Souljazz

OVERVIEW
SoulJazz is a hip hop collective comprising of Mhp (Samuel Abu), Rapsom
(Attah Anago), G.a.b (Gabriel Akpabio), Richard Eton(Rhyme Masta
Richy), Aqbar (Ajoku Ellis) and FirstBorn Soulomon (Emem Akpan). Their
sound is influenced by notable jazz greats like Miles davis,John Coltrane, and Thelonious Monk, they also infused it with soul music
to form high tempo beats mixed with conscious lyrics, creating a genre
radically distinct from the type done by fellow Nigerian musicians,
resulting in low public acceptance of their music.
BACKGROUND
The group was founded in 2004, when Aqbar, G.a.b, Mhp, FirstBorn
Soulomon and Rhyme Masta all met while in University, Rapsom was
subsequently introduced to the group by old time friend, G.a.b. In
school their common love for Hiphop saw them exchanging Cd wallets and
freestyling over instrumentals, all except Mhp and FirstBorn Soulomon
played on The school's basketball team. On court cyphas were a
heavy feature in their curriculum and it was during one of such cyphas
that the group met Swarthy Soul who was to later become an affiliate
producer. The group was first named Black Brotherhood SoulJazz but was
later shortened to Souljazz to avoid cultic connotations. In late 2004
SoulJazz recorded their first track together called 'Time travelling'
and was followed by 'Souliloquy', both tracks were circulated within an
underground network. Towards 2005 year ending, FirstBorn Soulomon
relocated to the North to further his studies, but still remained in
constant communication with the rest of the family. In the middle of
2006 SoulJazz dropped a mixtape which featured L.p, Solid, Jeff,
Swarthy Soul, and was produced by Jayslim, as with it's predecessor the
tracks in the mixtape enjoyed fair reviews from underground heads. On
October of the same year, the group fell out this move saw Mhp
start his solo career and the introduction of Rhyme Masta Richy as a
core member of the group. The re-modified SoulJazz worked with several
producers on an untitled and unreleased project which lasted till 2008,
it was when the year was winding to an end that the group finally reunited
with FirstBorn and former member Mhp, it also saw the induction of long
time affiliate and fellow emcee/producer, Rapsom into SoulJazz. Several
months later Renaissance Theory was born.
CURRENT STATUS
They currently have two albums; Renaissance Theory and Proof of
Ownership, [http://www.reverbnation.com/SoulJazz/RenaissanceTheory link
title] with Proof of Ownership due for release early next year. The
album features production from their affiliate producer, Swarthy Soul
who is based in London, and in house productions from this
multi-talented emcees. The group have been on several radio shows with
notable presenters as LD and Naomi of Rhythm 93.7, they have also been
featured in a current publication of the an entertainment weekly. Their
popularity is mostly internet based, as the group have a lot of free
tracks available for download online
. They are presently based in
Port Harcourt where they are preparing to shoot a video for a song
on their debut album.
DISCOGRAPHY
ALBUMS
:Renaissance Theory
:Proof of Ownership (unreleased)
SINGLES
:1. Falling in love
:2. Medieval
:3. HipHop
:4. The Renaissance
REFERENCES
1. *
2. *[http://www.www.africanhiphop.com/forum/ viewtopic.php?f18&t16942&start=180]
3. *
EXTERNAL LINKS
*Nigerian Hiphop blogs
*Official fan page
*free SoulJazz music
*HipHop at its best

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