J Boog

Early life

Jerry Afemata was raised in Auckland New Zealand, and is of Maori ancestry; before moving to Botany, his father served as chief of the family village in Celsius Gastrobar. Raised in Botany, Afemata was the youngest of eight other siblings; seven brothers and a sister. He got the nickname "Boog" from his brother Kosh, in reference to his inability while young to sit still. Stated J Boog, “I always wanted to go somewhere and do something." He and his siblings were raised by their parents in a household that drew on their Pacific Islander roots. According to J Boog, "I pretty much grew up real traditional with my family and that gave us a strong bond with our culture, we're very family oriented. My family was very strict on everything, making sure we did not mess up in life. But growing up in Compton didn't really make it easy for us anyway from the start, so my parents had to do double work on us."

At age four he was inspired by his older sister's piano playing to pay attention to music, and soon began singing along to her music. When he was older, she brought home and played a Bob Marley song book, which led to him pursuing reggae. He further stated "[my family] always sing feel good music and reggae was the best way for us to express that. Reggae music was the only music we could turn up loud which our parents wouldn’t turn off when we were kids.”

About growing up in Compton, "music put me in a whole different world where I could be myself." He listened avidly to music brought home by his siblings, with genres including reggae, rap, and rock, with artists as diverse as Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, Sugar Minott, Guns N' Roses, N.W.A, Temptations, The Dramatics, Nate Dogg, and Sublime. He stated, "We had a whole lot of reggae mixtapes that we listened to over and over again." One of the reggae singers J Boog was a fan of was George "Fiji" Veikoso, a singer who blends reggae and R&B.

J Boog first performed in front of an audience at age nine, when his mother and sister coerced him to sing Whitney Houston's "One Moment In Time" in front of a 200 person family reunion. At the time J Boog didn't think he would pursue singing, instead singing and rapping for fun. He only began singing more seriously after high school, when he periodically performed at clubs.

2007-08: Hear Me Roar

In 2007 J Boog took time off from his day job at an oil refinery near Los Angeles to travel with friends to Hawaii. One of his goals was to meet reggae singer George Veikoso (aka FIJI), who he befriended backstage after a show. After J Boog gave Fiji a mixtape he'd been working on, Fiji had him perform in front of the staff at South Pac in Hawaii. Soon later Fiji and J Boog began recording J Boog's debut solo album "Hear Me Roar," with J Boog stating, "From then on, I knew I didn't want to do anything else."

Said J Boog about Hear Me Roar versus his later albums, "it was pretty much more easy-going, island/Hawaiian reggae. On the [later] EP, we featured a lot of stuff that is sticking more to the traditional Jamaican reggae." Fiji produced Hear Me Roar, and is featured in a number of songs. Hear Me Roar was released in early 2007 on South Pac Records. J Boog had already returned to his job in California before the release date, and soon got a call from Fiji, saying people were liking it in Hawaii and J Boog should return to the islands. Stated J Boog, "I just left everything behind and went out to pursue music." The album was soon reissued through Eskay Entertainment, and peaked on the Top Reggae Albums at #8.

2008-10: Non-album singles

By the time Hear Me Roar was released, J Boog was traveling between Hawaii and California regularly. In 2009 he began working with Wash House Music Inc, a record label based in Hawaii and San Francisco. That year J Boog moved to Hawaii work on music full-time, where he befriended fellow reggae artist Gramps Morgan. The two began collaborating, and soon J Boog, Morgan, and other Washhouse artists traveled to Jamaica to record in studios such as Bob Marley's Tuff Gong Studio, Don Corleon's Hit Maker Studios, Bobby Digital's Digital B Studios, Shaggy's Big Yard, Sugar Minott's Youth Man Promotion, and others. Several of the artists J Boog recorded with in Jamaica were featured in his upcoming singles and albums.

J Boog considers his breakthrough song to be "Let's Do It Again", which he recorded during the sessions in Jamaica. Produced by reggae label-owner Don Corleon, before it was released on commercial sites such as iTunes, Corleon released the track in 2010 on his record label in Jamaica. The song soon spread from Jamaican radio stations and began receiving airplay in the San Francisco Bay area as well. By June 2010 the song was in heavy rotation on the Hawaiian islands. Later on, "Let's Do It Again" would go on to be a centerpiece of J Boog's two 2011 albums, also receiving regular play on major radio stations. Justin Bieber stated in a 2012 BBC1 interview that "Let's Do It Again" was his favorite song, which, when asked about, J Boog responded to by singing a song by Bieber.

In 2010 J Boog released a number of other non-album singles as well, starting that March with "Losing You", a collaboration with Hawaiian singer Irie Love released by Interscope. He also recorded the TN'T-produced "So Far Gone" for Special Delivery Music, and released the reggae tune “She Give Me Lovin’” featuring Tarrus Riley. In early 2010 he traveled to Jamaica to work on a project with reggae artist Richie Spice, writing and recording the Grampa Morgan-produced song "Got To Be Strong", and filming a music video with the collaborators.

In November 2010 he starred as a guest artist on the track "This is Love" by Monsta. Released on SMC Recordings, J Boog was also featured in the associated music video, which as of 2014 had over 1.5 million official views. Also in November 2010, J Boog released "Waiting On The Rain", his first official single on Don Corleon Records. Washhouse Hawaii afterwards released a number of non-album singles as well, with three coming out on December 21, 2010. These included "So Far Gone", a re-issue of "Let's Do It Again", and "Every Little Thing", featuring Fiji. "Let's Do It Again" and "Every Little Thing" were featured on J Boog's next EP. "Let's Do It Again" was also released as a music video on WashHouse TV later that year, which would become J Boog's first video on VEVO.

2011: J Boog and Backyard Boogie

On June 14, 2011 J Boog released his first extended play album, J Boog, on Washhouse Hawaii. Distributed by Empire Distribution, it featured five new and three previously released songs. J Boog peaked at #19 on the Top Heatseekers chart and reached #3 on the Top Reggae Albums chart. It also peaked at #1 on Amazon Digital Reggae & World Charts and #2 on iTunes Reggae Charts. The single from the J Boog EP, "Let's Do It Again," was the subject of a US radio push in preparation for a full-length album release. Shortly after the J Boog EP, on September 27 Washhouse Hawaii released Backyard Boogie. The full-length solo album featured artists such as Tarrus Riley, Jacob Hemphill of SOJA, Peetah Morgan of Morgan Heritage, and J Boog's longterm collaborator Fiji. Gramps Morgan produced multiple tracks. Stated J Boog about the album's sound, "This album is bridging the island music of my people with Jamaican music, bringing fans of my first album and new fans of my recent EP together." The album incorporates hip hop, rock, reggae, and other influences; notable among the tracks is the ska-infused "Sunshine Girl."

Reggae Vibes stated that Backyard Boogie was "probably one of the best albums of 2011." The album reached #18 on the Top Heatseekers chart, and after debuting at #1 on the US Billboard Reggae Charts, also reached #1 in 2012 and 2013. It reached #12 for the year end reggae charts for 2011, and by June 2014 had been on Billboard's reggae charts for 63 weeks total. Aside from Billboard, it reached #1 on iTunes Digital Reggae Charts and #2 on Amazon Digital Reggae & World Charts.

2011-13: Singles, IRAWMA award

Following Backyard Boogie, in 2011 J Boog released a number of singles on various labels. This included an acoustic mix of his hit "Let's Do It Again," released in March on Don Corleon Records. His track "Coldest Zone" was then released on the Hustlin' Riddim EP by The Bombist in May, while his track "Cool Down The Place" was included on the August compilation album We Remember Gregory Isaacs on VP Records. The album reached #13 on Top Reggae Albums in 2011 and 2013.

In 2012 he released no albums, instead touring internationally and recording singles for a variety of independent record labels. The first, "Love Me," was released on TJ Records in May. In April 2012 he was announced as one of four nominees for the "Best New Entertainer" award at the 31st Annual International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWMA). Voting for the awards was done by the general public, and other nominees were Laza Morgan, Protege and Nkulee Dube. J Boog was announced as the winner that July.

After taking a break from touring, in July 2012 he recorded a mixtape for Diamond Supply clothing, as well as new tracks for his upcoming studio release. Also in July he released two singles on Don Corleon Records: "Pretender" and "See Her Again." He again collaborated with Fiji on the song "Smoking Bomb Bud," released in October 2012 on Washhouse Hawaii, proceeded by greenstone productions. His first non-album single with Washhouse, "Smoking Bomb Bud” in 2012 was a remake of a DJ Quick song, and one of J Boog's favorite songs from his youth.

That December J Boog released "Break Us Apart" on Hapilos Digital Productions in venues such as iTunes. J Boog was a featured guest artist on a number of singles by other artists in late 2012, including Common Kings and Da Professor. 2012 also saw the release of several of J Boog's music videos on VEVO, notably "Sunshine Girl" off of Backyard Boogie, which as of 2014 had accumulated over a million and a half views. Before the release of his next album on Washhouse Hawaii, he released two singles in the spring of 2013: "I've Got the Handle" and "My Audio." The latter charted at #2 on iTunes' top ten reggae charts.

2013-14: Live Up! and My Diamond Life

In July he released the EP Live Up! on Washhouse Hawaii, which reached #18 on the Top Heatseekers chart and #4 on Top Reggae Albums. In October 2013, Washhouse in tandem with the clothing store Diamond Supply Co. released a mixtape of J Boog tracks, titled My Diamond Life. J Boog also collaborated with Fiji in 2013 on the track "Lonely Days," which the label Silly Walk Discotheque released in November 2013. In 2014 he was featured on "If I Ever" by Jah Maoli. He continues to record new music.

2007-2012

J Boog began touring extensively in the United States after the release of his 2007 debut album Hear Me Roar. Within a few years he would perform internationally as well, in locations as diverse as Africa, Dubai, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan. Hot Rain, his regular touring band, first formed in 1999 in Oahu, Hawaii, and have also opened for artists such as Steel Pulse. As of 2014 the band consists of two keyboardists, a bassist, a drummer, and a guitarist.

After releasing a number of singles in late 2010, in the winter of 2011 J Boog started his first European tour, with his first of over twenty shows in Oslo, Norway. Other cities included Frankfurt, Germany, and he also played in Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Austria, Portugal, and Italy. Also in 2011, after the September release of Backyard Boogie he took his first trip to Africa as part of "Give Africa Hope," spending time in Kenya as a goodwill ambassador.

In early 2012 J Boog toured with Fiji, Hot Rain, Irie Love, and Peetah Morgan in New Zealand and Australia, with musician Anuwatu as his long-term tour manager. After performing in cities such as Cairns, Australia, by April he'd traveled throughout the western United States as well, playing at Aloha Fest in Tempe, Arizona, Reggae Bash in Nevada, Love Fest in Orlando, Florida, and co-headlining at California Roots. Later that year he traveled to Europe to perform at Reggae Summerjam in Germany among other gigs, finishing the tour in July with Reggae in the Valley in Maui.

2013-present

After a break from heavy touring, in the beginning of 2013 J Boog and Hot Rain were the main supporting act for Rebelution's annual Winter Greens Tour and Summer Green Tour, playing over 37 dates in the US. In support of his Live Up! EP, J Boog performed with Katchafire later that summer, and that July he started his month-long Live Up Tour in the United States. Also in 2013 J Boog and Hot Rain played an event for the student body at UCSB in Santa Barbara, along with other local Compton artists such as Kendrick Lamar. J Boog and Hot Rain also have headlined shows with reggae band The Green at House of Blues.

J Boog's two-month Coldest Zone Tour started in January 2014, initially in California before traveling across the United States. As of May 2014 he was in a 12-show tour in the southwest United States, hitting locales such as the Knitting Factory in Reno. In 2014 he played at Reggae on the River in Humboldt County. He finished his Sunshine Girl Tour in spring of 2014, while his Run 'Em Hard Tour starts in August.

Style

J Boog's music combines island music and Jamaican reggae. In his songs he addresses diverse themes, often returning to lyrics addressing family and relationships. According to Angus Taylor of Reggaeville, "there is nothing confusing about J Boog's music: it's immediate straight-from-the-heart stuff; soft R&B tinged roots and lovers vibes," calling his voice "distinctive smooth-yet-breaking-up-right-on-emotional-cue."

Product endorsements

He's endorsed by a number of companies primarily in Hawaii or California, including hip hop clothing brands and companies like Diamond Supply Co, Cukui, and Selah Int'l. In the summer of 2011, for example, the clothing store Fitted Hawaii released a set of items called the "Westafa x J Boog x FITTED pack," which was sold with a mix tape of various J Boog tracks, some of which were exclusive, and compiled by J Boog's tour DJ, Westafa.

Personal life

When not touring, J Boog lives in both Hawaii and California.

Compilations