Meet Kodi James

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kodi James.

Kodi, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in Modesto, CA as a pastor’s child in a very conservative home and community. My parents enrolled me in a private Christian school from Kindergarten through 10th grade from which I transferred to public school due to financial troubles my family was experiencing.

Throughout my years attending school at a conservative, Christian institution, I was constantly reminded of what made me different on a regular basis. There wasn’t a passing period, lunch hour, or recess I can recall where I wasn’t painfully made aware of my sexuality and queerness. There were many moments when I questioned my worth, purpose or whether life was worth living at all. But through discovering a passion and talent for the performing arts, I began to understand my value.

I realized that I could use my pain and differences as the foundation for my greatness and pursued musical theater at full speed. I went to university on a near full-ride scholarship for Musical Theater. It was in my studies that I realized my interest in pop music. I realized that instead of telling someone else’s tale on stage, that I would rather tell my own story with my own music.. Soon thereafter, in 2015 I moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music. After a long creative development process, I am so thrilled that my debut single will be released on August 16, 2019.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It most certainly has been a challenging process to get to where I am. While our society has made strides as a whole in terms of acceptance and tolerance of LGBTQ individuals, there are pockets of ignorance that aren’t quite on board with the rest of humanity. And within the last few years, the political pendulum has shifted greatly evoking and validating a great deal of hatred and bigotry. My hope is to combat that with an unapologetic authenticity through my music career.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
To pay the bills, I am a property manager at the moment. But music is my one true love. I’ve been a performer for as long as I can remember. And for artists that have a background in the performing arts, we bring a well-rounded element to the industry and an eye for detail that truly elevates the game. To some, musical theater is simply a cheesy hobby. And sure, there are moments of cheese and camp. But even in those moments, there are so many layers, facets and elements that it requires to produce that I believe prepare you for this industry.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I have so many hopes, dreams and ideas for my future: movies, television ideas, shoe lines, holiday specials, politics, etc. Kodi James is anything but one-sided.

Contact Info:

• Website: kodijamesmusic.com
• Instagram: @KodiJamesMusic
• Facebook: @KodiJamesMusic
• Twitter: @KodiJamesMusic

Image Credit:
Jon Sams, Deonte Lee

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