BIOGRAPHY - J. HOLIDAY

“Hailing from D.C., J. Holiday has been singing since the age of nine. He was born into a musical family; his mom sang in a gospel group and his older sister sang back up for Crystal Waters.

Holiday skipped college and began recording demos in a local studio. He also found himself increasingly caught up in street activities, but music offered a more positive path. Soon, Holiday met up with current manager Corey Green and formed the group 295, named after the D.C. highway. Buzz for 295 was growing but by 2003 the R&B act disbanded. Fortunately for J. Holiday, his vocal prowess and dynamic stage presence was too much of a commodity to pass up. A&R veteran, Anthony T.A Tate, of Music Line Group (Ciara, Teairra Marie) quickly set up a meeting with Capitol Records and a deal was made on the spot.

"My sound is old school soul with a little mix of hip-hop," explains Holiday . If I had to give it a name I would call it 'street soul.' Nowadays the 'hood has little to listen to within R&B. I want my music to be the soundtrack to their lives and beyond.

Indeed, an ambitious J. Holiday is poised to live up to such lofty aspirations. The hypnotic first-single "Be with Me," produced by Rodney Jerkins, finds Holiday offering the age-old tale of a man wanting to be more than just friends with the object of his affections "You be giving me the coldest shoulder/'cause you don't want your emotions taking over," he croons. " Instead of talking about you looking for a soldier/are you trying to say you don't see that in me? " On the title track "Back Of My Lac," J. Holiday gives listeners a glimpse of his life struggles with heartfelt lines like "I grew up in a house with my mother / I didn't have my punk ass father/because he felt it was time to move on."

“Back of My Lac”, Holiday effortlessly takes you from the streets to the bedroom. His first single, “Bed” is a huge, sexy smash as is his second single “Suffocate” a heartfelt ballad that showcases J. Holiday's vocal ability.

"Without You" builds on a 70's groove complete with soulful horns and lush strings as Holiday pushes to win back the love of a woman he's lost. The bass heavy hardened blues of "City Boy" (featuring dirty south rhyme royalty 8 Ball & MJG) is a two-fisted anthem of ghetto empowerment. And on "Thug Commandments," Holiday is backed by a swinging, piano-driven break beat as he drops much-needed jewels for the block: "Stop cuffing that young girl, let her breathe/Be a father to your kids no doo-rags in the Lord's house/ Put trust in the Lord, but keep a glock in the house." For Holiday , such songwriting comes naturally for a young man who has never forgotten his humble beginnings. "I can say that I've lived that street life," he testifies of his time growing up in Washington D.C. "The streets are not anything to glamorize. I'm trying to let my people back home know that I'm with them. DC has a lot of talent and I'm just trying to show people that we are here."

www.jholiday.com