Johannes Maria Leenders Zwaan, better known as , is a Japanese hip-hop musician and songwriter best known for his collaborations with singer

Thelma Aoyama is a Japanese pop and Contemporary R&B, R&B singer. She is part Afro-Trinidadians and Tobagonians, Afro-Trinidadian and Japanese. She is known for her collaboration song with SoulJa, "Koko ni Iru yo" and her answer song "Soba ni Iru ne". In Sep ...

, "Koko ni Iru yo" and "

Soba ni Iru ne is a song recorded by Japanese singer Thelma Aoyama featuring Japanese rapper SoulJa, released on January 23, 2008, via Universal J. It is an answer song to her previous collaboration with SoulJa, "Koko ni Iru yo." The B-side of the single, ...

" – the latter of which was the former

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

holder for the best selling digital single of all-time in Japan (until it was superseded by

Greeeen Gre4n Boyz (stylized as GRe4N BOYZ), until March 2024 named Greeeen (stylized as GReeeeN), is a Japanese all-male vocal group from Kōriyama in Fukushima Prefecture, comprising the four members: HIDE, navi, 92 (read as "kuni"), and SOH. They de ...

's " Kiseki"). 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. 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 Jō Odagiri (; born 16 February 1976), better known by his stage name , is a Japanese actor. He is most famous for portraying Yusuke Godai, the titular hero of the 2000 tokusatsu series '' Kamen Rider Kuuga''. Early life and education Joe Odag ...

) 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 , often referred to as just Universal Music Japan or UMJ, is a Japanese subsidiary of the Universal Music Group founded in 1990. It is the largest subsidiary for a foreign company in Japan regarding music distribution. The company is responsible ...

. His third single, "

Koko ni Iru yo Koko or KOKO may refer to: Animals *Koko (gorilla) (1971–2018), a gorilla trained to communicate in American Sign Language * Koko (dog) (2005–2012), the Australian kelpie in the 2011 film ''Red Dog'' * Koko (horse), an Irish racehorse that w ...

" featuring R&B singer

, became a long selling hit, staying in

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...

's top 10 singles for five weeks. Eventually, by March 2008, the song had been certified by the

RIAJ The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include prom ...

for selling over 1,000,000+ ringtones, 1,000,000+ cellphone full-length downloads and 100,000 PC downloads. SoulJa's debut album, ''

Spirits Spirit(s) commonly refers to: * Liquor, a distilled alcoholic drink * Spirit (animating force), the non-corporeal essence of living things * Spirit (supernatural entity), an incorporeal or immaterial being Spirit(s) may also refer to: Liquids ...

'', released two and a half months later, was a modest success, breaking the top 10 on Oricon and selling over 66,000 copies. In January 2008, Thelma Aoyama released her own answer version to the song, "

." This version outstripped the popularity of the original, topping the RIAJ's monthly ringtone chart for three months, peaking at No. 1 on Oricon's single sales charts 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). After the extreme popularity of this version, SoulJa re-released ''Spirits'', featuring a self-cover of this version (featuring vocalist

Yukie Yukie (or Yukié) is a feminine Japanese given name. Written forms Yukie can be written using different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *幸恵, "happiness, blessing/favor" *幸栄, "happiness, prosperous" *幸江, "h ...

). SoulJa's second album, '' Colorz'', was preceded by two singles: feat. Misslim (a pseudonym for

Yumi Matsutoya , nicknamed , is a Japanese singer, composer, lyricist and pianist. Generally the writer of both the lyrics and the music in her songs, she is renowned for her idiosyncratic voice and live performances, and is one of the most prominent figures ...

) and "One Time" feat. Issei &

Jin Oki Jin may refer to: States Jìn 晉 * Jin (Chinese state) (晉國), major state of the Zhou dynasty, existing from the 11th century BC to 376 BC * Jin dynasty (266–420) (晉朝), also known as Liang Jin and Sima Jin * Jin (Later Tang precursor) ...

. The album did not do as well as his previous, only reaching No. 106 on Oricon's album charts. "Kinenbi" was a minor hit, charting in the top 20 on RIAJ's Chaku-uta chart for two months. In January 2010, SoulJa released his 6th single, " Way to Love (Saigo no Koi)" feat.

Miho Karasawa is a Japanese singer and lyricist from Tokyo who was previously signed to Horipro and is currently signed to Lantis. Since 2014, she has performed under the stage name True (stylized as TRUE). She has performed theme songs for '' Violet Evergar ...

. It was a digital hit, being certified by the RIAJ for selling 100,000 copies after charting for two months. This will be followed by his third album, ''

Letters Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech or none in the case of a silent letter; any of the symbols of an alphabet * Letterform, the g ...

'', along with the leading single "Hanasanaide yo" featuring Thelma Aoyama. SoulJa also worked together with Aoyama on her single "

Kaeru Basho is Thelma Aoyama's ninth single. It was released on March 3, 2010 by Universal J. "Kaeru Basho" was written by SoulJa who collaborated with her on their number-one song "Soba ni Iru ne is a song recorded by Japanese singer Thelma Aoyama feat ...

," writing the song.

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

As lead artist

* 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

Other appearances

He also graduated

Christian Academy in Japan (CAJ), established in 1950, is a private Christianity, Christian school in the city of Higashikurume, Tokyo, Japan that provides a Christian Education in the United States, American-style education in English language, English. CAJ has over 460 s ...

References

External links

Official Site

Universal Label Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:SoulJa Living people Japanese male pop singers Japanese male singer-songwriters Japanese male rappers Japanese-language singers 1983 births Universal Music Japan artists Japanese hip-hop musicians People from Western Tokyo Japanese people of Belgian descent People from Higashikurume, Tokyo 21st-century Japanese male singers