[vc_row bg_type=”color” header_feature=”yes” footer_feature=”yes” bg_color=”#eae5d3″][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”25px”][vc_column_text]Spinning from a 25 cent jukebox at his local Jamaican bar, Melodic Yoza began crafting his musical skills at an early age. The young messenger would voice his cords from a microphone on the street side supported by a small sound system through the shop counter windows. His self developed singing style evolved with these nightly street ciphers with different friends under the light posts. However, the rude boy looks, charismatic personality, and original voice spread far beyond the Jamaican yards that raised him.
Moving to New York in his teens, Melodic Yoza quickly gained recognition in the industry by consistently adding his signature spice to the reggae and hip hop music scene. Whether opening up for recognized artists such as Mos Def, Third World, BushMan, Tupac, Scarface, Buju Banton, Salt & Peppa, Shabba Ranks, Tiger, Gyptian, and Mad Professor, his onstage energy always impressed his peers as well as the crowd. In the New York City’s concert scene, Yoza performed at numerous venues including B.B. KING CBGB’s, Le Bar Bat, S.O.B’s, Lions Den, Blue Note, Wetlands, Baggot Inn, Culture Club, Joe’s Pub, Irie Jamboree, The Canal Room, Remote Lounge, SHINE , Nuyorican Cafe and New York University. Since returning back home to Toronto in 2009, Melodic Yoza has been featured in events and venues such as Hillside Festival, Irie Festival, Manifesto Toronto, Young and Dundas Square, Harbourfront Center, Hard Rock Cafe, Nathan Phillip Square, Queens Park, Opera House, Lee’s Palace, Lulu Lounge, Tattoo Rock Parlour and more!
Yoza’s reggae infusion with multiple genres started back In the early 90’s. In 2008, Yoza’s single “Ride On Natty” was released on YouTube, sparking the next wave of his career. In 2009, the song got placed on MTV’s Jersey Shore, which cemented Yoza’s vision that his music holds international and commercial value to his brand of reggae music.
Continuing the journey to his 2011 release “Jam Ya Jazzy”, Yoza utilized both of the jazz and reggae genres. Yoza went on to sell over 5,000 CDs on his own, landing another placement to the 2011 critically acclaimed movie “On The Ice”, and in 2012, won the “People’s Choice” award at the Irie Music Festival.
His music has been supported in additional major productions such as Black and Mile Commercial, while featuring numerous national music magazines, including Maxim’s Blender, Stuff, Vibe, Frank 151, and Jamaica Observer. With 2016’s release year, Yoza continued his tear on TV with placing two songs on the premiere episode of “Kim’s Convenience” which aired on national TV with CBC.
“Countri Boi Kingston”, Melodic Yoza’s last reggae fusion album has been in the works since 2015, and was released in 2018. The album includes features with Jahdan Blakkamoore, Jeni Fujita, award-winning Canadian R&B vocalist JRDN, and more. The album tells a tale of the life and travel experiences of a country boy in Kingston, who leaves a small town in St. Thomas Jamaica to chase his dreams. By sharing his music with the world, Melodic Yoza hopes to to remind others that any dream is possible with passion and perseverance. With his own personal story and guidance woven throughout his lyrics, the 16-track album was written by himself and unifies several different artists and sounds together for a dynamic and melodic body of work.
Taking on Gospel and R&B with the newest project “3:22 Something Bigger Than Me”, Yoza is taking on the goal of bringing old school closer to the modern age to get that organic feel that truly enhances the emotional side of timeless music. The 12-track album is coming out 2023 featuring singles “Where The Love Go” , “Something Bigger Than Me”, “Proud Of You”, “9 To 5 Problems” and “Grand Rising”.
Melodic Yoza’s diverse upbringing in the country of Jamaica, the City of New York, one summer in Miami and the last 12 years in Toronto, really contributes to his ability to seamlessly adapt and grow with many genres in his realm of influence such as Jazz, Pop, Dance, Folk, Hip Hop and Rock into his fusion of Reggae. Contributing from different eras, it only takes one listen to understand how the craft of Melodic Yoza has become refined with depth, love and artistry with the intent to bridge the gap between reggae and multiple music markets of the 21st century. Any listener can feel the conscious message delivered in his wild, engaging and infectious flow.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”25px”][/vc_column][/vc_row]