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Jaja Soze
Birth nameElijah Kerr
Born (1980-02-16) 16 February 1980 (age 44)
Birmingham, England
OriginBrixton, South London, England
Genres
Occupations
Years active1998–present
Labels
  • PDC Music Label
    (2005–present)
Websitewww.jajasoze.com

Elijah Kerr (born 16 February 1980), known as Jaja Soze,[1] is a British rapper,[2] street activist, and entrepreneur.[3] Well known for his key role as founder of gang and music group PDC, Jaja released his debut studio album Streetboy in 2008, along with his second alnum, I Love Music in 2009, followed by his Illegal Download album in 2010, all of which were distributed independently. His fourth studio album, The Last Message was released in 2012 and went to No. 19 in the iTunes Hiphop chart.

His influence in and around British street culture[4] as a key figure and rap legend[5] has seen him appear on many of the popular media and music platforms, such as with Tim Westwood,[6] talking about his experiences and influencing the up-and-coming generations.

Early life

Jaja Soze was born Elijah Kerr on 16 February 1980 in Birmingham,[1] England, to parents from Jamaica. He is the oldest of five siblings and grew up in Handsworth, Birmingham. Kerr attended the Westminster Primary school where he grew up, looking up to the local sound systems of the '80s whilst also being inspired by a popular local gang called the "Incheyes" who later would split up into the Johnsons and Burger Bar gangs.[7] Because of domestic disputes in his family, Kerr moved to Brixton, on the Angell Town Estate in South London in the early '90s[8] where he then became heavily involved in crime, and convicted in 1996 at the age of just 15, for a bank robbery. He would then later be convicted and jailed at age 22, for drug-dealing.

Soze grew up heavily influenced by gang culture,[9] especially that of a well known, early '90s gang that he had grew up seeing in Brixton, called the 28s. Soze then grew to be a part of a well known London gang known as the Peel Dem Crew, of which he later founded and transformed into PDC rap group, also known as Poverty Driven Children or P.D.C. as told in a book written about his journey called Street Boys, written by himself and Tim Pritchard and published by HarperCollins.[10]

Career

Soze began creating music at the age of 12 years old (1992), heavily influenced by his upbringing of Rastafarian music with a mix of early American '90s hip hop like that of Public Enemy and UK London Posse which was rumoured to have sparked his interest in starting his own street type movement.[11] Him and his friends would later go on to set up PDC rap group and create a massive platform for young disadvantaged youth, to be able to express their opinions and struggles of the UK street culture, via music.

Soze's music today is seen as a controversial message of revolution and street culture,[12] with a deep message some will consider as "black power" or music with a humanitarian feel. His music even though sometimes can come across aggressive, continues to inspire many and create progressive waves in the music industry. Soze has won awards such as outstanding work recognition by Starlight music group, and also outstanding achievement at the Official Mixtape Awards.[13]

Discography

  • PDC First Cassette (mixtape) (1999)
  • PDC Pray Days Change (album) (2004)
  • Boss of the Bosses (mixtape) (2005)
  • I'm Not a Rapper I'm a Revolutionary Mixtape
  • Street Boy (2008)
  • I Love Music (2009)
  • Illegal Download (2010)
  • The Last Message (2012)
  • Power (2014)
  • The Creative Struggle (2014)
  • Frequency (2016)

References

  1. ^ a b "Jaja Soze". The British Blacklist. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  2. ^ Jaja Soze (Ft. The People's Army) – Activist, archived from the original on 3 October 2017, retrieved 24 September 2017
  3. ^ "Jaja Soze: Onesheet Biography". Jaja Soze: Onesheet Biography. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  4. ^ "20 Essential road rap tracks". Fact Music News. 2015. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017 – via Fact Music News.
  5. ^ "UK Hip Hop | The Heaviest Interviews". theheaviestinterviews.wordpress.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  6. ^ "BRITHOPTV: [Video Interview] Ja Ja Soze (@JaJaPDC) On Leaving Gang Life Behind, Business, Music & Building [@TimWestwood TV] | #UKRap #UKHipHop". BritHopTV. 15 February 2017. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  7. ^ Bassey, Amardeep (21 December 2014). "Why are criminals in Birmingham, Manchester and London forming 'supergangs'?". mirror. Archived from the original on 29 June 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  8. ^ "Gang leader turns his back on crime". Local Guardian Newspaper. 2008. Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  9. ^ "#2 with Jaja Soze – Gang Leader turned Social Activist". Speech Debelle. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  10. ^ "streetboys". Tim Pritchard. 2011. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  11. ^ Kool, CJ. "Colourful Radio". colourfulradio.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  12. ^ "Deep thoughts". Genius. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017 – via Genius.
  13. ^ "Previous Awards - Official Mixtape Awards". Official Mixtape Awards. Archived from the original on 23 July 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2017.

jaja mtv wrap up interview 2013[1] Elijah kerr guardian interview 2007[2] Jaja soze bbc asain network 2017[3] Ashley walters presents top dad ft jaja soze t4 on demand[4] Evening Standard interview 2008[5] street boys book by harper collins[6] bbc world services interview 2008[7]

Mtv showcase young poets 2014[8] complex magazine 2017 rap king jaja[9] huffington post creative spoken word 2014[10] bbc radio 1 live interview and freestyle 2014[11] Danny Dyers Deadliest Men on Netflix 2009 featuring Elijah Kerr[12] PDC BBC RADIO ONE 2017[13]

  1. ^ "Interview: Jaja Soze | MTV UK". Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  2. ^ Hill, Amelia; culture; correspondent, society (25 February 2007). "Ja-Ja should know how street gangs operate: he runs one". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017. {{cite news}}: |last3= has generic name (help)
  3. ^ "Jaja Soze's Freestyle!, Jaja Soze & Harleen Kaur, Kan D Man and DJ Limelight - BBC Asian Network". BBC. Archived from the original on 13 December 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  4. ^ "Top Dad - On Demand - All 4". Channel 4. Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  5. ^ "My escape from gangland". London Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  6. ^ "Street Boys by Tim Pritchard - Paperback | HarperCollins". HarperCollins UK. Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  7. ^ "How to Leave a Gang, Outlook". BBC. Archived from the original on 12 December 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  8. ^ "MTV UK". MTV. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  9. ^ "Premiere: Road Rap King JaJa Soze Flips The Script With Ryan De La Cruz on New Track "Grindin"". Complex. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  10. ^ "How Creative Spoken Word and Music Projects Are Helping the UK's Literacy Issues". HuffPost. 18 February 2014. Archived from the original on 16 August 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  11. ^ "JaJa Soze & Sozah Beats Fire in the Booth, JaJa Soze & Naja Soze Fire in the Booth, The Rap Show with Charlie Sloth - BBC Radio 1". BBC. Archived from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  12. ^ "Danny Dyer's Deadliest Men | Netflix". www.netflix.com. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  13. ^ "PDC Fire, The Rap Show with Charlie Sloth - BBC Radio 1". BBC. Archived from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
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