Rainbow Blonde Records-A New Beginning for José James

José James On The Stoop / photo © by Janette Beckman/ courtesy of Girlie Action Media

Brooklyn jazz artist José James has always admired artists who control their own music, such as Ray Charles and Jay-Z. So when he got the rights back to his first album, The Dreamer in 2018, it made sense to release it on his own new label, Rainbow Blonde. “Since then we’ve been building the label to support more artists such as Ben Williams, Taali and Bright & Guilty,” he tells Brooklyn Roads. He’ll also be releasing his latest album, No Beginning No End 2, on March 6.

James and fellow label co-founders Talia Billig (Taali) and Brian Bender met during the creation of James’ Blue Note Records debut, No Beginning No End. “At the time Talia worked at Blue Note and was a huge champion for getting that album signed there,” he tells us. Bender co-produced that album and “the three of us went on to collaborate on my album While You Were Sleeping. We’re a great team with a long track record of making music, so when we discussed creating a new label, it was very exciting.”

Regarding the name Rainbow Blonde, James says, “It sums up our label ethos perfectly – we represent and are influenced by all the colors of music and the arts.” Rainbow Blonde currently has 19 releases on its website, including two full length LPs on vinyl and CD, Taali’s I Am Here and Ben Williams’ I Am a Man. “No Beginning No End will also be released on vinyl and CD,” James tells us, “but we’re definitely releasing a lot of digital singles and EPs worldwide as well from Bright & Guilty and Taali. We release on all formats.”

José James’ No  Beginning No End 2 Album Cover Art / courtesy of Girlie Action Media

James’ new album, No Beginning No End 2, was a long time in the works and features “a dream lineup,” he says , having built relationships with artists like Pino Palladino, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Ledisi, Aloe Blacc, Hindi Zahra, Kris Bowers, Lizz Wright. “I have also been a longtime fan of people like Laura Mvula, J. Hoard, Jamire Williams, Justin Brown and Marcus Machado. So much talent on this album.”

James tells Brooklyn Roads how 20-plus years in our borough helped shape his — and eventually Rainbow Blonde’s — musical mission:

José James Steps Up / photo © by Janette Beckman / courtesy of Girlie Action Media

“I moved to Brooklyn from Minneapolis in 1999 and it hit hard — Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Black August and the Crown Heights street culture. I saw artists and organizations such as the Brooklyn Museum, BAM, Brooklyn Public Library and Prospect Park Bandshell concerts building community and culture. I was in Brooklyn when the Twin Towers fell and saw the neighborhoods come together like never before or since. I also saw racial and social injustice on a daily basis. I also heard amazing music, drum circles and saw Afrikan dance. Like Brooklyn, we [at Rainbow Blonde] community-focused and music-minded,” he says.

“Brooklyn has some of the best music venues in the world,” he adds, noting that Ben Williams recently performed at  Kings Theatre with Kamasi Washington. “I would love to bring our Rainbow Blonde stage to BAM or the [Celebrate Brooklyn!] summer series.”