When you're a new artist, it takes balls to cover a well-known and loved song like, say, Radiohead's "Creep." For one, you have the pressure to live up to the original while still putting your own spin on it. Then, you also have to live up to the other, more established artists who've remade the song as well (a company that includes Prince and Moby). So then, I guess Ronnie James must really have some cojones. Not only did he cover "Creep," he also made it his debut single. Luckily for him, he actually manages to pull it off. Slowing it down just a tad and running it through a slightly edgy R&B filter, James brings a bit more brooding to the song (which I didn't think was possible) and delivers it with a fairly decent voice. In the video for the song, we get to see James being alone in NYC (which is, surprisingly, an easy city to feel lonely in) and flash a bit of his gold-tooth-and-tattoo style our way. In mid-December, Mr. James will be dropping a five-song EP that should give us a better view of his range and style. Until then, press play below and then head to his SoundCloud page to get a free download of the song to tide you over until December.
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