The Art & Science of Respect: A Memoir by James Prince

by James Prince

When you’re acting within your purpose, with your divine conviction, nothing can stop you.

leaders, followers, and loners. The vulnerability of a leader is often their own ego, which makes them unable to submit. Everyone, at some point in life, must learn to submit when necessary. In the streets, you may have to submit to a supplier who switches up the terms, or a police officer who’s riding you pretty tough. At home you may have to submit to your spouse to keep the peace. In business, submission can be a great short-term tactic towards a long-term goal. But if your ego won’t allow you to submit when necessary, it becomes a liability. Luckily for me, I learned to submit to God above all else. You can’t become a great leader without being a great follower. That relationship taught me the ultimate humility and made me feel as though I never needed to submit to man.

First, even the most popular king must remind everyone of their own mortality. If you reign too long and soar too high for extended periods of time, people can’t identify with you and their respect becomes resentment.

People follow the convicted. Someone who believes in something so much that they are willing to die for it will always be more appealing than someone who’s not willing to take the risk. It’s classic David versus Goliath. Even when the odds are against you, the fact that you’re still willing to fight is sometimes enough to earn respect. I don’t pick easy fights. Losing a title fight will always matter more than winning a spar.

“God loves us all, but He has His chosen ones,” she said. It would be years before I understood what the word “peculiar” meant, but I knew what it meant to be “chosen.” Without a word I went to my bedroom and returned with $19 to get Aunt Teddy’s lights turned back on.

That night introduced me to the idea that God had plans for me. Aunt Teddy’s words planted a seed in me. Handing her the money I’d saved up from my various hustles gave me a high. I felt like I was contributing to something, and it’s the ability to contribute which separates those who are actually living from those who are merely alive. I don’t believe in being passive with your life, even your struggle. Your circumstances don’t have to be the end of your story.

Although we didn’t have much, my grandmother believed that no one, especially a child, should go without.

Frank had overlooked one important fact: it’s not the extra that draws attention. It’s the failure to maintain the normal that usually gets you caught.

nature. Years later I realized that I had no business judging anyone for their lifestyle or who they were as a person. And while homosexuality still seems unnatural and wrong to me, I’m mature enough now to understand that everyone is different and I don’t have the right to judge anyone. This was a lesson that took me several years to truly learn. But it began with me learning to type.

But the most unforgettable lesson I gained from corporate America came to me as I was packing my things on my last day at the bank: always bet on myself.

Their first album, Making Trouble, didn’t make the most noise but it showed growth and consistency, which is important when you’re building a fanbase. As long as you’re putting out product on a regular basis, showing improvement each time, your fanbase will grow. Most importantly, it was enough to get Houston included in the rap conversation. Before that album, nobody was talking about the South. That release gave my city hope that more was on the way.

If you don’t speak their lingo from a position of strength, they will run all over you. But when you do talk that talk and walk that walk, they have no choice but to give you the respect you deserve.

To find success, you have to know your craft, know your skill, and know your faith.

You can’t listen to the first “no.” Many times you can’t listen to “no” at all. If you believe that something will work, you have to keep working at it until you become right. Jas knew the buzz on Drake was real when neither Wayne or I saw it. And he kept pushing. That’s the important part: keep pushing. But he was smart about it. He didn’t keep coming back with the same song. He tried different ways until he found one that stuck. That’s what a businessman does: he keeps working on his product until he gets something that’s good enough to sell.

believe more is caught then taught, so I was an example by action. Christmas in my household was more about giving than receiving. I’d take them to feed the homeless and put more emphasis on that instead of just gifts they’re receiving.

The race is not given to the swift nor the strong, but unto them that endure to the end. - Ecclesiastes 9:11

Every day I’m approached by young aspiring music executives, artists, athletes and guys in the hood just looking for a way out. And I see so much of myself in many of them. But the difference between the ones that make it and the ones that don’t isn’t just talent, relationships, or even effort. It’s faith. I wanted these pages in this book to show that all of my life someone has tried to tell me what I couldn’t do, what I couldn’t have and who I couldn’t become. And it’s always been up to me to say, “No. I’m bound for greatness because God said so.” That’s what made me unstoppable. That’s what made me successful. That’s what made me the one and only J. Prince.