Behind the scenes with your favourite superstar
Whether you know him from his smooth RnB, or from his viral TikToks and Instagram reels, one thing you should know by now is the Jemapelle James is ‘Your Favourite Superstar’.
Me, I just know him as one of the boys. When he was down in Cape Town last year I managed to catch him to learn more about what goes into his music, what he listens to, and his latest song with Sishii, ‘YOH’.
Jemapelle James - our favourite superstar. Who is he?
Um, just a cool RnB guy bro. An artist/rapper personality, and your favourite superstar. That’s about it.
So why Rnb, how did you find yourself in that side of the music world?
Coz I couldn’t rap bro (laughter). I used to be a rapper and it just didn't work. So I tried the singing thing and I was better at that.
I guess RnB is the first genre you go into when you figure out you can sing. I’m obviously trying to go a bit broader and try some pop or alternative stuff and what not, but I just think RnB works for me right now.
So then what does RnB mean to you, how would you define it?
I don’t have a deep answer to it, I just think it's good - I don't know. It’s just good music for me. It’s a way for me to tell stories and journal within the music. For me RnB is what you make it. If it sounds good then I feel good. Nothing deeper than that.
How did it all start?
It all started with my brother Verge. We were in a group called ‘The Royals’, I was a rapper with the wackest bars ever. Rapping just wasn’t really working out for me. I figured out kinda ‘late’ that I could sing, I was like Grade 11. So I found another medium and here I am.
And how is RnB treating you?
It’s nice bro, I won’t lie. I think in High School when I realised the amount of attention singing can get you, mmm.I will say that my initial reasons weren’t the best (laughs). But overtime it’s become my life.
So when are we seeing you in the All White Suit?
Ey bro I don't think you’ll ever see me rocking the white suit (laughs). Because I’m an RnB guy with a rapper personality I don’t think you’ll ever see that unless it's something funny.
That kinda leads me into the next question - I wanted to find out more about your Instagram skits?
RnB obviously isn't the most popular genre in the country. I mean there are big local RnB acts, but popping off is quite difficult and I needed to find a medium to actually bring me in front of peoples faces. I ended up having a conversation with one of my friends who is actually my content manager now, and we were trying to figure out a way to bring myself forward. We had this whole “your favourite superstar’ thing, but we asked ourselves “How am I calling myself your favorite superstar if no one actually knows me like that?” Yeah, it was a tough one. But we came up with the idea to push the social media angle. The goal is obviously to get seen and be ‘known’, but the mission is to push the music behind that as well. You’ll notice that in some of the skits that I do I put the music behind them, and it kinda does help.
Does it play through?
It doesn’t translate in the way that you would want it to, but I do know that if a video does do well now, if I check back I notice that on that day the song does pick up more listeners. It kinda is translating, but we’re still trying to figure out a better way of doing it.
But also it’s just fun bro.People get to see your personality. The mysterious thing doesn't work anymore - the more people know you, the more people like you, the chances of them actually going to listen to your stuff are better.
What goes into the music you make?
I mean I don't have a crazy process, I have an idea and write it down and make music around it. But it does need to come from something that is inspirational, so whether I’m out or whether I’m listening to stories from my friends, or whether it's personal experiences, that essentially goes into the music. We don't cap in the music, everything is genuine.
Are you also walking around with a book like Alex Biaya does?
I have a memo pad with either harmonies, or different melodic ideas for songs. 7 out of 10 times it doesn't really work, but you find something from there. I dont have a book, coz I’ll probably lose it - it’s all on my phone.
Tell us about your recent work - your most recent single is ‘Call Me’, but for me ‘Still Fam’ is still my fave.
It bangs hey? For me I’ve gotten over trying to top myself with the next song, everyone will gravitate to what they like. Still Fam just happened to be a banger.
My newest release is a track called ‘YOH’, which I recorded with Sishii. I wanted to create something nostalgic and familiar, rooted in warmth, identity, and a sense of community. Growing up, music always brought people together, and that feeling inspired the direction of this record. I drew inspiration from the storytelling and soul of AKA, Letta Mbulu, Brenda Fassie, and Caiphus Semenya, intentionally using warm chords and familiar drum patterns to create a sound that feels like home while expressing vulnerability and real emotion.
As much as it is a heartbreak song that feels like it was set in the ’90s or early 2000s, honestly speaking, I was also looking for vibes and music I’m able to present beyond just an MP3, something I can fully bring to life on stage and share as an experience with people, and so it only made sense for me to get one of my best friends to be part of this song - his energy strengthens the message and completes the feeling of the record.
I spoke to Themba about it recently and the goal is trying to get more RnB artists involved, and by doing that reaching out for more features, particularly from female artists, because we have so many dope female RnB artists out here. This is all part of my ‘Road to Superstardom’ journey.
Sishii and Jemapelle James
On that chat, do you think it’s harder for gent to make it in RnB?
It is bro, it definitely is. Maybe it's because we aren't crying in the rain anymore (laughter). But nah I can’t honestly tell you why, I haven't really studied that part, but it doesn't really help complaining about it.
I think now with RnB - and I do realise it in myself as well - I don't think gents can really sing anymore. It’s one thing to have good melodies, but if you hear people live and then you hear the actual .mp3 - it's like what’s going on? Also I just think everyone is trying to be too cool for the genre, that’s just my opinion.
Okay let me ask you this - RnB vs TrapSoul?
Eisssh. I still prefer RnB. I think TrapSoul, Bryson Tiller was obviously the leader of the movement, and I think what tends to happen now is that everything sounds like a Bryson Tiller song, so it kind of loses its purpose. But I still prefer RnB. I love me some good chords, some good harmonies and whatnot. I mean TrapSoul is cool, but it doesn't come close.
What do you listen to? What’s on your daily shuffle?
A lot of RnB of course, some country music -
-Country music? Really?
Yeah bro. I think alos its just a way for me to study music. I think personally white people are among the best songwriters. Go look at the writing credits for some of the songs you like. Those people know how to write bro, and if you dip into their genre and listen to what they have to say and how they structure things, you’d find some gems. If you listen to people like Becky Hill, she's more pop, Billy Eilish as well obviously, in terms of writing, and her music.
So other than RnB and Country, what else are you listening to?
GQOM bro, I love Gqom with all my heart. Obviously I’m from Durban, but it’s not just because of that - I just love bass. And Gqom is just sensational.
Obviously 3-step is coming into play now, some Amapiano, some Gospel, some alternative, that’s what I’m on right now.
Jemapelle James, Verge, Sishi and Abo Booi
I wanted to ask, what’s it like working with the boys? Because obviously I know you guys - Abo, Themba, Verge, Sishii - but it's seamless how everyone works together on what y’all are doing?
I flippen love it. Because for one, you can trust their opinion or critique that they give to you, and two, they’re probably my biggest supporters. We post each other's stuff, we attend each other's shows when we can, and it's amazing to grow as an artist with such support around, but at the same time it’s great to see other people doing it. I’d like to believe that none of us are jealous of any of the others for their success - if it's your time to shine, it's your time.
I think it's very rare, in my opinion, to find such a tight knit group of friends who sort of have a similar goal .I love it bro, I really do. And there’s kind of a cute competitive nature - I’m obviously trying to be the ebay in the group, and everyone else is too. So when I see one of the homies dropping it makes me feel like “damn, I gotta get back to work”.
What’s your opinion of the current cultural landscape of the country, and where do you see it going from here?
I think when it comes to overall entertainment, SA is one of the best to do it in the world. We have everything bro. We have dope singers, dope rappers, we have fashionista, we have dope clothing brands - I think everything in SA is really dope, I just don't know why we’re slept on.
And i think we do have to give props to Amapiano coz now people are actually looking in to see like “oh you guys have this? There are no zebras walking in your kitchen?” So I think we’re growing inj a good direction
And I’m just glad we’re embracing it bro. The goal used to be to go live in America - and I still want to blow up internationally - but now I’m comfortable knowing that I can blow up in SA and have a base here. We have everything, we have all the resources, and people can actually make something of themselves here.
