The EP has taken off like a bullet train and is currently a hot trending item on the music scene. In a video released on Wednesday, 27 April 2016, on Facebook, James announced that his album was charted at number 13 under the genre of rap/hip-hop and number 121 in the world in all genres. He is hoping to push his new EP to number 1 with the help of all his supporters. He also stated that 50% of all proceeds from the sale of the album will go directly to the missionary fund of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As of Thursday morning, 28 April 2016, James’ new EP I Am Not a Rapper is listed as number 3 on the iTunes Top 10 Rap Albums chart.
