Nhojj: Soul Comfort

By: Carolina Jones

Determined to focus on the positive aspect of the soul, award winning jazz/soul artist Nhojj has given us a wonderful helpling of soul food with his latest release 'Soul Comfort'.  Nhojj earned the #1 position on the Neo-Soul, Fusion, Nu-Jazz, Healing, Easy listening, and Gospel Myspace Indie NY Charts for a total of 31 weeks, and honorable mention at the 13th and 14th Annual Billboard Songwriting Contest.  Music from ‘Soul Comfort ‘ has been featured in Indie films, has taken Nhojj back home for the 2nd Annual Guyana Fashion Weekend, and in 2009 he will represent Guyana at the Barbados Music Awards.

Has or will this year's election have any kind of impact on your songwriting?  

I don’t know… I can’t say right now - time will tell. I think though, this election has definitely given me validation. I’ve always written about personal responsibility, homelessness, LGBT equality, the oneness of humanity, concepts of peace and hope. These topics were the focus of my last project ‘Someday Peace Love & Freedom’ and these same issues came to the forefront during this election year. So I think its more encouragement to continue to write from my heart.

Do you think that music has the ability to heal?

Yes definitely, I do a number of performances each year the Lifebeat Hearts and Voices program here in NYC. And what that program does is provide live performances for people living with HIV/AIDS. And I see it all the time, how music changes the expressions, the body language, brings smiles to faces, makes us move and dance. Music is a powerful force that science doesn’t fully understand yet, but we all do. I believe we are hardwired to respond instinctively to music.

Do you still enjoy being an independent artist? Can you touch upon the joys and pains of your music career at this moment?

I love the freedom of being an Indie artist. I do this because it lets my spirit soar, my musical expression allows me to develop and grow, I feel expansion, happiness, joy. It allows me to share what’s inside and connect with people on a fundamental level. I think that experience would be trickier to maneuver around in a label setting.   The downsides of course have been limited resources, and also the lack of a blueprint or a map to follow.

But I think that has to do more with the nature of our industry and the times in which we live, and less with whether one is an Indie artist or Label artist. I think success in this industry has always depended largely on trusting one’s intuition, which can be frustrating or exciting, depending on how you choose to look at it.   That makes me think of the word ‘innovation’ - finding the advantage in what has previously been a disadvantage. So that’s my challenge for the new year. I’ve been performing for 7 years now, and I’m still amazed at how doors open and people come into my life at the right time.

Your music transports listeners to a peaceful, sweet, sexy and hopeful place. Where does it transport you?

I’ve always felt on a gut level, that there is a radio station for this universe filled with the most beautiful inspiring music, and I am just fortunate enough to be able to tune in and record some of what I hear. My job as a musician and a songwriter is the find ways to make the reception clearer and stronger. So to answer your question, my music transports me to the same places of peace, beauty and love that it transports the listener.

What lyric in music has impacted you the most? I know there's a lot to choose from but I was wondering what your blockbuster, life altering one is?

I think the lyric that impacted me the most, and for months I couldn’t get enough of it was Sarah McLachlan’s “Companion to our demons, they will dance and we will play” in her song ‘Fumbling towards Ecstasy.’ I grew in a home where the dark side of human nature was considered evil, something to destroy. But I always knew that was impossible, you can’t have light without darkness, they define each other. The goal then, is find a way for both sides to coexist peacefully, and as the lyric suggests happily. I found that to be so affirming. My most recent power lyric is “Say what you need to say” by John Mayer.

What are you working on these days?

Yes I’m getting ready to shoot my first music video with director Kirk Shannon-Butts, he used my song ‘Love’ in his film ‘Blueprint’ (which premiered at the Cannes Festival this year), so we are going to collaborate on a music video that combines some of the footage from the film and new footage of me. I’m also preparing to perform at the Barbados Music Awards in January. So I’m really excited.

Tell us about the inspiration for this album. Were the songs born out of your experiences or of others around you?

‘Soul Comfort’ was born out of a philosophy - the idea of focusing on what’s right in my life, concentrating on what’s good in the world around me; like love, friends, romance, intimacy, sunsets, bubble baths, beaches, dreams, laughing, music. So I made a conscious effort to look at my life and write about the things that made me smile, the people I felt close to, the things I dream of, and the experiences that have shaped who I’ve become. And so far listeners have been connecting with it, so I’m really thankful.  

For more information visit:

www.nhojj.com

www.myspace.com/nhojj