| John West | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | John West |
| Born | 11 May 1983 Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States |
| Genres | Pop, R&B |
| Occupations | Singer–songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Labels | Mercury, Island, Def Jam |
| Website | johnwestsongs.com |
John West (born May 11, 1983) is an American singer–songwriter, R&B recording artist and occasional rapper. Originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, West resides in Los Angeles, California where he began to pursue his music career soon after graduating Chicago’s Columbia College. While in Los Angeles, West became a street performer on Third Street Promenade, a popular tourist destination and public entertainment venue in downtown Santa Monica. West played street-side at the Promenade for a year. Then he took off on a road trip to Louisiana for a run of college shows. When a reinvigorated West returned to the Promenade, he was joined by a friend and the latter’s beat machine. In addition to working the Promenade, he began steadily building a fan base on the local indie circuit playing such venues as the Hotel Café and the Temple Bar.
In between West recorded new material for sale on the street and the internet, including a live CD plus EP’s. Six months after his college road trip, he met manager Ben Ricciardi and West began to play to full houses in Hollywood at the Roxy and the Avalon. Word promptly spread about West, and after being invited to New York City to showcase his musical talents with an acoustic performance for Mercury Records President, David Massey, West signed with Mercury/Island Def Jam October 2010. On August 2nd, 2011 West released his self-titled debut EP John West which includes his first single "Lovely" featuring American rapper Pusha T.[1]
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John West was born on May 11, 1983 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. West discovered his talent for music while in high school, where he took classical guitar lessons for a year. His musical influences stem from listening to such artists such as Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Carole King, Jill Scott and Lenny Kravitz. Music was a side thing, however. After graduating in 2000, he headed to Los Angeles for college and the pursuit of a bigger passion: cartooning. But a visit to his sister, a teacher in Chicago, over the next summer proved to change his mind. She was hosting a youth poetry slam series that involved the spoken word scene and hip-hop community: "Coming out of Baton Rouge, I was just another dude playing guitar," he recalls. "But I was watching her students free-styling and b-boxing. And that gave me confidence to start writing more and experimenting with my own spoken word pieces."
West later transfered to Chicago’s Columbia College as an English and art major. However as senior year approached and newspapers hit a downward spiral, West began rethinking his plans. Upon graduating college, West moved to Los Angeles to concentrate on music. While recording music, West also worked as a substitute teacher. He began to perform on Third Street Promenade: "It both humbles and teaches you. You learn about energy and how to consistently captivate the audience, which is a hard thing to do." said West of the experience. After a couple years, with his manager Ben Ricciardi, word spread of West, and after being invited to New York City to showcase his musical talents with an acoustic performance for Mercury Records President, David Massey, West signed with Mercury/Island Def Jam in October of 2010.
On August 2nd, 2011 West released his self-titled debut EP John West which includes his first single "Lovely", produced by Christian Rich, it features American rapper Pusha T.[2] On September 1st, 2011 West released the Mark Staubach-directed music video and on September 15th, 2011 he released the video for "Loved You Tonight". John West premiered and released the cover art for his single "Already There" featuring Big Sean on November 10, 2011, the music video was released on VEVO four days later. Since being signed, West has worked with Brian Kennedy, The Smeezingtons, Kevin Rudolf, and the Stereotypes, among others.
West has been recognized by the LA Times[3] and featured in USA Today as a 'pick of the week'.[4]
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| John West |
|
| Title | Year | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| "Lovely" (featuring Pusha T) |
2011 | Mark Staubach |
| "Loved You Tonight" | TBD | |
| "Already There" (featuring Big Sean) |
Joseph Garner |