J. Holiday

Bio: The question most are asking, is where did J. Holiday come from? The answer is short, but runs deep: D.C. And while D.C.’s trademark sounds breed musicianship- “so many talented cats playing go-go or in church”—the city remains untapped. But it’s home, and home, for J. Holiday, is where the art is. He was born into a musical family; mother Frances, one of 11 siblings, sang gospel with her 5 sisters, while his older sister supplied backing vocals for Crystal Waters. “Music was always around me and I just wanted to do it,” he recalls.

Indeed, J. doesn’t have one hit song on the album; he has several. His satiny croon creases the sheets on the celestial “BED,” penned by The Dream and produced by Carlos “L.O.S” McKinney. J. Holiday is an intriguingly paradoxical figure, equal parts soldier, student, scion, and sage. Fortunately for listeners, the preacher’s son has chosen R&B as his preferred pulpit and the airwaves as his congregation. “I’m very conscious and music is the number-one source of expression and emotion,” he explains.