On today's episode I talk to James McCall AKA Nocando. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Nocando got his start rap battling in Leimert Park in the Crenshaw District of South Central, and In 2007, he won the MC Battle at Scribble Jam, the largest hip-hop festival in the nation. Since 2004, he's released a ton of EPs, mixtapes and featured on dozens of songs, as well as a number of collaborations including 2010's Flash Bang Grenada with Busdriver. In 2011, he founded the label Hellfyre Club, which has released albums by Milo, Busdriver and Open Mike Eagle among many others, and James has released three albums: Jimmy the Lock in 2010, Jimmy the Burnout in 2014, and Severed in 2017. His latest album Coyote will be released on June 13th! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.