At just 20 years old, James Rosemond Jr. is the CEO of his own company – RoyalDream Music Group – and paving the way for himself as a future music mogul. He recently discovered his first artist, Lantana, in Cincinnati, Ohio and already the rapper is gaining buzz on the underground.
James was raised by one of hip-hop’s best-known businessmen, Jimmy Rosemond, (formerly known as Jimmy Henchman) who managed some of the biggest artists in the industry during his career – Wyclef, The Game, Sean Kingston and Brandy, just to name a few. But last summer, Czar Entertainment’s head honcho was found guilty of also running a multi-million dollar cocaine ring and now he faces life behind bars.
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James Jr. recently sat down with GlobalGrind’s Sharon Carpenter for an in-depth interview in which, for the first time ever, he discusses all his father’s legal woes, including his impending drug sentencing (set to take place next month) and his upcoming murder trial.
James recalls the time he himself made headlines when he was assaulted by one of 50 Cent’s associates as a 14-year-old boy. His attacker, Lowell Fletcher, was shot to death shortly after serving time for the offense. Jimmy Rosemond was indicted, three weeks after his drug conviction, for allegedly ordering Fletcher’s killing, but James denies that his dad was at all involved.
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Then there’s the key question that’s been debated for years: Was Rosemond the mastermind behind Tupac Shakur’s infamous ambush in 1994, which helped trigger the East Coast-West Coast war? James says no and points the finger squarely at journalist Chuck Philips, who he says has been spreading lies. Philips, who wrote an L.A. Times story in 2008 linking Jimmy to the robbery and shooting, was fired from the newspaper for basing the article largely on forged FBI documents.
Then last year, perhaps in an effort to clear his own name, Philips again tried to tie Jimmy to Tupac’s attack in a Village Voice report, claiming this time that Rosemond admitted to the crime during a proffer session for his drug case. While this story was widely distributed by other media outlets, The Smoking Gun did their own research and found that, once again, Philips got his wires crossed – no such admission was ever made by Jimmy.
James Jr. claims the reporter has a personal vendetta against his dad and says he wishes to speak with Tupac’s mother to set her mind at rest that his father is innocent.
Take a look at the revealing interview with James Rosemond Jr. up above!
