Keyboardist James Auburn keeps busy these days. James' band Velvet Stylus recently learned of their nomination for Best Live Group in the Mass Industry Committee's First Annual Hip-Hop Awards, scheduled to take place on June 17. Velvet Stylus was recently featured on the Project: Think Different EmPOWERment: the power to break you freecompilation CD. Project: Think Different is an advocate for social change and all songs on the album reflect new ways to encourage social messages and anti-stereotypical content.

Velvet Stylus backed local Hip-Hop favorite DL as he opened for national recording artists Joe Budden, Dre Robinson, Devin tha Dude, and Royce da 5'9. In addition, James has freelanced with popular GB act The Beantown Project.

On the arranging front, James contributed arrangements and tracks for House of Woods--an R&B songwriting duo from Boston. James recently wrote articles for MusicBizAdvice.comabout Billie Holiday and Jaco Pastorius, the latter of which received a record number of hits in its first month of publication. He also interviewed session legend and “Turn Your Love Around" songwriter Jay Graydon for the same eZine.

James recently lent his knowledge of Hip-Hop History to several academic outlets. He lectured to students at Fisher Collegein Boston about Hip-Hop history, and presented as a guest alongside Berklee College of Music Faculty David Cowan and Gilson Schachnick at Berklee Teachers on Teaching; Berklee's professional development conference for Faculty. The topic, Tools for Integration of Hip-Hop and R&B into Core Music Curriculum, was very well attended and used concrete musical examples as added teaching resources.

James advised students from Northeastern University, Norwich University,Emerson College, and Harvard University Divinity School on their Hip-Hop related projects, and consulted author Tom Zoellner for The Heartless Stone for the book's chapter on the role of diamonds in Hip-Hop culture.

James continues to compose and is currently working on material for Velvet Stylus recordings and for an album of his own.