James Wesley Essex, better known by the stage name J-Wess, is an American-Australian hip hop and R&B music producer born in 1975. Based in Los Angeles, California, and Melbourne, Victoria, he entered the music scene with the debut single “Bang This” (2003), featuring Digga and Kulaia, which reached number 18 on the ARIA singles chart and entered the top ten of the Australian urban and dance charts. In late 2003, he released the single “What Chu Want”, featuring Lolly, Kulaia, and MC Digga, which peaked at number 10 on the Australian charts in February 2004 and achieved gold status. His debut studio album, J-Wess Presents Tha LP, was released on April 5, 2004, debuting at number 19 on the Australian albums chart. The album featured his third single, “Luv Ya” (featuring Kulaia and Digga), which debuted at number 15 on June 7, 2004. Although a fourth single, “Fantasy”, was planned and filmed, the release was canceled due to sales of the album and preceding single falling short of expectations. In June 2005, he released the single “Anything for You” from a planned sophomore album, The Director's Cut. His work received airplay on Australian radio and television video programs.
