“A Prayer For East Oakland” is latest from 18-year-old
singer-songwriter’s “Doldrums” debut.
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“He possesses remarkable lyricism and self-awareness.”
– Interview
“We’re seriously looking for proof that St. James is only 18…” – Nylon
“Overflowing with clever lines and lyrical
intricacies.” – American Songwriter
“This kid is headed for big things.” – USA Today
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Andrew St
James as photographed by Peter Ellenby
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Hear the premiere
of the “A Prayer For East Oakland” single via Under
The Radar
See the premiere
of the video for “A Prayer For East Oakland” via The
Bay Bridged
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PLAY, POST
& SHARE
“A Prayer
For East Oakland” is the latest single and video by Andrew St James
[MP3]: http://www.fanaticpromotion.com/projects/andrewstjames/mp3/andrewstjames-aprayerforeastoakland.mp3
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“The lyrics to ‘A
Prayer For East Oakland’ are formed around Psalms in the New Testament,”
explains 18-year-old singer-songwriter Andrew
St. James. “The song was originally a poem I wrote after a childhood friend
of mine was murdered during the summer of 2011 outside of his home in East
Oakland. Watching the homicide rate in
the city rise almost exponentially during that time made me frustrated with how
little people around me knew or cared about the violence in a community so
close to our home.”
The song, an epic and beautiful tune that takes a
serious look at the rate of gun-related deaths in the bay area, specifically
Oakland, is the latest track and video from the debut Andrew St. James album Doldrums. St. James,
and the mature quality of his timeless songwriting have already been noticed by
MTV Hive, Interview, SF Weekly, USA Today, American Songwriter, and
Performer Magazine among others. The album, produced by St. James himself along with veteran Bay Area producer Jim Greer (a platinum record recipient
for his work with Foster The People),
is out now.
St. James continues, “There were 110 reported homicides in
Oakland during 2011, rising to 131 in 2012. Almost every night of those two
years, the first ten minutes of the nightly news would be attributed to reports
of gun violence in Oakland. Reports of toddlers being shot and killed in random
acts of violence were forgotten along with the weather report. The memory of
those 241 people, the majority of them African-American, has been lost on the
outside world, disregarded by people of privilege, and forgotten by people with
power.”
St. James goes on to conclude that “The casualties of poverty
are widely misunderstood in a land where the struggles of economic opportunity
are foolishly attributed to racial culture, and subsequently swept under the
rug. In communities like East Oakland, it is easy to see that the African
American community has been abused, and is today still abused, by systematic
oppression in the highest, most obvious degree.”
Doldrums,
the debut album by Andrew St. James,
is out now via the Island Jar / Fortune
label. Andrew St. James is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom
at Fanatic for more information.
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Andrew St James
Doldrums
(Island Jar/Fortune – Out Now)
Track Listing:
02. Maybe It’s Time For Me To Go
6. No Hurry (Subterfuge)
7. Nightmares Pt. 5
8. East of Eden
9. I’m All About You
10. Marigold
11. Before The Flood
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Andrew St James Links
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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion
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