Ipswich rap metal artist Native James on his music journey and supporting Skindred at the Corn Exchange

A vocalist from Ipswich has described how his musical journey came full circle while playing on stage in support of one of his favourite bands.

Native James entertained a sell-out crowd as the opener for reggae metal stalwarts Skindred’s gig at the Ipswich Corn Exchange on Sunday.

The up-and-coming singer, who currently has 17,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, said it was ‘absolutely mental’ to see so many people from his hometown dancing and moshing to his homegrown rap-metal fusion.

Native was one of two support acts for the gig, alongside Florida nu metal band Nonpoint.

He said it was a surreal experience to be able to play with a band he grew up headbanging to at the Corn Exchange’s famous Indie nights, an under-18s nightclub, in the late 2000s.

Native, whose real name is Aaron James, told SuffolkNews: “Skindred were a huge influence on me growing up. For me, even being there was amazing.

“This illustrates that Ipswich does show up for its people as well as legends. It was crazy going through the doors where we used to listen to old tunes and jump in the pit.

“For that kind of music to be back on stage, us creating the pits – we did it. And Skindred and Nonpoint were watching me.”

Native said he was anxious going into the gig, but felt it went well.

He said: “It’s always hard for young bands when people don’t know you as an opening act, then having to come on stage and hype everybody up. Everyone was reacting really well.

“For the first song, people tried to figure things out. It was nice to see my hometown react, when people wanted to care.”

Native said he’d been rapping for about 10 years and was a grime artist before switching to metal last year as he wanted something that better represented him.

Fusing the two made sense, he said, as he desired ‘something more angry’, describing metal as having ‘that sound where you can go nuts’.

After the switch, he said he performed at Latitude as well as Reading and Leeds Festival.

It was during this time he said this type of music was ‘pulling him in’ and he wanted to hone his craft and take the next steps.

The Suffolk singer believed nu metal is set for a revival – and wanted to be there when it happens.

As for the music scene in his hometown, Native said: “Ipswich does have music and we are here and we're supporting it.

“The town hasn’t had a lot of rap metal artists, so it’s nice to see me taking form and Ipswich knowing who I am, it’s cool.”

Native James released his debut EP, Rebirth, in September.

His most-played single on Spotify, Hammer, currently has more than 256,000 streams. He said it enjoyed mild TikTok success and was shared by bands like Enter Shikari.

It was after this that Skindred approached Native to support them for their show in Ipswich as they looked to highlight local talent, he said.

After the show, he met Nonpoint and told them it was humbling to play alongside scene legends.

Native said they responded by saying that he should be proud to see how far he’d come.

He also met with Skindred frontman, Benji Webbe.

Native said: “It was crazy, they were all just super nice and welcoming.

“I remember seeing Skindred on Scuzz, hearing their music on Need for Speed Underground – it was a bit surreal, but they were cool. But they’re human and this is the best way to treat them, so I didn’t get starstruck.”

Native said some of his biggest musical influences include titans such as Linkin Park, as well as Lamb of God, System Of A Down and Trivium.

He said, growing up and attending church, he grew up with music and his brain would ‘work to understand it’.

Next, he has his eyes set on releasing another EP and continuing to build his career but said he was ‘still trying to get his head around things’.

He added: “Shout out to Ipswich’s rock scene. Ipswich is grungy, it is rock, there's a lot down here and it’s nice to see they [Skindred] picked someone local to represent it.

“I want people to think I’m the next thing coming from Ipswich. I hear more rock rap from America but there so much here, all these different bands from England. I want to make it bigger and be part of a scene where we’re creating fans.”