SOJA

Reggae / Rock / Dub

Lead singers Jacob Hemphill (vocals, guitar) and Bob Jefferson (bass) met in first grade in Virginia, shortly after Jacob had returned from living in Africa with his family. The two instantly became best friends, and in middle school found a common love for hip hop and rock music. Throughout middle and high school, they met Patrick O’Shea (keyboards), Ryan Berty (drums), and Ken Brownell (percussion) - who would later form SOJA. During this period, reggae music was becoming an addiction for the budding musicians. Lead singer Jacob shares, “We loved rock and hip hop, but there was something missing in the message. Even with our favorite artists, you would get one song that hit home and touched you, then three that were about nothing. With our favorite artists in the reggae genre, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, they were singing about something beautiful that truly mattered in every song. We never really got over it.”

SOJA is ready to unleash their third full-length album “Born in Babylon” - the culmination of all past efforts on their label DMV Records. Set to be released August 25, 2009 exclusively on iTunes, “Born in Babylon” focuses on telling the same roots story that reggae artists have been singing about for decades, but their way, from the flip perspective of kids who grew up not in poverty, but in a government saturated community in Arlington, Virginia, across Mason-Dixon Line from the White House. SOJA shares about their new album, “This is the album we’ve been wanting to make for ten years. At first we were hard-core old school, then we got new school and inventive. This is what we’ve learned from all that. ‘Born in Babylon’ is hard roots drum and bass, big wide guitar and vocal melodies, and two and three sided lyrics, with two and three sided messages.”

Upcoming Shows Featuring SOJA