Upon their first meeting, James played Poo Bear an instrumental idea on the piano, which lead to them co-writing and co-producing the title track on Justin Bieber's fourth studio album, 'Purpose.

[6] Following the release of "Purpose", James left Richland High School,[3] passed the GED test, and returned to LA to pursue music full-time.

[7] In November 2015, James released his debut single, "Renaissance", on Seeking Blue and briefly supported the Chainsmokers on their Friendzone tour.

[9][10] In March 2016, James snuck into Ultra Music Festival 2016 to watch Garrix premiere the song, as millions streamed the performance live.

[13] James' premiered his second single, "In My Head" in July 2016, on Martin Garrix's 1st episode of STMPD Radio with Zane Lowe.