Nhojj

Last year Nhojj made OUTMusic Awards history when he became the first black male to win an OUTMusic award. The Alliance of LGBT Recording Artists & Performers voted his ballad Love 2009 OUTStanding R&B/Soul song of the year.  He broke another barrier earlier this year when his gay music video “Love” reached # 1 on MTV Music Top 100 chart.  “Nhojj has been delivering high-quality jazzy soul for nearly a decade.  Soul Sessions congratulates soul singer Nhojj for being a Black history and a gay history first!” – BET/Centric TV “Congratulations on making history.” – The Advocate Unlike current R&B/Soul music videos, “Love” is the sensitive reflection of 2 male college students who feel a mutual attraction toward each other. Director Kirk Shannon-Butts spliced scenes from his 2008 Cannes Film Festival screened "Blueprint” with new footage of Nhojj as the angel of love. The music video was featured in the 2010 Sundance Film Festival Queer Lounge. Love appears on the Love Songs compilation and the 2x Velocity nominated Soul Comfort.  It features Carl Evans on Keys (Stevie Wonder, Barry White); David Stark on Guitar (Rick James & Teena Marie); Tommy Aros on percussion (Luis Miguel); and is mastered by by Robert Honablue, whose Gold and Platinum credits include Santana, Roberta Flack, Aretha Franklin, Bob Marley, and Miles Davis. Over the years Nhojj has donated his gifts to MTV's Pos or not, ALSURA, Lifebeat (HIV/AIDS), Gay by God Campaign, Lesbian Domestic Violence, Drug Rehabilitation, National Disability Awareness, THAW (Theaters Against War), and September 11th Concerts. Most recently he donated the proceeds from his #1 CDBaby Reggae single “The Gay Warrior Song” to SASOD (Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination), an LGBT Rights Organization in Guyana. Nhojj grew up in Guyana and Trinidad , where he performed for the Presidents of both countries. The son of a church minister, he began singing in church at the age of 5, but didn't embark on a career in music until after graduating from NYU with a BA in Economics.  In almost a decade of recording music, Nhojj has released 6 CDs and an unplugged live DVD filmed by Emmy nominated director Bill Cote. He has toured the USA, UK, Canada, and the Caribbean. Music from his 2001 debut I've Been Waiting For You was featured at the International Fringe Festival in the Award-winning play "The Making of the Black Man.”  His 2003 sophomore Someday Peace Love & Freedom was nominated for OUTStanding New Male Recording, and won Best Musical Performance at the Homo Hip-Hop Poetry Jam Fresh Fruit Festival. In 2005, Nhojj released the inspirational John Martinborough Coming home, a dedication to his mother. And last year, he released the compilation Karaoke Vol. 1 which includes the instrumental tracks to all his CDs. “Congratulations to Nhojj on his continued success.” - AfterElton