Major.

Contemporary R&B vocalist and songwriter MAJOR., born Major Johnson Finley, blends classic soul foundations with pop sensibilities across his catalog. Song-driven full-lengths such as 2016’s I Am MAJOR. and 2018’s Even More sit alongside releases built around spoken motivational content and musical encouragement. His return to vocal-led material arrived in 2023 via the six-track EP The Hope of My Soul.

Raised in Houston after his birth in Denton, Texas, he earned a diploma from the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts—where Robert Glasper and Beyoncé also studied—before completing his degree at Berklee College of Music. Momentum built once he joined Harmony Samuels’ B.O.E. Music Group, which issued his first album for the imprint, I Am MAJOR., in 2016. The single “Why I Love You” drew praise from Stevie Wonder and Patti LaBelle, who later performed the track live, and reached number five on Billboard’s Adult R&B Songs chart. Follow-up activity in 2017 produced another number-five Adult R&B Songs entry with the Shaggy and Rock City remix titled “Honest,” plus the additional charting single “Spend Christmas with You.”

Even More, his second proper album, arrived in 2018 and included appearances from KAS, NSTASIA, and veteran Andre Troutman. Subsequent output leaned toward standalone tracks and experimental formats: 2019’s The Lyrical Breakdown: Readings by MAJOR. & friends offered measured spoken-word interpretations of his songs, while 2021’s MAJOR.HOPE Motivations and 2022’s MAJOR.HOPE Pep Talks delivered spoken perseverance messages and themed encouragement over restrained instrumental beds. The 2023 EP The Hope of My Soul presented mellow, gospel-inflected soul-pop that occasionally veered toward a country inflection.