Smooth R&B to Caress your Mind, Body, and Soul…

5:55 pm
I’m sitting in my hotel room… waiting for the limousine. A few hours ago, Maxwell’s stylist and Carib Newspaper’s entertainment editor, were deciding what I would wear on the red carpet (black vintage jacket) and on stage (white suite from Sonia Rykiel’s Homme Collection, and shoes by Valentino). Relaxed and sophisticated… I like it. Regina Belle is also slated to perform tonight and Rihanna is nominated for 6 awards. Stepping out onto the balcony, I listen to the waves below on the beach, and feel the ocean breeze against my face… this is a “Soul Comfort” moment.

The journey started last summer, when Walter Greene listened to my new CD, and asked for an interview for his newspaper and radio show. I was honored by what he wrote “Soul Comfort soothingly blends quiet storm, soul and sweetness all wrapped in a cozy blanket of spiritual awareness.” This is exactly what I wanted to give everyone listening to “Soul Comfort.” Then he invited me to perform at Guyana Fashion Weekend 2008… What an experience! And yes that was a “Soul Comfort” moment.

9:25 pm
I’m waiting backstage at the 2009 Barbados Music Awards, holding my guitar. The lights dim and I hear my name introduced. That’s my cue. I move quickly… I only have a few minutes to get into position. The stage hand positions the mic and runs into the wings. The blue spotlight baths me… I’m on…

Now everything is hazy blue… a vast sea of soft blue light. I take a moment to adjust, and then slowly enter the world of music… melody… harmony… lyric. Ahhhh yes! This is it… I feel my voice flowing out of me. This moment is sublime, the pinnacle of happiness – the ultimate “Soul Comfort” moment. I am giving my music to this audience and they are receiving it. I can feel them relax now and enjoy my love. It’s beautiful and indescribable… as the lights dim, I can hear the applause…

“Soul Comfort” is my happiness on record. Nominated for 2 Velocity Awards (Best Alternative Artist and Best R&B Album), it features an impressive array of talent – Carl Evans on Keyboards (he’s played with Stevie Wonder & Barry White); David Stark on Guitar (Rick James & Teena Marie); Tommy Aros on Percussion (Luis Miguel); and Polydor recording artist Mike Ibrahim. CD mastering done by Robert Honablue, whose Gold and Platinum credits include Santana, Roberta Flack, Aretha Franklin, Bob Marley, and Miles Davis.

But more importantly, “Soul Comfort” is my gift to you. I receive emails all the time from people who listen to “Soul Comfort” everyday, because its part of their morning ritual. Or while driving to work, because it clears their mind. Or while cleaning, because it helps time fly by. Or while making love, because… well you know… lol Imagine owning this CD now… what “Soul Comfort” moments could you be enjoying…

12:55 am
We are sitting in the limo heading back to the hotel. All the congratulations and well wishes are now in my heart… all the celebrity pictures are saved, and I’m watching the lights sail by. It’s been a successful evening. I would only have a few hours of sleep before filming the Good Morning Barbados TV interview and performance. But right now, I smile, replaying the scenes of the last few hours, and thanking the Universe for another “Soul Comfort” moment – these special times we always remember.

This is nothing new. 30 years ago Bob Marley sang of “Songs of freedom.” Throughout history, there has clearly been a conflict between the outer facade and the inner reality, between the physical and the spiritual, between what we touch and what we can only sense. Darkness and light, left and right, yin and yang, male and female – the list is endless, isn’t it?

“Someday Peace Love & Freedom” is the eternal flame of hope, a mantra for change. Countries go to war, financial markets go up and down, jobs come and go. These things you cannot control, or can you? How do you react to the chaos of the universe, whether it takes the form of a cheating spouse or an unbearable supervisor? I’m not going to say his CD has the answers, but it may be a helping hand when you need one.

To date, “Someday Peace Love & Freedom” is my most critically acclaimed album. Logo Magazine dubbed it “The Voice of Social Conscience”. Out Music nominated this CD for 2004 Outstanding Male Album of the Year, winning the Fresh Fruit Festival Award for Best Male Performance. “Free” and “I Miss You” received honorable mention at the 14th Annual Billboard Song Contest and helped claim the #1 position on NY Indie Myspace Fusion, Healing, and Neo-Soul Music Charts. I had the honor of sharing the stage with Motown Recording Artist Donnie, Def Jam Poet Staceyann Chin and recording an unplugged live DVD with Emmy-Nominated director Bill Cote.

But what is most important is my ability to help others. I made a commitment to give back after realizing how much I had been given. I graduated from NYU with a BA in Economics, I worked very hard and became an honors student. It is now my responsibility to do what I can to raise awareness and advance goodness. Over the years I’ve supported Lifebeat (HIV/AIDS), Drug Rehabilitation Programs, Domestic Violence Awareness, National Disability Awareness, September 11th Concerts, THAW (Theaters Against War), Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration, Gay Pride and Earth Day Celebrations.

When you play track #5, a slow reggae groove begins that slowly morphs into “The Beggar’s Cup.” This song tells the story of a beggar at a street corner – but he doesn’t want money, he “wants for something that will last. So put a little love in my cup now” he pleads.

“Someday Peace Love & Freedom” is only calling individuals who understand this message, individuals who believe in what this music stands for. Individuals like yourself who are committed to making this world a better place. You’re in control, everything you do helps to make a difference – just like pebbles create ripples on a lake. So go ahead and set your own price and take this message home. Now watch the changes that occur in your life.

“I’ve Been Waiting for You” is my first escape into writing and creating music. The very beginning… I wrote it to make sense of the world inside. It is like a personal diary. My thoughts and feelings and confusions, all laid bare. I always feel naked listening to it. But submerging into these ethereal harmonies and melodies released me. Art and music have a way of transmuting pain into beauty.

This project took over 2 years to complete – I kept fine-tuning it, bringing more feeling and emotion to the surface… making the music not so raw and unpolished. The focus was on my falsetto voice and how it can release pain imprisoned deep inside. I worked alone – many times late into night, recording the songs I wanted to hear. Quiet soaring music, yanking my heart strings, and bending the bars limiting my reality. It is a crime to the soul – to hide, especially from yourself.

Now we easily remember our first times… our first kiss… our first love… it usually is never perfect, sometimes a little scary, and yes even painful. But it affects us in a deeply profound way, because it opens the door to a whole new world of experience and surprise that we didn’t know existed. So we cherish it for as long as we can.

And so I cherish you… because you are here celebrating this experience of my first CD… the first music I composed and recorded. Thank you for sharing these moments with me… even if this CD is not be for you. But if this CD is for you, I hope my music opens the door to a whole new world of experience and surprise.

Nhojj’s debut “I’ve Been Waiting for You” feels like a personal diary. Its music has been featured at the International Fringe Festival in the Award-winning play The Making of the Black Man. “I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Nhojj is one of the most unique and talented artists that I have ever heard. He may be blessed with musical genius.” – MusicDish
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