José James presents 1978: Revenge of The Dragon

José James presents 1978: Revenge of The Dragon is an electrifying, genre-defying album and cinematic project that sees the jazz vocalist and producer leaning into the raw, rebellious spirit of the late 1970s New York underground. Released in 2025 as a follow-up to his 2024 album 1978, this project eschews the glitz of disco for the gritty energy of the downtown music scene, fusing elements of jazz fusion, funk, punk, and soul into a focused, high-energy musical statement. James, who was born in 1978, pays tribute to the era’s cultural collisions—drawing heavy inspiration from Bruce Lee’s philosophy, Blaxploitation films, and classic kung fu cinema, which is directly referenced in the accompanying short film of the same name. Recorded live to tape in a single take with an all-star band featuring Takuya Kuroda, BIGYUKI, and Ben Wendel, the album captures an unfiltered, improvisational groove through four originals and bold reinterpretations of 1978 classics by artists like Michael Jackson, The Rolling Stones, and Herbie Hancock, further cementing James’s reputation as a genre-blurring artist for the hip-hop generation.