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Luke James Talks Album 'A Live Sensation' & His Role in 'Thoughts Of A Colored Man'
Dec 11, 2021
Luke James is one of the best live performers in R&B. So it is only right that he craft an album that is a full live performance.
The singer has recently released his first live project “A Live Sensation” which was backed by the Nu Deco Ensemble, he presents live renditions of songs that were included on his most recently released album “To Feel Love/d” from 2020.
James called into Sway In The Morning to talk about the album as well as his role in the new Broadway play 'Thoughts of A Colored Man'.
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0:00
yeah man
0:02
that's some music right here come on
0:04
come on ladies and gentlemen you know we
0:06
multi grammy nominated singer songwriter
0:09
actor all around great guy give it up
0:12
for the one and only luke
0:13
james
0:14
luke james
0:18
i know i felt like the announcer i felt
0:20
like the announcer come on give it up
0:22
one time for luke james
0:26
hey
0:27
yo thank you so much i i always show up
0:30
here man it receives so much love man oh
0:34
man you know i i
0:35
i got nothing but love for you i know
0:37
your history i know when you sang
0:38
background for tyrese i know what that
0:40
must have been like you know i put
0:42
tyrese in the studio first and do his
0:44
first demo i like to say that a lot of
0:45
times
0:46
yeah so we go way back um
0:49
go way back man you've been doing so so
0:52
well you've been doing so well i know we
0:54
saw each other recently and you invited
0:56
me to the thoughts of a colored man at
0:58
the johnson theater on the play that
1:00
you're doing and um i haven't been able
1:02
to go yet but i'm ready luke i want to
1:04
see it uh please
1:06
absolutely man tell me about this
1:08
project this album though live sensation
1:10
because when i listen to it man i it's
1:13
like heather was saying off air man who
1:15
what is that it takes me somewhere yeah
1:17
who is good
1:19
you know
1:20
how did you how did this come together
1:22
well you know you're singing falsetto
1:24
and a lot of the early songs it's just
1:26
it's a whole vibe to it what was the
1:28
vision
1:29
well you know um
1:31
i mean growing growing up listen i mean
1:33
being a fan of music
1:35
when i really look at it right now all
1:36
my most of my favorite albums my top
1:39
favorite albums were live albums
1:42
you know donnie hathaway at the
1:43
troubadour or you know nina simone
1:46
um to i mean luther at radio city hall
1:50
you know i mean list goes on marvin you
1:52
know it just all of my favorite albums
1:55
were live and so i had always
1:58
aspired to do a live album at some point
2:01
i just would have been waiting for the
2:02
project i guess
2:04
that i would do that uh for and so after
2:08
doing on my last project to feel loved
2:11
um
2:12
i i worked with uh this um this ensemble
2:16
by the name of new deco ensemble out of
2:18
miami
2:20
um i worked with them a couple years ago
2:22
and and we had always stayed in touch
2:24
and i had always told them my dreams and
2:26
aspirations and they were like oh you
2:28
know just let us know when you're ready
2:29
you know and you have something you want
2:31
to do and so after
2:33
you know
2:34
to feel love came out and receiving the
2:36
accolades and whatnot um
2:39
we were just like yo let's let's
2:40
reimagine that album uh
2:43
with uh new deco and so we came together
2:48
um sam and giacomo uh conductor and
2:51
writer they just they just showed me
2:53
their vision
2:55
and we were just all linked in and on
2:57
the same page so we just spent the
2:59
weekend together um we filmed it
3:02
uh
3:03
and i mean it's like this 20
3:05
30 piece ensemble
3:08
um over over quarantine i
3:10
kind of learned how to play piano so
3:13
that um this is my first time uh ever
3:17
playing uh an instrument and singing uh
3:21
at the same time so it was just a
3:23
it was just something i just knew i had
3:25
to just get down on on tape man and and
3:29
um that's why it feels the way it feels
3:31
that's that's
3:32
this is my truest form you know i guess
3:35
my my folks have always said my best
3:37
attributes is when uh you know singing
3:40
live performing live and so i was just
3:42
grateful that we can capture it and
3:44
capture me
3:45
in my full essence so that's what you're
3:47
hearing that's what it sounds what it
3:49
sounds like bro
3:51
you're transformed in this one it's in a
3:54
lane uh because you're a young man so
3:57
you know
3:58
a lot of the music you know we've hear
4:00
these kind of feedback on songs and what
4:02
people are doing is usually repetitious
4:04
you know that's one of the reasons why i
4:06
enjoyed that silk sonic album with um
4:09
anderson and you know
4:12
bruno mars is because you know i just
4:14
felt like they're taking a chance at
4:16
what they love and that's what this
4:19
project feels like have the beast
4:20
tripping heather you all right heather
4:25
no
4:25
because you know what uh all right so
4:28
luke you know i love you what's up last
4:30
time we saw each other we were bumping
4:32
around i was coming downstairs this
4:34
serious he was going into one of the new
4:35
floors and we were just like look
4:38
heather just gave me a big hug and it
4:40
was great and so
4:43
it's funny because i was wondering then
4:45
like i wonder what you're working on
4:46
wondering what he's doing and it's hard
4:49
you know it's hard it's hard for
4:52
for singers songwriters artists
4:54
musicians that play you also act and you
4:57
know you sometimes wonder how can people
4:59
sustain and i think whatever you tapped
5:02
into
5:03
is just
5:04
mind-blowing like this is it like when
5:07
you just get into that agreement with
5:10
your spirit your mind your soul your
5:12
body and just follow that like you tap
5:14
them bruh at a time when music is just
5:17
we over a song after a week or two you
5:20
don't want to hear it no more but i i
5:22
just think you tapped into something and
5:24
that's why i'm just like wow it this is
5:27
crazy and and i'm just happy for you
5:29
like i'm i'm just happy for you
5:30
congratulations thank you heaven i mean
5:33
ella really to be fair you know in all
5:36
all honesty man i i've jumped off the
5:38
train
5:39
you know before i used to i was on this
5:41
train of like famous fame and and and
5:45
trying to
5:46
uh compete um
5:49
and and it just would never it never was
5:52
right for me it
5:54
it was something i just you know growing
5:56
up you know
5:58
looking at movies and all these things
5:59
that talked about the music business and
6:01
stuff and i and i just kind of just
6:03
jumped on a wave
6:05
that really wasn't for me understand wow
6:09
you know so i had to make a decision at
6:11
some point
6:12
which was a couple years ago you know to
6:15
be fair it don't
6:17
it it was it was new addition that
6:20
really that experience that really kind
6:22
of like started me on the journey of
6:23
like
6:25
finding what really brings me joy what
6:27
brings me peace
6:29
um as a human as a person i feel that i
6:32
have purpose um
6:35
within within the arts is my way um and
6:39
and something that is is my divine
6:41
connection
6:42
and i gotta get out of this
6:45
rigamarole of of industry and business
6:48
that has taken soul out of
6:51
what it is that
6:53
moved me to be a musician um to to learn
6:56
how to love to learn
6:58
who god is to learn
7:00
you know i mean all the s aspects of
7:03
being a a person
7:06
who feels um that's what music did for
7:08
me music showed me a lot of different
7:11
things and i kind of i i wanted i want
7:14
to be a person that that you know adds
7:16
to that to that pile of of genius and i
7:19
couldn't get to it because i was stuck
7:22
in on the train of something else and it
7:24
wasn't it wasn't right so i got off of
7:26
it and here i am just finding my own
7:29
lane my what feels good to me
7:32
having a team that really understands
7:34
what i want and and is okay with
7:37
allowing me to be a full
7:39
um artist
7:40
and what has happened is the world has
7:42
expanded my world has expanded my
7:44
territory has expanded and
7:47
film and television and music
7:49
is just this thing that i'm able to do
7:52
freely and that's what you're hearing
7:55
i'm i'm actually having a good time i'm
7:57
actually enjoying what i sing i'm i'm
8:00
actually enjoying
8:02
uh performing again you know before that
8:04
it took the love out of it so what
8:06
you're hearing is is exactly that what
8:08
you're saying is exactly that yeah wow
8:10
james man you tapped in and for those
8:12
that know route man listen i got a clap
8:14
for you for that because yeah you tapped
8:16
in and for those that know
8:18
you i i feel it i think we all felt it
8:21
it was like whoa something is going on
8:24
inside right now what is this who is
8:25
this what's happening so congratulations
8:28
god bless thank you
8:30
the live sensation the live version of
8:33
to feel loved is out now tracy g yeah
8:36
man loop wow
8:38
brother
8:39
so tracy yo bro like
8:42
your speaking voice your writing voice
8:44
your singing voice like
8:47
the depth of it all that you're sharing
8:49
with us is just it's it's tremendous and
8:51
it's resonating with me so deeply bro
8:54
citizens i'm not sure if you notice at
8:56
all but yesterday i might have sounded a
8:58
little tired when we started the show
8:59
and that's only because i went to bed at
9:01
two a.m because i spent
9:04
three hours unpacking
9:07
thoughts of a colored man
9:09
with my partner carl because we saw it
9:11
wednesday evening and my gosh just
9:14
exquisite
9:16
hilarious just memorable as hell from
9:20
the first second until the grand finale
9:23
scene
9:24
just wow citizens i'm telling you if
9:26
you're in the new york area if you come
9:28
in over here please see keenan scott ii
9:31
who's the playwright just marvelous all
9:33
black cast all black um production team
9:37
like
9:38
wow and it's about um
9:41
seven black men who are nameless for the
9:43
majority of
9:45
the show
9:46
and they all are in the same environment
9:49
right which is a gentrified brooklyn but
9:52
that environment manifests
9:54
very different outlooks on life for them
9:56
all very different paths and it appears
9:59
different but you start to see how
10:00
they're all integrated and look bro you
10:04
were magnificent
10:06
the singing the presents like ah
10:09
everything and it made me curious
10:12
about the difference in
10:14
your body does it feel different
10:17
when you are on stage in a theater
10:20
versus on stage in an arena
10:24
um
10:26
at first i said it was
10:28
before that before starting this process
10:31
because this is my debut to theater to
10:34
broadway even um
10:37
i did i did think of this as something
10:39
different because it was so foreign to
10:42
me even walking into it um
10:45
but now after doing having done it i
10:48
mean for the past six weeks
10:50
um or i don't know could be 12 weeks now
10:53
um
10:57
i'm finding i'm finding the correlation
11:00
um
11:01
the the only dif the true difference is
11:05
um on stage in a way in music stage you
11:08
know you can you can
11:11
you can go somewhere else right i can be
11:13
on stage i can close my eyes and i can
11:16
go to another place
11:18
if i need or feel the need to but with
11:22
this with this particular piece this
11:24
project you know our third i mean our
11:27
i'm sorry our eighth um castmate is the
11:30
audience
11:31
so
11:32
i can't you know what i mean i can't uh
11:35
go to another place in my mind and and
11:38
just let the feeling move me and whatnot
11:40
i have to stay present and that is what
11:42
is what this piece is you know this
11:44
journey has taught me to be present
11:46
um
11:48
to really you know
11:49
how i feel on the day that's what i use
11:52
you know i have the tools that we've
11:54
been given
11:55
um but from day to day can change on how
11:57
i feel and you know in my own personal
12:00
life and whatnot and we we've been asked
12:02
to bring it to the stage we we've this
12:05
process has been very therapeutic i mean
12:08
it is i'm grateful for this to be the
12:10
bridge
12:11
my bridge to this world and this
12:13
community and this piece is just so
12:17
beyond when i first read it i mean i
12:19
cried and i and i just knew i was like
12:22
okay i'm scared of doing this but i i
12:25
get it and i see the value in it i see
12:27
me i see my my my uncles my brothers my
12:32
cousins i see my friends i see the old
12:34
man i used to live down the block that
12:36
told me put my pants up i see everybody
12:39
in this and i don't know if anybody else
12:41
has seen this or has or this has been
12:44
shown in this in this kind of way on
12:46
this stage so i was grateful to be uh
12:49
to be invited to the party um it is
12:54
it is it is similar i will say it's
12:57
similar i'm still discovering
13:00
um the correlation but
13:03
but it is teaching me how to be present
13:05
and i'm i'm actually looking forward to
13:06
actually performing singing um
13:10
to see how i feel now
13:12
after doing this if i will be present
13:15
now from here on i don't know because i
13:17
i see now the value
13:19
in
13:20
uh being present and on stage you know
13:23
not allowing yourself to just go
13:24
somewhere else
13:26
um
13:27
and in some cases the holy spirit has to
13:29
come on you know when you're on stage
13:31
that happens
13:32
but in theater
13:34
you can't just get lost
13:37
you got you know it's a whole scene
13:38
there's a whole lot of things we have to
13:40
do and stay present is the most
13:42
important thing yeah i'm grateful you
13:44
came
13:45
in right now and when i'm coming with
13:47
sway all i'm dming you right now and i'm
13:49
on your ig you get a message from me
13:52
luke this is how you get you where are
13:53
my tickets at he got my number
13:56
right now he got my number
14:00
hey
14:05
i'm so proud of you your language is
14:07
different yeah your vocabulary is
14:09
different your consciousness is expanded
14:12
and elevated your evolution is before
14:15
our very eyes man and
14:16
you're so comfortable with yourself
14:18
brother even when you laugh it sounds
14:20
authentic more authentic
14:24
but but
14:25
and then your your range is so
14:27
impressive because i was i'm a hallmark
14:30
fan bro i watched the hallmark channel
14:32
and i was watching you know where i'm
14:34
going with this right i was watching
14:36
christmas in harmony and i was like what
14:38
this dude is here too
14:41
yeah
14:42
i had to do it i had to do what i had to
14:44
do with it i had to they reached out
14:47
and i got you know i got i mean i've
14:50
seen i've watched hallmark films you
14:52
know we all have and
14:54
i just was like okay
14:56
i'm gonna do this and also it was like
14:58
man i get an opportunity to work with
15:00
miss loretta devine you know i've
15:03
i've always wanted to work with her i
15:05
grew up watching her and i was just like
15:07
okay yeah i'm down let's do this and
15:08
this is and it was right before i had to
15:11
jump into uh
15:13
thoughts of a colored man so it was
15:15
really cool to
15:16
do something light and and and uh
15:20
and and you know uplifting because
15:22
before that i just finished doing a a
15:25
horror and then before that i just did
15:28
you know the shy and and the shy is
15:29
a bit heavy and drama and a little bit
15:33
dark so this was an opportunity to just
15:35
you know lift my heart and i was
15:36
grateful to for the opportunity it was
15:38
fun yeah
15:41
yo i sat and watched and i love it
15:43
because i could watch you now and
15:44
separate the character from the person i
15:47
know and i think that's beautiful you
15:49
know and i think that's amazing brother
15:51
luke james give him a round of applause
15:53
you can follow him at wolf james
15:56
you know check them out on broadway
15:58
thoughts of a color man at the john
15:59
golden theater and get that citizens
16:01
over this weekend you should be tuned
16:03
into a live sensation that's the name of
16:05
the project the live version of the
16:06
grammy nominated album to feel love
16:09
hey luke uh please has to have the b and
16:11
we're definitely gonna come check out
16:13
the play all right brother please please
16:15
i would love to see y'all i love you all
16:17
to experience this okay thank you man
16:20
have a beautiful day luke james
16:35
you
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