A Conversation With Benton James of the Urban Sophisticates
A fan girl's reflection of one of the best jazz hip-hop acts no one knows about. Yet.
It was a mid-October night at the Greene Street Club in downtown Greensboro, NC. While this club is known locally mainly for its rock bands and it’s rootop party, tonight the building was going to be a mecca for live hip-hop, in the vein of the Roots. The first act was forgettable, spewing factory issue hip-hop over wack beats. So forgettable, I can’t even remember his name. The next act, Blount Harvey, was a steady improvement. They had rappers, they had a live band behind them, they even had a girl lead singer who looked like a lady, not a lady of the night. However, I was here for the main event, the Urban Sophisticates, the hometown band, releasing their third studio album and reminding me why I am in love with music in the first place.
As a teenager in the 1990’s, Benton James had two loves growing up in Philadelphia, music and basketball. When it comes to music, it was the lyrics in alternative rock that got him going. Although he attended college with the goal of playing basketball, music began to take over his interests. After internships at Philadelphia International Records, known by many as the creators of “Philly Soul” ,and another record label in Delaware, James took off to North Carolina to what he calls “a community of people making music.” In that community, he began playing coffee shops and coming across Jeremy Denman and Ryan Kee. The three of them started messing around making tracks, and in 2002, the Urban Sophisticates were born.
I myself came across the band affectionately known as simply “Urban” in 2004. It was the summer before I went to college and a good friend told me to go to their website. I downloaded one of their songs “Apartment 3A” and casually started playing it. It got to the point I had to start playing it everyday. Once I got to college and to a higher speed Internet connection, I was all over the website, playing their demos and eventually getting my hands on a copy of their self-titled first CD. By then the band had James handling the MC duties, James’ brother Aaron singing hooks, Demman and Sal Mascali handling the brass section and Kee and Tim Hooker handling the strings(bass and acoustic). One, being at college and therefore gaining an appreciation(or obsession) with non-mainstream music, I was enamored. These guys also sung about life. Life after you lose a friend, your parent, your sanity, a chance at love. I was feeling down and they kept me up.
In 2005, I saw them live for the first time. Friends had spread rumors about these guys being better than ever on stage and I couldn’t wait to see it. The occasion was the album release for their second album, The Cowards Anthem. By then, Kee had left and new bassist Ricky Nxumalo had joined the crew. I had my doubts about quality, but from the first bars of “Testify”, the first song of the night, I was going crazy with the rest of the crowd at the Pour House Music Hall in downtown Raleigh. According to James, we haven’t seen nothin’ yet. “We are writing the most palatable show I’ve ever written, something that will really showcase the band and set us up as a premier live band,”said James
I bought the album that night and with it came a sample of a Burn energy drink. Wasn’t much of a fan of the drink, but thankful that they helped get great music out on the scene. James hopes to see more product placement soon. “We’d love to have Coca-Cola or even [this magazine] help sponsor or release tracks.” I’m thinking at this point, product placement? Isn’t that a sin for the indie band? However, Urban is not trying to be anything but a live-hip hop band.
Before I had a chance to chat with James, the buzz circulating them in my circle was that they were this great Christian band that has a nice jazzy, soulful sound. When describing them to other friends, people would comment that they were like the Roots and ask had I seen them in concert. “No, but you should see the Urban Sophisticates…”, I’d bounce back. I also I began asking myself, why aren’t these guys famous? What’s stopping radio from picking them up?Why aren’t they selling out the big stadiums? According to James, it’s all about having that 15 second sound bite for radio, but ultimately, that’s not the type of fame the band wants. Although Christianity is important and provides a foundation of life for James and other band members, it’s not the main focus of the band either. “We want to make good music, after all, if music is good, then its good.”, notes James. “There are not that many live hip-hop bands out there, we want to be the live hip-hop band”. He didn’t fail to mention that the jazz, soul and Christian influences wouldn’t be there, along with the desire to continue selling out shows, but the band wants to be a trailblazer and a trend-setter in this overlooked genre of hip-hop.
In 2008, things suddenly became difficult for the band. On the intro track to their latest CD, “Classic Material”, James tells fans that “ sometimes we don’t know how we’ll make it through…people leaving, people dying…”. In an article last fall in the Greensboro, NC News and Record, James mentions the band being a bit disappointed when a production deal with big name producers fell through. In addition, the band’s tour bus broke down, causing a number of shows to be canceled and Ben Perkins(who came in to replace Tim Hooker in 2006) and Nxumalo decided the band was no longer for them. “From a business standpoint, you lose the clear sound and flavor the band with those lost members gives, but from a personal standpoint, it’s like losing a brother.” He also mentioned when Hooker left, how it was difficult to talk to him at first, but eventually their friendship returned. He hopes for the same thing with Perkins and Nxumalo. In the meantime, he notes that the band will go on. “As long as there is myself, Aaron and Jeremy, there will be the Urban Sophisticates, in some shape or form.”
As we were chatting, the subject turned to the songs themselves. I have my own favorites, but little did I expect his to be the same as mine. “ On Classic Material, we did a song called Higher and I believe that it reflects who I am. From the beginning lyrics talking about defeat, to the brass solo that speaks of hope, this song portrays how I feel every day.” I noted that my favorite song on Classic Material was Dance with Me, a jazzy, swingy ode to true love. I began to imagine myself dancing to it on my wedding night and James told me that idea wasn’t far off from his own. In addition to the marriage metaphor the song holds, he hopes to release a video this summer to “complete the song.” He also noted that “Writing[songs] is like an editorial, either you get it or you don’t.” Whether they are jamming out to classic covers or spewing out their own tunes
I was also transported back to that night at Greene Street where fans were clamoring for the song “Take the Train Home”, a diddy from their self-tiled album which dealt with running home when times are rough. However, James told the disappointed fans that he’d forgotten the lyrics. When asked about this, James noted that there are songs that after having been played for years, you “outgrow” them. Case in point, “Just Not Urban Enough” a song that puts James as a guy rejected by a girl because he’s not urban (read: gangster) enough. “I’m not really that person any more and I want to keep moving on.” After all, he noted that as a songwriter, not just a band leader and MC, “you just want to keep writing songs, the creativity just continues to move.” He did not rule out the return of certain crowd favorites and ticked off a list of about five songs.
Before we left, I pulled out a shameless plug to get a press pass to their next show at Greene Street. He admitted that getting on the list for Greene Street was impossible, but only because of the venue. It didn’t matter, I’d catch them one day. In the meantime, go here to listen to the sound for yourself.
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