Ro James

Ronnie James Tucker is an American R&B singer. He is best known for his 2015 single "Permission", which peaked at number 37 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. He signed with Mark Pitts' ByStorm Entertainment, an imprint of RCA Records to release his debut studio album, Eldorado (2016).

Ro James
Birth name	Ronnie James Tucker
Born	Stuttgart, West Germany
Origin	New York City, U.S.
Genres	R&B
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Years active	2011–present
Labels	ByStorm RCA
Website	rojamesxix.com

Career

Born in Stuttgart, West Germany, James is of Panamanian^[1] and African-American^[2] descent. Throughout his childhood, James would sing regularly, but never in public.^[3] He eventually moved to New York where he was influenced by his aunt Rosie Gaines, a former singer for Prince.^[4] His love for the album Purple Rain landed him in a studio at the age of 19.^[4] His skills as a songwriter began with the song "Portrait", leading up to a credit on the single "Use Me" by R&B singer Miguel^[5] after forming a bond with him on MySpace.^[6]

James performed in and around New York with artists such as Luke James and Wynter Gordon. In 2013 he released his first EP, a three-part entitled Coke, Jack and Cadillacs. Each part represented important themes in his life - first love, first drink, first car.^[3] The EP featured songs that included "A.D.I.D.A.S." and "Pledge Allegiance". It also featured Asher Roth on the song "Lisa".^[7] James signed with ByStorm Entertainment/RCA Records in 2015 and subsequently released "Permission", his first single from a major record label, reaching number 37 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.^[8] His debut album, Eldorado was released May 27, 2016. It debuted at number 71 on the US Billboard 200^[9] and at number eight on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.^[10] It subsequently earned him his first nomination for Best R&B Performance at the 59th Grammy Awards in February 2017.

Discography

Albums

Title	Details	Peak chart positions
		US [9]	US R&B /HH [10]	US R&B [11]
Eldorado	Released: May 27, 2016 Label: ByStorm Entertainment, RCA Records Format: CD,[12] digital download[13]	71	8	3
Mantic	Released: May 29, 2020 Label: ByStorm Entertainment, RCA Records Format: Digital download	—	—	—

EPs

Title	Details
Coke, Jack, and Cadillacs	Released: 2013 Label: Independent Format: Digital
Smoke	Released: March 23, 2018 Label: ByStorm Entertainment, RCA Format: Digital download

Singles

Title	Year	Peak chart positions			Certifications	Album
		US Bub. [14]	US R&B /HH [8]	US R&B [15]
"Permission"	2015	17	37	12	RIAA: Platinum[16]	Eldorado
"Plan B" (with Brandy)[17]	2020	—	—	—		Mantic

Tours

Headlining tour

• XIX Tour (2017)^[18]

Co-headlining tour

• The R&B Tour (with BJ The Chicago Kid) (2018)^[19]