PHOTOGRAPHY: FRANCISCO GOMEZ DE VILLABOA
American singer Parson James is the man whose smooth vocals made Stole The Show one of the standout summer anthems of last year. Born in South Carolina, USA, early life for him was challenging from the outset, having a white mum of German/Irish and Native American descent and a father who was African American. In such an oppressive community where “there is only black and white,” his mother was kicked out by her father because “it was not okay to mix races,” he tells me when we meet in London ahead of a small intimate gig to promote his debut EP, The Temple.
The prejudice was just as bad from his father’s side. The stereotypical racial divisions of the Deep South are still very much a sad reality. Being gay on top of that made for an isolating experience for James who sought escape in the bright lights of New York City, which is where he fled — with a fierce determination to make a name for himself in the music business.