Sir the Baptist

James was born and raised in the Bronzeville neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. He was raised as one of 22 children by his father, a prominent Baptist preacher and activist, and his mother, a missionary.[2] Stokes began playing piano at age six, and, by the age of 10, he could also play the drums.[2] He also sang in the choir at church where his father was frequent visitor.[8] He earned the nickname "Sir" while at church.[2] As a teenager, James wrote film scores and commercial jingles. After high school, James attended Columbia College for one day before pursuing a career in advertising.[1]

Prior to his music career, Stokes worked at the Chicago advertising agency, Leo Burnett. As the Director of Digital Marketing, Stokes worked alongside Rodney Jerkins on campaigns for major brands such as McDonald's.[1][9] At age 26, Stokes decided to quit his job and focus on becoming a recording artist. In the meantime, he worked as a driver for Lyft and lived in his car for a short period of time.[8][10]

Stokes' first singles as Sir the Baptist was "Raise Hell" which was released in June 2015.[11] The song was eventually nominated for "Impact Track of the Year" at the 2016 BET Hip Hop Awards.[12] It was also featured on the soundtrack for the film, The Birth of a Nation.[13] Another early track, "(Creflo) Almighty Dollar," was produced with help from Twista.

In 2016, Stokes performed at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Sasquatch! Music Festival,[6] Voodoo Fest,[14] Life is Beautiful Festival,[15] Free Press Summer Fest,[16] and Shaky Beats Music Festival among others.[5]

In May 2016, Stokes performed "Raise Hell" on Late Night with Seth Meyers.[17] In August 2016, Stokes played at the 2016 Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago where he performed a part of the set in a coffin to address the gun violence in the host city.[4] The following month, he performed at the Made in America Festival where he met rapper Jay Z who praised his music.[10] In October 2016, he opened for Beyoncé at the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn for the Tidal X 1015 event.[12]

In December 2016, Stokes partnered with Lyft, providing the track "Movin" to their short film, June.[18] His first album, Saint or Sinner, was released in May 2017.[7]

In 2018 Stokes released a song with Donald Lawrence called "He Heard My Cry" [19]

Stokes supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 United States presidential election.[20] In August 2016, Stokes taunted a Donald Trump impersonator on stage for his Afropunk Festival performance in Brooklyn. He has also been quoted saying that Donald Trump is "way out of touch" with the African American community.[21] Stokes has partnered with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America,[16] VH1 Save the Music,[3] Global Citizen,[22] and other charitable organizations.

• Official website