When you think of musicians and artists you usually refer to them with a pseudonym. A fake name that they give themselves to be identified throughout their career. I have nothing against it’s use but, personally it’s not for me and here’s why.
- I’m Proud of My Name: James Revels III. I love it. It’s unique(ish) and like the the way it rolls off my tongue. James was passed down from my granddad to my uncle and now me, so it’s like a passed torch. I also love my last name because it’s a memorial to my (very) distant uncle Hiram Revels, the first African American senator. With that much history behind my name I have a lot to be proud of.
- Pseudonyms as Alter Egos: I prefer to use my name because when I create my art I feel I’m at my realest. A lot of artists describe themselves having an alter ego or separate personality when they create, I feel the opposite. I feel like this creative side is the true me and when I work my day job I’m putting on a mask. Some artist put on a certain “image” while the only image I wish to portray is an accurate portrait of myself.
- Google Friendly: Because my full name is relatively unique it’s easier to corner my own niche of keywords to google. Type” James Revels” and the second auto-suggest is “James Revels the Composer” the third is “James Revels WordPress”. Typing in “James Revels” in general, provides links that fill the entire ever crucial 1st page. This saved a lot of time that would have been wasted on thinking of an SEO friendly name.
So those are the reason’s that I use my real name instead of a made up one. Stay tuned for updates on my upcoming Hip-Hop Project “Escapism EP”. It’s a 5 track original EP that is an escape from the current norms of hip hop. I also released the album cover yesterday (also designed by yours truly) Check it out. If you like it hope you stay tuned as I get ready to release the first single “Genesis” in the next couple of weeks.
Audio SeXXX 