Born Francisco Javier Bautista in Tijuana, Mexico, Frankie J has spent his life moving between his Latino roots and his American surroundings. When Frankie was 2 years old, his uncle took him and his siblings north across the border dressed up to trick or treat. The family never returned to Tijuana, and Frankie grew up in San Diego listening to the ballads and boleros that his traditional Mexican family loved and the soul music to which he was drawn. There was music running through Frankie's family, his father was the lead singer of a band, and his grandfather played violin for the local church. When Frankie got a little older, he began listening to freestyle, including acts like Lisa Lisa and Brenda K. Starr, but especially dance-pop freestyle singer George Lamond, whose airborne vocal style inspired Frankie to develop his own voice and unique sound.
"Usually guys don't have high falsettos, and I admired George Lamond because I wanted to sing that way," Frankie says. "I would always practice to his songs, and my pitch would always reach up to his level or even higher." Frankie began writing songs in high school, and when he was just 15, was introduced by a friend to the CEO of an independent Canadian record label that specialized in freestyle. The CEO heard his music and offered him a deal. "I was like a little kid in a candy store," says Frankie. "I was thrilled that this guy had heard my song." He recorded a few songs under the moniker Frankie Boy, and though that early deal didn't lead to fame and fortune, it did teach Frankie J a few things. "The biggest thing I learned was," he says today, "always read the contract before you sign it."
After he finished high school, Frankie heard about an opportunity to join the Kumbia Kings, and went to Texas to audition. He was selected for the group, and spent the next four years with the massively successful Kumbia Kings, led by A.B. Quintanilla, the brother of legendary singer Selena. "Once we played a show in Monterrey, Mexico, for 100,000 people," Frankie remembers. "It was incredible."
But while Frankie enjoyed sharing in the success of the Kumbia Kings, he was always working towards a solo career, inspired by artists like Brian McKnight, K-Ci and Jo Jo, Stevie Wonder and Prince. "I got involved in the group to learn about the business, to learn about being on the road, and then to branch off with that information," he says.
Though leaving the Kumbia Kings was a risky move for Frankie J, the gamble paid off with What's A Man To Do? and is compounding maximum interest on The One. Frankie J is particularly excited about The One's title track produced by Hollis hitmaker Irv Gotti (Ja Rule, Ashanti, DMX, Murder Inc.) with its intoxicating melody and subtle touches of percussion. "The minute I heard it I knew," Frankie confesses, "it was something magical."
R&B music has always been in my heart," Frankie says. "People would always doubt me and say, 'You're Mexican, you don't have the soul to make it.' But soul is just soul, whatever the ethnic background. I think the music speaks for itself."
