[citation needed] Around age 12 he began singing and performing in church, which inspired him to begin a career in music.
[3] James also co-wrote half the tracks and produced the entire record The Moon Under Water for Ryan Cabrera.
[4] With his initial mainstream success James went on to produce and write "Promise", "Drive", and "Afriad" off Vanessa Hudgens album V.[5] In 2009 he produced and co-wrote the hit single "Supergirl" for Miley Cyrus off the album Hannah Montana 3, which debuted at number five on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Chart.
[2] From then he has worked with Grammy Award nominated artist Nicki Minaj, co-producing and co-writing the track "Marilyn Monroe".
After his continued success, Dreamlab set up the imprint Layer Cake Records with their first signings of Neon Hymns and Hunter Parrish.