Out of Washington D.C. comes 8-piece international reggae group, SOJA, who released a new studio album Poetry In Motion on Oct. 27th via ATO Records. Following an interview with front-man Jacob Hemphill, we’re giving away their new song “I Found You,” this week only. See what Jacob had to say regarding the song and album…
You can download SOJA’s new song “I Found You,” for FREE, on our home page under the MP3 Leak of the Week on the right hand column! This Download will only be available until Saturday, Dec 16th, 2017.
SOJA – “I Found You” — Download HERE (on The Pier homepage)
SOJA – “I Found You” Background:
SOJA released their 6th studio album, Poetry In Motion, which includes 11 brand-new tracks and zero guest appearances. When we spoke with lead singer Jacob Hemphill this summer, he said that they wanted to put out a record that was all them, hoping to take the same approach they took with 2009’s Born In Babylon as they did with Poetry In Motion in writing, arranging, producing and recording it all in the same room.
Hemphill explains, “‘Poetry in Motion’ is about us, the human race. We’re beautiful. We’re the caretakers of this earth and everything that lives here, calls it home. But something is wrong. Something in us is lost. That’s the focus – how to get back to the beauty and away from… well, this.”
When we contacted SOJA about featuring a song on the record I don’t think they knew we had “I Found You” in mind. It was a pleasant surprise when that was the first song they suggested we feature. It’s the last track on the record, and is a stripped down mellow thank you song with Jacob’s vocals sitting on top, thanking fans for their support. It’s pop meets reggae meets camp-fire.
The song was discussed at length when our own Brian Glaser spoke with Jacob Hemphill:
“It’s basically about how, sometimes, you get extremely lost in life and you don’t really understand. I can always look at the guys in SOJA when I do lose someone, and know that my destiny is sort of playing out as it should. And that’s why at the end I quote ‘Open My Eyes,’ ‘Rest of My Life,’ ‘True Love,’ and ‘I Don’t Wanna Wait’ because those are some of the songs that have kind of put us all over the world as a group together. And I owe everything to those songs, and to these people, and to the fans. It was my way of saying thanks to everybody for this beautiful experience. Its been awesome, and its not even over! I’m lucky – that’s kind of what that song is saying. I’m a lucky guy.”
One of the things that stood out in Brian’s interview with Jacob is how he is maximizing his platform to write meaningful songs with depth, telling Brian: “I always try to use the microphone like a responsibility. I made a decision a long time ago not to do drug songs, or hookup songs or any of that stuff. I felt like I have a really rare opportunity here. People listen to me – especially kids and teenagers, they listen to what I write.”
You can stream SOJA’s new album, Poetry In Motion, on all the platforms or own it via iTunes by clicking HERE!
SOJA Background:
Shortly after singer/guitarist Jacob Hemphill had returned to the United States from Africa, the roots of SOJA sprouted. In Washington D.C., Bassist Bobby Lee and Hemphill became friends going into the first grade, finding in common their mutual loves for hip hop and reggae. Throughout their middle and high school days the two transformed their loves for music, even performing at middle school talent shows. By the end of high school, Hemphill, Lee, Ryan Berty (drums), Kenneth Brownell (percussion) and Patrick O’Shea (keyboards) were performing at local venues and gigs, and the dream began snowballing. They made it their goal to hit the road after the last of them graduated.That was 20-years-ago. The group has grown to include lead-guitarist & vocalist Trevor Young and a horn section that includes Hellman Escorcia on saxophone and Rafael Rodriguez on trumpet. The group would go on to be a 2x GRAMMY-nominated band with 6 studio records, accumulated 7 million online followers in addition to over 300 million YouTube views while touring internationally as well as sharing the stage with such groups as Dave Matthews Band, Dirty Heads, Rebelution, Michael Franti, Nahko and more.
Related Links:
Exclusive SOJA Blog
SOJA Website
SOJA Facebook
Huge thanks again to SOJA and ATO Records for allowing us to share new song “I Found You” to post up for FREE download. Free music is a privilege that we’re grateful for and we appreciate the work these artists do! Please feel free to download this song for FREE and spread the awareness to your friends!
Enjoy the FREE track on the homepage!
Article By: Mike Patti
Live Photo By: David Norris
Watch: SOJA – “Fire In The Sky”
Listen: SOJA – “Bad News”
Listen: SOJA – “More”