The Brown James

Full spread interview. - Edge Magazine

Our MidPoint Music Festival previews continue.

The Chicago-based hip hop duo The Brown James aka Faba and Johnny DuJour can attribute their sound to a wide net of influences, including indie rock, funk, and soul.
Personally, I’m a sucker for anyone that has the balls to label their music as “clitoral rock.” Respect for sampling Grizzly Bear - though I’m still holding out for a Michael McDonald sample - and dropping a Rugrats reference in “Thrift Store.”
“Some might call it hip-hop, others might call it indie pop-rock. Yet throwing the genre labels aside, what’s left is an innovative and conceptually-unique sound of music that manages to perfectly-conform to all of the musical interests in my life.” – Stereopirate.com - Each Note Secure

The Brown James (Faba and Johnny DuJour) is an indie hip hop/rock duo from Chicago. They experiment with a wide range of influences and sounds from traditional hip hop to indie rock and funk.

Fan reaction: "One of my favorite songs. I wanna hear more like this!" - FMainstream

Check out The Brown James at The Blue Wisp on Thursday, September 27 for the Midpoint Music Festival! - CincyMusic.com

One of the best perks with running the Stereo/Pirate site is that I get to control what is covered and what I am trying to do with the site. While I will use this opportunity to apologize to all of the musicians that have sent me music that I never reviewed, I would rather utilize this statement to emphasize the respect and admiration I have for the music that I do chose to write about on the site. I get my kicks in life sharing music with people; whether they be friends, colleagues, or whomever stumbles across this site on the web and decides to kill some time and enlighten their minds. So when I come across a song or artist that seems to capture my sonic-attention for a bit, I want to share it with everyone I can in hopes they can experience the same joy as myself. With that all being said, let me attempt to emphasize the excitement I have for the recent-release of the self-titled debut EP from Indie-Rock x Hip-Hop duo The Brown James. Coming in a just 5 tracks, yet packing enough punch to blow damn near every recently-released hip-hop album out of the water, The Brown James EP is the perfect debut onto the music scene from the talented genre-blending duo. Some might call it hip-hop, others might call it indie pop-rock. Yet throwing the genre labels aside, what’s left is an innovative and conceptually-unique sound of music that manages to perfectly-conform to all of the musical interests in my life. Individually, some would call them Joseph Freshington and Johnny Dujour, but together they get down as The Brown James. With a name as whitty and clever as the intelligent rhymes delivered through the sound, The Brown James are quickly building a following and for well-deserved reasons. Forging their own path in the music industry through an innovative sound – delicately-produced hip-hop beats setting the framework for line after line of smart, witty rhymes – the future is bright for the talented young Midwest duo.

On the opening track off their self-titled debut The Brown James EP, Johnny Dujour cooks up a pulsating beat fueled by a distortion-heavy guitar riff worthy of praise itself. “Down to Brown” set’s the sonic blueprint for what to expect throughout the 5 songs on The Brown James EP – a diverse mixture of musical genres and styles influenced by the cumulative experiences and ideas of two truly-artistic individuals. Although the music could easily soundtrack any badass party, it’s the creative rhymes and verses by Joe Fresh that captures your attention every listen. Line after line, Joe throws his fuel onto the musical fire with such crafty metaphors as “..well-connected like the corners on the tile floor..” and “..I’m not playing like the Lakers’ other 2-Guard..” By the end of the song, you can’t help but to put the track on repeat another time and turning up the volume just a few more notches.

With the aural warm-up over, The Brown James EP breaks right into what is hands-down my favorite song on their release. By the time you are only a few seconds into “Thrift Store,” you probably recognize the now-infamous riff that begins the sample of Grizzly Bear‘s “Two Weeks.” When hearing this track for the first time, its nearly impossible to not get excited for the upcoming lyrical assault by Joe Fresh about to be experienced. Demonstrating his intelligent way with words through his seamless-delivery of rhyme after rhyme, there seems to be a cohesive and reinforced feeling to the entire song. Not only do The Brown James tackle hip-hop with their unique beats and party-infused sound, but they are able to effortlessly-blend various elements from modern indie rock at the same time. I can honestly say I’ve never really heard a duo of young musicians accomplish the type of unique and innovative sound that comes from the combined minds of The Brown James. Perhaps they are right when describing their music as “alternative hip-hop” in this track, as it seems to perfectly-describe their sound. The captivating combination of indie rock and hip-hop verses that resonate in an endless rhyme in my mind – perfect.

As the album continues onto the third track “You Probably Haven’t Heard of Us,” the non-stop party vibe underlying the album continues to build throughout the song with every slam of the beat. As the layers of guitar riff and instrumentals crescendo into a sonic break-down, Joe Fresh hops on the track to bless the head-nodding beat with his inconspicuous lyrical verbiage of thought-provoking words and wisdom. The constant pulsating of the dual-tempo beat evokes an additional sense of energy and excitement with the track, keeping listeners intrigued as to what to expect next from the genre-busting duo of The Brown James.

Transitioning effortlessly into the fourth track on the EP “Crew Neck Sweater,” the creative duo of Johnny Dujour and Joe Fresh manage to expand their sound into ever-more-unique sonic territories. Putting down the stereotypical “rough and gutter” front that seems to block the true essence of hip-hop artists these days, Joe Fresh utilizes his college diploma to demonstrate his natural, uncanny way with words. While “Crew Neck Sweater” seems like a basic feel-good hip-hop song upon first listen, once you dive into the soul-infused beat and comprehend the intellegent rhymes being being delivered, you can’t help but smile and get geeked hearing such a simplistic topic be discussed in every which-way possible. Maybe it’s just my love for the fashion statement defined by the title of the track that seems to lure me into this track over and over, or maybe its the fact that the combination of a fresh beat and witty lyrics that seems to keep me addicted and coming back for more. Regardless, this fun light-hearted jam is worthy of any playlist made for people looking to party and have a good time.

By the time the fifth and final track of The Brown James EP rolls around, it finally sets in that this brilliant album is only the debut release from the talented duo. Keeping with the Kanye West inspired sound on the culminating track “Guess Who,” the duo of Johnny Dujour and Joe Fresh reaffirm that their unique and innovative sound is here to stay. Re-working the sounds made popular on Yeezy’s 808's and Heartbreaks album, Johnny Dujour serves up a hot dish of fresh beats only to be verbally demolished by the cold words emitted from the mind of Joe Fresh. Carrying his emotions on his sleeves by delivering heart-felt words of love, lust, and break-ups, Joe Fresh is able to channel his inner soft-side to produce this highly-addictive banger from The Brown James. Culminating their debut release with one of their best songs, The Brown James successfully managed to create a highly-addictive and captivating debut onto the scene.

At only 5 songs, Johnny Dujour and Joe Fresh focus on quality over quantity – allowing them to explode onto the scene with a solid foundation of tracks to build upon in the future. While The Brown James EP is an incredible listen straight-through, I keep finding it nearly impossible to not constantly put tracks on repeat in order to vibe out over and over to their crafty sounds. With every listen, I constantly am reminded just how much people can succeed at whatever it is they want to do when they put their mind to it. I can still remember my first weeks as a freshman at Purdue University in the Fall of 2006, when I had the pleasure of meeting Joe Fresh for the first time. Although we had never met before college, we happened to end up being neighbors across the hall from each other in our dorm. I never would have thought that our casual friendship that started a few years back would develop into the mutual respect and admiration that we both share with each other today. It’s crazy to think back to those days and how we took the freedoms of being on our own at college and used them to shape and transform ourselves into the individuals that we are today. I know back then I would have never imagined I would be running a music blog dedicated to helping people discover new music – and I’m sure Joe had no idea he would be developing into the musician and lyrical wordsmith that he is quickly becoming today. You could call it a small world that we were able to cross paths so randomly back in the day, but to me I think it was a sign of fate and the positive reinforcement of our individual destinies to be. Regardless, our time growing up as friends in college proved to be extremely beneficial to both of our success, and I cannot possibly contain the excitement I have for our future endeavors and collaborations to come. Whatever the future holds is always unclear, but one thing for certain is that their innovative approach to music – coupled with the daring to be unique mindset of both members – has laid the foundation for an extremely bright future of success for The Brown James.

Listen to their entire debut The Brown James EP below, where you can also download the tracks individually. Also, check out the links to their various locations around the internet that will keep you up-to-date with everything going on in The Brown James camp. Also, for those in the Chicago area, The Brown James will be invading the Elbo Room THIS FRIDAY for a performance that is not to be missed. Click on the flyer at the bottom of this post to go to the Facebook event page for more information. - stereopirate.com

I met John Dvorchak when I somehow ended up at his birthday party on the campus of Purdue University. I am very thankful for that chance meeting. Dvorchak and lyrical flowmaster Joseph Fahnbelleh combine to become The Brown James. Their EP is fresh fresh fresh… just dropped a couple minutes ago via their facebook page. Only streaming for now, download to come Oct. 11th. Dis shit iz dope. Take a listen below. - Siberian Summer

I met John Dvorchak when I somehow ended up at his birthday party on the campus of Purdue University. I am very thankful for that chance meeting. Dvorchak and lyrical flowmaster Joseph Fahnbelleh combine to become The Brown James. Their EP is fresh fresh fresh… just dropped a couple minutes ago via their facebook page. Only streaming for now, download to come Oct. 11th. Dis shit iz dope. Take a listen below. - Siberian Summer