“I love you just the way you are”… these powerful words saved the life of contemporary Christian music artist James Basnet, just when he was about to give up and commit suicide at the age of 16. Today, he is saving and changing many lives through his music and personal testimony of God’s love. He is a Songwriter, Worship Leader, and Singer of ‘James Basnet Band’.
As a musician, his accomplishment is a first for anyone from Nagaland and the whole of India to have ever achieved from the Christian music industry. He is the winner of four International Music and Entertainment Award (IMEA), and the Akademia Music awards, L.A., USA for the Best Gospel/ World Beat Song in 2014.
His aim is to teach people about God’s unfailing love, to heal the hurting, and especially to reach out to the youth through his simple, honest, and heartfelt music. No wonder, he admits that he is happy and comfortable to stick to the Gospel genre despite having achieved international acclaim for his talented songwriting and singing skills. He simply states, “I have achieved something that some only dream of and I want to take advantage of this and make a difference in whatever way I can for this generation.”
If today he is standing tall, life had not always been easy. He grew up an orphan, worked as a shepherd and an orchard caretaker. Forsaken by his mother when he was just 15 days old and left in a dustbin, he has never met his parents. He looks back and says, “Being an orphan is not easy and I’ve lived a difficult childhood. People would be unkind to me and I’ve witnessed countless cruel situations because of my status as an orphan. When I was 11 years old, I started to take drugs which ultimately resulted in not completing my studies.”
Life seemed to be spiraling downwards for James, when one day at the age of 16, he was home alone and high on drugs, he heard a man’s voice urging to kill himself. The voice kept on insisting that he was good for nothing and that it was there to take him away. Convinced, he was on the verge of committing suicide when he heard another voice say, “James I love you just the way you are.” Having never heard someone say that to him in his 16 years he broke down and cried. This was the moment God promised to him, “You are going to sing for me. You are going to tour the world doing that and the world will be your stage.”
James has numerous testimonies of how God keeps showing his love to him. In 2014, when he was performing at a concert in the US, a young man came up to him saying that God has asked him to give him something. The man had a sparkling Mercedes car key in his hand. Right at that moment, God took him back to a childhood memory, where as a kid he would go to the river near his house straight after school and look for rocks shaped like a car to play with as a toy. He would then take a piece of chalk and draw wheels and windows on the rock. God then said to him, “James you have lost everything and this is the day I want to restore everything to you.” And if you are wondering, he did not accept the Mercedes that was offered to him, the fact that God remembered his dreams was more than enough.
So after all the international acclaim why come back to Nagaland? After living in Bangalore for a while James and his wife were headed to Dubai. However, a visit to Nagaland changed all that as the place had really begun to feel like home. He shared, “My focus is to touch the lives of the young people so I visit schools, colleges, and churches. I want to build hope through music because when I see young people I see them full of musical talent.” However, his biggest goal is to let talent go out from Nagaland and build an international platform for Naga musicians.
This vision is reiterated by his wife Imlinaro Longchar who plays the keys in the band. She says, “James has this vision to take Naga music and musicians internationally. We should capture this vision and take it forward, whatever category of music be it. I feel that maybe God has brought him here to revive and make people realize to not give up and follow their calling.” Also speaking on behalf of the band, Imlinaro acknowledges that they are all very excited and blessed to be a part of the journey, ‘for our heart’s desire is the same and God has brought all of us together to make music and sing about his love’.
“Am I wasting my time singing and writing gospel songs?” James asks rhetorically. “I’m not because I have people writing to me or telling me how their lives have changed after listening to my songs or being present at a concert. As for me, touching even one life is a huge blessing. To reach where I am today, I know I could not have done it on my own, it can only be God. For he loves me just the way I am.”
