Kuya James (James Mangohig) is an ARIA Award-winning producer and ARIA-nominated artist living on Larrakia Land in Darwin, NT. The first-born son of a Filipino father and a Dutch mother, James earned his stage name early in life simply by being the eldest. “Kuya,” in Filipino, means “older brother” – a term of endearment and respect that he would gain not only from his biological family, but also from the communities he has formed within music, dance, culture, and theatre; locally in Darwin, nationally, and internationally. Starting out as a bass player in church, he went on to perform hundreds of gigs with bands of various genres. This led him to join a hip-hop collective in the late 90s, where he realised he wanted to do more with music than just play bass lines; he wanted to produce.

Kuya James has produced records for a wide range of artists, including Emily Wurramara, Tasman Keith, Caiti Baker, B2M, A.B. Original, and Daniel Johns. In 2016, he founded CLUB AWI as part of the Darwin Festival and launched his theatre career alongside fellow hip-hop artist Joelistics with the acclaimed show In Between Two. The show toured for four years with Contemporary Asian Arts Performance, earning rave reviews and a Drovers Award nomination. He has also produced over 4 full length soundtracks for renowned NT Dance company TRACKS.

As a musical director, Kuya James led Country to Couture (2022–2024) and the Indigenous Fashion Projects runway at Australian Fashion Week (2023/2024), featuring Jessica Mauboy and Melanie Mununggurr. He was also the musical director for the NATSIAAs in 2023 and 2024. In 2023, his second theatre show, Hymns for the Witching Hour, won Best Performance at the NT Performance Awards, where he was also honoured as the 2023 Outstanding Creative. In 2024, he won another category at the NT Song Awards, marking his 8th award over the years for his songwriting abilities. Additionally, the soundtrack for Diets and Deities, created with producer Tutup Mulut, won ‘Excellence in Music’ at the Australian Game Developer Awards.