'SAMURAI' by Josiah Soren, available January 12th, 2024.
Recorded at the Grammy Award-winning Maze Studios in Atlanta, ‘Samurai’ is a record that celebrates the intersection of Jazz and Hip Hop. A 5-piece contemporary jazz band provides a canvas for eight members of the Atlanta hip hop scene to paint their picture and tell their story.
The album stems from over a year of writing and studio sessions that Josiah organized with featured Atlanta rappers Shalom Little, DK, Abib Jahleel, Truth Hayes, Enya Absi, Rhonnie O’Neal, AUDIADASOUND & Squallé. The band is composed of musicians from the Atlanta school of “Reverence” – a culture of respect, tolerance, and freedom – including Marquinn Mason, known for performing with Kamaal Williams.
“Each vocalist was asked to do one thing: tell their truth. The words you hear are not my words - they are the words of the reality of life in America and even around the world. The album is an honest journey through love, loss, grief and a determination to “chase all our dreams ‘till our legs ache””.
- Josiah Soren
"The boundaries between jazz and hip hop are completely and sublimely blurred in this 11 track banger where both genres are manifested with some serious quality from an artist who not only sees no boundaries but occupies his musical ground in a completely new and unique way"
- Tony Minvielle
credits
released January 12, 2024
Written by: Josiah Soren, Marquinn Mason, Jacob Hurlock & Dallas Dawson
Produced by: Josiah Soren & Tomas Uribe
Mastered by: Lohan Galloudec
Mixed by: Tomas Uribe
Engineered by: Tomas Uribe & Sophia Trautman
Guitar: Chris Marks
Bass: Josiah Soren
Drums: Dallas Dawson
Piano / Keys: Jacob Hurlock
Keys / Saxophone: Marquinn Mason
Vocals: Shalom Little, DK, Truth Hayes, Abib Jahleel, Squallé, Rhonnie O'Neal, ADUADASOUND, & Enya Absi
Video filmed by: Southern Media Exposure
Edited by: Josiah Soren