SoulJa

SoulJa
SoulJa
Birth name	Johannes Marías Leenders Zwaan
Born	1 November 1983 (age 40)
Origin	Higashikurume, Tokyo, Japan
Genres	Pop, hip hop, R&B
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, rapper
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Rock & Hill Records; (2005–2006); Nayutawave Records; (2007–2008); Def Jam Japan (2008–present)
Website	soulja.jp

SoulJa (ソルジャ, Soruja, birth name: Johannes Maria Leenders Zwaan) is a Japanese hip-hop musician and songwriter best known for his collaborations with singer Thelma Aoyama, "Koko ni Iru yo" and "Soba ni Iru ne" – the latter of which was the former Guinness World Records holder for the best selling digital single of all-time in Japan (until it was superseded by Greeeen's "Kiseki").^[2]^[3]

He has worked with various Japanese singers, including Thelma Aoyama, Issa, Rola, and Misslim.

Biography

SoulJa's mother is Belgian and his father is Japanese.^[1] He studied music, learning how to play the violin, cello and piano from a young age, due to the influence of his mother. During his childhood, he spent time in Belgium, Japan and the United States. At 15, he grew to love hip-hop music.

In 2003, he returned to Japan, and began creating music. He got his first big break when a song of his, "First Contact," was featured in a commercial for Men's Beauteen (featuring actor Joe Odagiri) in 2005. This led to several more offers to write commercial music for companies such as magazine Oggi, along with SoulJa's independent label debut. In late 2005, he released the EP First Contact under Rock & Hill Records.

In 2007, SoulJa debuted as a major label artist with Universal Music Japan. His third single, "Koko ni Iru yo" featuring R&B singer Thelma Aoyama, became a long selling hit, staying in Oricon's top 10 singles for five weeks.^[4] Eventually, by March 2008, the song had been certified by the RIAJ for selling over 1,000,000+ ringtones,^[5] 1,000,000+ cellphone full-length downloads^[6] and 100,000 PC downloads.^[6]

SoulJa's debut album, Spirits, released two and a half months later, was a modest success, breaking the top 10 on Oricon and selling over 66,000 copies.^[4]

In January 2008, Thelma Aoyama released her own answer version to the song, "Soba ni Iru ne." This version outstripped the popularity of the original, topping the RIAJ's monthly ringtone chart for three months,^[7]^[8]^[9] peaking at No. 1 on Oricon's single sales charts^[10] and eventually being certified by Guinness World Records as the best digital single in Japan of all-time (an award it held for a year).^[2]

After the extreme popularity of this version, SoulJa re-released Spirits, featuring a self-cover of this version (featuring vocalist Yukie).

SoulJa's second album, Colorz, was preceded by two singles: "Kinenbi/Home" (記念日・ｈｏｍｅ, Anniversary/Home) feat. Misslim (a pseudonym for Yumi Matsutoya) and "One Time" feat. Issei & Jin Oki. The album did not do as well as his previous, only reaching No. 106 on Oricon's album charts.^[4] "Kinenbi" was a minor hit, charting in the top 20 on RIAJ's Chaku-uta chart for two months.^[11]^[12]

In January 2010, SoulJa released his 6th single, "Way to Love (Saigo no Koi)" feat. Miho Karasawa. It was a digital hit, being certified by the RIAJ for selling 100,000 copies after charting for two months.^[13] This will be followed by his third album, Letters, along with the leading single "Hanasanaide yo" featuring Thelma Aoyama. SoulJa also worked together with Aoyama on her single "Kaeru Basho," writing the song.

Discography

Albums

Year	Album Information	Oricon Albums Charts ^[4]	Reported sales ^[4]
2007	Spirits Released: 7 November 2007 Label: Universal Music Japan (UPCH-20050) Re-released on 18 June 2008 as Spirits X'tended Formats: CD, digital download	9	66,000
2009	Colorz Released: 25 February 2009 Label: Universal Music Japan (UMCK-1295) Formats: CD, digital download	106	2,000
2010	Letters Released: 16 June 2010 Label: Universal Music Japan (UMCK-9348) Formats: CD, digital download	36	2,300

EPs

Year	Album Information
2005	First Contact Released: 1 November 2005 Independent album Re-released on 11 January 2006 Formats: CD, digital download

Singles

As lead artist

Release	Title	Notes	Chart positions			Oricon sales ^[4]	Album
Release	Title	Notes	Oricon Singles Charts ^[4]	Billboard Japan Hot 100† ^[14]	RIAJ digital tracks† ^[15]	Oricon sales ^[4]	Album
2007	"Dogg Pound"		100	—	—	4,000	Spirits
	"Rain"		99	—	—	1,500
	"Koko ni Iru yo" (ここにいるよ, I'm Here) feat. Thelma Aoyama		6	77	3*	149,000
2008	"Soba ni Iru ne" feat. Yukie	Self-cover, radio single.	—	—	29*	—	Spirits X'tended
2008	"Kinenbi/Home" (記念日・ｈｏｍｅ, Anniversary/Home) feat. Misslim		24	33	13*	9,000	Colorz
2009	"One Time" feat. Issei & Jin Oki		86	82	—	1,300	Colorz
2010	"Way to Love (Saigo no Koi)" (Ｗａｙ　ｔｏ　Ｌｏｖｅ　～最後の恋～, Final Love) feat. Miho Karasawa		62	—	11	3,000	Letters
	"Umaku Kotoba ni Dekinai Keredo" (うまく言葉にできないけれど, I Can't Express It Well, But) feat. Saki Kayama		88	—	13	500
	"Hanasanai de yo" (はなさないでよ, Don't Break Us Apart) feat. Thelma Aoyama		61	57	9	1,600
	"Gekkō (God's Child)" (月光～GOD'S CHILD～, Moonlight) feat. Chihiro Onitsuka	Radio single.	—	—	23	—
	"Breath"		36	TBA	TBA	3000	TBA

* charted on monthly Chaku-uta Reco-kyō Chart.
†Japan Hot 100 established February 2008, RIAJ Digital Track Chart established April 2009.

As a featured artist

Release	Artist	Title	Notes	Chart positions			Oricon sales ^[4]	Album
Release	Artist	Title	Notes	Oricon Singles Charts ^[4]	Billboard Japan Hot 100 ^[14]	RIAJ digital tracks ^[15]	Oricon sales ^[4]	Album
2008	Thelma Aoyama feat. SoulJa	"Soba ni Iru ne"	"Koko ni Iru yo" answer song.	1	1	1*	465,000	Diary
2010	Skelt 8 Bambino feat. SoulJa	"What's Love?"	Featured on Letters as a bonus track.	190	—	33	300	Love Balance
2010	Thelma Aoyama	"Kaeru Basho"	Written by SoulJa.	63	26	51	2,000	TBA

Other appearances

Release	Artist	Title	Notes	Album
2008	SoulJa	"Break"		Negachaincompi: Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge Official Compi
	SoulJa	"Engage"
	Sly and Robbie feat. Lady Traffic, SoulJa & Chantelle	"Hurry Home (Soba ni Iru ne)" (ハリー・ホーム(そばにいるね), Hurry Home (I'm By Your Side))	"Soba ni Iru ne" English cover. Featured on Colorz.	Amazing
2010	Yuki Koyanagi feat. SoulJa	"Be Alive (Sono Mama no Kimi de Ite) (New Recording)" (be alive～そのままの君でいて～, Be As You Are)	Featured on Letters as a bonus track. RIAJ No. 32.	The Best Now & Then: 10th Anniversary
	Under Graph × SoulJa	"2111 (Kako to Mirai de Warau Kodomotachi e)" (2111～過去と未来で笑う子供達へ～, To Children Laughing in the Past and Future)	Originally released as a digital single on 2 June 2010.	"Natsukage" (single)
	Issa × SoulJa	"Breathe" c/w/ "Destiny"		(single)