Billboard's On the Block series returned Tuesday (Feb. 4), as R&B singer Luke James joined the program to speak about his sophomore To Feel Love / D album, why he's hesitant to collaborate with rappers at times, his upcoming role on The Chi, and what's on his playlist at home.
"I've been in a place of needing love and wanting to feel that appreciation, so I created a body of work that fed me in that way," he said of his new album. Wolf is especially proud of his "Traveling" collab with Big K.R.I.T., whom he feels took the record "up a notch" with his contributions. "Sometimes emcees don't particularly write to the content or inside the context of the song," which James said wasn't the case with "Traveling." "They'll touch on it a bit, but everything else is other."
With Valentine's Day coming up, Luke's idea for the perfect day is catering to his lover's interests but also doing something in private since he's more of a homebody. As far as his playlist at the crib, you can expect to hear a heavy dose of '90s artists like Baby, Mint Condition, Joe, D'Angelo, and Jon B.
James will also be starring in season three of The Chi, which will be returning to Showtime later this year. "I play a kid named Victory Taylor. He's the older brother of Reg and Jake. Nobody knew I was alive, and I come out to ruffle some feathers and save my brother by any means necessary. He's very interesting and a complicated soul inside this world, where he feels he has to put on a certain mask."
Luke once opened up for Beyoncé on The Ms. Carter Show World Tour back in 2013. He pointed to her work ethic as something he's tried to implement in his own career. "She works extremely hard," he proclaimed. "Very creative and the boat doesn't move unless she's making it go. As artists, we don't like work and that's part of this business. Watching her balance both, was really cool and I'm trying to implement that in my life."
Watch the entire episode above.
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