SOJA

Formed in Arlington, Virginia, the American reggae band SOJA fuses traditional roots reggae with rock elements. After years of independent releases and extensive touring, the group developed a broad international audience and eventually joined the ATO roster in the early 2010s. Their breakthrough arrived with the 2012 album Strength to Survive, which initiated a streak of three straight reggae chart number ones, two of them also earning Grammy nominations. Following the 2017 release Poetry in Motion, the band concentrated on individual tracks and shorter works until returning to a full album with 2021’s Beauty in the Silence.

High-school friends from the D.C. area founded SOJA (Soldiers of Jah Army) in 1997; the original lineup consisted of Jacob Hemphill on lead vocals and guitar, Eric Rogers on keyboards, harmony vocals, and guitar, Bobby Lee Jefferson on bass and vocals, Ryan Berty on drums, and Ken Brownell on percussion. The quintet’s first recording, the SOJA EP, appeared in 2000, followed by the 2002 full-length Peace in a Time of War and its 2004 dub counterpart Dub in a Time of War. By then Rogers had departed, with Patrick O’Shea stepping in on guitar. The 2006 album Get Wiser received a hometown launch when the band performed it in its entirety, a show preserved on that year’s DVD Get Wiser Live. Born in Babylon, issued in 2009, included contributions from German reggae singer Gentleman and members of Rebelution, helping the record reach number 11 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.

Entering the new decade with a substantial following already in place, SOJA signed with ATO and delivered Strength to Survive in 2012. The set topped Billboard’s Reggae Albums chart and marked the start of the band’s most commercially prosperous phase. Two years later ATO released Amid the Noise and Haste, which featured guest spots from Damian Marley, Michael Franti, and Collie Buddz; another number-one reggae album, it earned SOJA their initial Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album. The 2016 concert recording Live in Virginia brought the group a second Grammy nod. Their sixth studio album, Poetry in Motion, arrived in 2017 and secured a third consecutive reggae chart-topping position. By this point the roster also included saxophonist Hellman Escorcia, trumpeter Rafael Rodriguez, and guitarist-singer Trevor Young.

In subsequent years SOJA maintained a busy international touring schedule while issuing singles such as 2019’s “A Brief History” and 2020’s “Beacon of Light” with the Movement. Early 2021 saw the band release an EP of covers that reinterpreted songs by Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Crowded House, and Jimmy Eat World. Later that September they unveiled their next full-length effort, the Grammy-nominated Beauty in the Silence.