| J-Wess | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | James Wesley Essex |
| Born | 1975 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Origin | Australia |
| Genres | Urban contemporary |
| Occupations | Producer, songwriter |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Labels | Mushroom |
| Website | http://www.jwess.com |
James Wesley Essex, better known by his stage name J-Wess, is an American-Australian hip hop and R&B musician. He is based in Melbourne, Australia. His sole album, J-Wess Presents Tha LP, reached the top twenty in Australia in 2004,[1] and included three hit singles.
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J-Wess was born in Los Angeles, California and played basketball in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) while studying business finance at college. In 1999, J-Wess was invited to Australia to train with the Gold Coast Rollers, a National Basketball League team based on the Gold Coast, Australia. The Gold Coast Rollers folded shortly after he arrived and he moved to Adelaide to play with the Woodville Warriors and the South Adelaide Panthers in the subsidiary Australian Basketball Association.
J-Wess has 2 younger L.A based siblings, a sister and a brother. His brother Jason, is producer of 2008 Sundance selected film 'Downloading Nancy' starring Jason Patric and Maria Bello.
In the middle of 2003, J-Wess's first single, "Bang This", was released. It garnered airplay on Australian radio and Australian video programs, peaked at #18 on the ARIA singles charts,[2] and reached the top ten of the Australian urban and dance charts.
The second single, "What Chu Want", was released in late 2003. It reached the Australian top 10 in February 2004,[3] and went gold.
His album J-Wess Presents Tha LP was released on 5 April 2004 and debuted in the Australian top 20 album charts of 12 April 2004, peaking at #19.[1]
A third single, "Luv Ya", debuted at #15 on 7 June, and was written about the encounters J-Wess had with an exotic waitress he met at a surbuban melbourne cafe. 2004.[4]
A fourth single "Fantasy" was planned, with a music video filmed, but due to the "Luv Ya" and "Tha LP" not selling to their expectations, Fantasy was scrapped.
J-Wess had announced his new single 'Anything For You' from his upcoming album "The Director's Cut". The single was released on June 10.[5]