Marty James Garton Jr. is an American singer-songwriter and record producer from Chico, California. He has released albums and singles as the front man and producer of

Scapegoat Wax Scapegoat Wax was an American hip hop and breakbeat band from Chico, California that was started by Marty James One Block Radius __NOTOC__ One Block Radius is an alternative hip hop group made up of Marty James (vocals, raps, production), MDA (vocals, turntables), and emcee Z-Man (a Hieroglyphics associated rapper). Both Marty James and MDA were part of the group Scape ...

.Birchmeier, Jason (2011)
One Block Radius – Biography

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. Retrieved July 26, 2011 James co-wrote the English-language remix of

Luis Fonsi Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Cepero (born April 15, 1978), known by his stage name Luis Fonsi (), is a Puerto Rican singer. He is known for multiple songs, one of them being "Despacito" featuring rapper Daddy Yankee. Fonsi received his first ...

Despacito "Despacito" (; "Slowly") is a song by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi featuring Puerto Rican rapper and singer Daddy Yankee as the lead single from Fonsi's 2019 studio album ''Vida''. Released on January 12, 2017, the song was written by Fonsi, ...

, which featured

Daddy Yankee Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez (born February 3, 1976), known professionally as Daddy Yankee, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, composer, and actor. Known as the " King of Reggaetón" by music critics and fans alike, he is the artist who coined ...

and

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

. The song went on to top charts in both English- and Spanish-speaking parts of the world, won a

Latin Grammy The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been r ...

, and was nominated for three

Grammys The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

Performer

James grew up in Dixon, CA but moved to Chico, CA with his father. By 13, James was performing at local talent shows and making his own demos on equipment he purchased himself. He began submitting the demos to labels and producers in the Bay Area and Los Angeles when he was 16. During high school, James was discovered by Johnny Zunino of

N2Deep N2Deep is an American Chicano rap duo formed in Vallejo, California in 1989. Consisting of James "Jay Tee" Trujillo and Timothy "TL" Lyon, they are best known for the 1992 hit single "Back to the Hotel", the title track of their debut album. ...

. After his two previous groups disbanded, James and Zunino started

Scapegoat Wax Scapegoat Wax was an American hip hop and breakbeat band from Chico, California that was started by Marty James The band originally signed to Good Vibe Recordings in 1999 for their first album, ''Luxurious.'' In 2000 they moved to the

Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...

' Grand Royal Label, and James worked with Mike D on the band's second album, ''Okeeblow.'' When Grand Royal collapsed, the band went to

Hollywood Records Hollywood Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label focuses in pop, rock, alternative, hip hop, and country genres, as well as specializing in mature recordings not suitable for the flagship Walt Disney Records l ...

and released ''SWAX'' in 2002. The band gained critical acclaim with the media, but failed to establish commercial success. In 2004, James started One Block Radius with Mr. Dope America, who toured with Scapegoat Wax, and San Francisco emcee Z Man. They signed to Los Angeles independent label Avatar Records in 2005 and released the album ''Long Story Short,'' which James wrote, produced, and mixed. James was featured as a guest vocalist on songs by Snoop Dogg, Baby Bash, Paul Wall, The Federation, E-40, and others.

Songwriter

Since 2010, James has focused on songwriting and producing music for others. He has written songs with and for Jason Derulo, Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull, Snoop Dogg, Christina Aguilera, Timbaland, Afrojack, Nelly, Akon, Wiz Khalifa, Sean Kingston, Ty Dolla $ign, Nicky Jam, Will Smith, and G-Eazy. James is currently songwriting, as well as developing talent, for Pulse Music Group.

"Despacito"

James, whose mother's family is of Mexican heritage, has written songs for Latin artists. In 2016,

and

Erika Ender Erika María Ender Simoes (born 21 December 1974) is a Panamanian-American singer and songwriter. In addition to her singing career, Ender is considered one of the most important and prolific composers in the Latin music market today. Along with ...

brought James on to help with remixing their Spanish-language song "

," featuring Puerto Rican rapper

. The original song had proven to be a success, and the English language remix that James worked on was intended to expand its appeal.

was brought on to sing on the remix. The song was released in April 2017 and received international attention, topping charts in 47 countries. It topped the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

for a record-tying 16 weeks and topped the Latin 100 for a record-breaking 52 weeks. The song was nominated for three

in 2018: Best Song, Best Record, and Best Pop-Duo. The song won the Best Urban Fusion/Performance award at the 2018

Latin Grammys The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been r ...

. The song was also nominated for and won awards at the

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Produc ...

Billboard Music Award The ''Billboard'' Music Awards are honors given out annually by '' Billboard'', a publication covering the music business and a music popularity chart. The ''Billboard'' Music Awards show has been held annually since 1990, with the exception of ...

s, and

Billboard Latin Music Awards The ''Billboard'' Latin Music Awards grew out of the ''Billboard'' Music Awards program from ''Billboard'' magazine, an industry publication charting the sales and radio airplay success of musical recordings. The ''Billboard'' awards are the La ...

Awards

Grammys

Best Record 2018 – Despacito (Co-Writer) – Nominated Best Song 2018 – Despacito (Co-Writer) – Nominated Best Pop-Duo – Despacito (Co-Writer) – Nominated

Latin Grammys

Best Urban Fusion/Performance – Despacito (Co-Writer) – Won American Music Awards Collaboration of the Year – Despacito (Co-Writer) – Won Favorite Pop/Rock Song – Despacito (Co-Writer) – Won Billboard Music Awards Top Hot 100 Song – Despacito (Co-Writer) – Won Top Streaming Song (Audio) – Despacito (Co-Writer) – Nominated Top Streaming Song (Video) – Despacito (Co-Writer) – Won Top Selling Song – Despacito (Co-Writer) – Won Top Collaboration – Despacito (Co-Writer) – Won Top Latin Song – Despacito (Co-Writer) – Nominated

Billboard Latin Music Awards

Hot Latin Song of the Year – Despacito (Co-Writer) – Won Hot Latin Song of the Year (Vocal Event) – Despacito (Co-Writer) – Won Airplay Song of the Year – Despacito (Co-Writer) – Won Digital Song of the Year – Despacito (Co-Writer) – Won Streaming Song of the Year – Despacito (Co-Writer) – Won Latin Pop Song of the Year – Despacito (Co-Writer) – Nominated

Discography

Select guest appearances

Select writing/production credits

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Marty American singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Living people Year of birth missing (living people)