Recorded at the Grammy Award-winning Maze Studios in Atlanta, Josiah Soren’s musical ethos pulls inspiration from multi-member fusion projects like Snarky Puppy’s Family Dinner & Ezra Collective to feature members of the local community and represent the spirit of Atlanta in a cohesive format, blending the barriers of jazz and hip hop such as inspirations like Robert Glasper, Kassa Overall, Sly5thAve and Alfa Mist.

‘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