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East Coast rapper embraces ‘Borrowed Time’ by launching music career with debut album

HOWARD COUNTY, MD – Self-made rapper, artist, musician and icon-in-the-making Jonathon Griffin – AKA Lor Sosa – is a man making the most of his borrowed time. Growing up on the streets, he’s no stranger to drugs and violence. He’s been in and out of jail multiple times and admits that he’s defied the odds by living much longer than most others who have been entrenched in the street lifestyle. His latest album “Borrowed Time,” is a chronicle of those years and a reflection on some of his more harrowing experiences. At the same time it’s a cautionary tale to anyone else embracing such a violent lifestyle, with songs meant to motivate others away from crime and toward opportunities that can lead to success and good health in the future.

“I’ve done a lot of things in my life to the point where after getting through some of those things, I’m surprised I was still in it,” Lor Sosa said. “Now when I get up, I don’t take this time for granted. I definitely shouldn’t have made it this far. This album reflects that lifestyle and it’s special because it doesn’t have a single sound. Each song comes with a different type of mood, and overall it will appeal to a few different sub-genres and different pools of audiences. There’s something on there that everyone can rock with.”

The debut single from the project is a song called “Blink” which features a Drill beat against an upbeat club vibe. Sosa calls it a “shooter type of song” with some clever wordplay and sounds on the hook that makes it great for a club banger. The combination of that with the Drill beat is a perfect example of how Sosa blends genres and uses his creative originality to bring something new to the industry.

“My ambition is to gain more respect for the musical side of what I do,” he said. “In Hip Hop there’s been a lot of trickle in from Alternative Rock and Indie artists over the past few years. You can hear it with artists like Lil Uzi and Juice Wrld. I thought that sound was interesting, and I wanted to embrace the challenge of pairing Hip Hop with a more harmonic-type music. I want to push that boundary and cross genres while also telling a dope story. I have things in my past that a lot of people can relate to. I want to dive deeper and create relevant situations in the music that people can relate to. And at the end of the day, I hope people hear my music and say that it made them feel something. I’m providing an experience.”

Lor Sosa’s music is available across all streaming platforms.

To listen to his music or to follow him on social media, please visit:

https://www.instagram.com/lorsosaofficial/

https://www.facebook.com/lor.sosa.58

https://twitter.com/lorsosa_?s=21

“Blink” 

https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/jFh9mAzyBmx9C4gN8

“Lor Bish” 

https://youtu.be/1UYSxYXrWHM

https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/nF6L9CfBZb8wEha16

AJ Angels inspires others with new introspective EP ‘Iso’

DENVER, CO – Separated… Alone … Isolated…

That’s how Denver artist AJ Angels has felt at times throughout his life and it’s in those moments that he always turns to music. The power of artistic expression has played out multiple times in his life in a myriad of ways, and it’s that power that he wants to capture and share with the world through his new EP “Iso.”

The project explores what it means to take a moment and check in with yourself. It’s about his mentality during those isolated moments and the motivating factors that happen in life to derail us from our dreams.

“It’s about asking yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing and why you’re chasing whatever it is that you’re chasing,” AJ said. “It’s about looking back and seeing how much progress you’ve made. For myself, I have the pedal down right now and a lot of times I feel like I have to drive this road alone. But that’s OK because I have to chase this dream and I’m focused on that.”

The idea for the project came about while he was checking into a hotel a few months back. He found himself almost in an out-of-body experience, looking down at his life in that moment and wondering what it was that led to him feeling so alone. So as he checked into a hotel, he also checked in on himself and began to reminisce on the progress of his life and the things around him. As he sat in his room, those introspective thoughts became words on a page which eventually turned into the debut single from the album, “Check In.”

“It’s kind of mellow and really echoes a lot of what I’m talking about on this project,” AJ said. “There’s an all-audio track to start the project, then you get ‘Check In’. But by track 3, things are more uplifting and fun and you’re enjoying life. I have some great choreography I want to put with some of those later songs on the EP, and we’re getting ready to film a video for ‘Check In’ later this month.”

The last three songs on the EP are “Witness,” “Little People” and “Arise” – all of which are inspirational and upbeat, with lyrics that demand attention. “Little People” in particular is one of the stronger tracks on the project as it pushes listeners to remember the “little people” in life and acknowledge that all of us are in some way little people, no matter how far we go in life or how much we succeed.

“And then I end with ‘Arise’ where I’m talking about my view on how I’m seeking something that makes me want to keep going,” AJ said. “I’m always seeking more and with this song, I’m touching on the fact that I’m single again and how I’m focused on my music. It’s about something I’m seeking and how it’s hard for me to put energy into something else. So I’m putting energy into what I think is working.”

Through all of his music, AJ’s unique sound and style reflects influence from the West African heritage that was instilled in him as a child growing up with immigrant parents. His taste in music and his sound has always had a foreign touch, and it’s that subtle blend that AJ thinks sets him apart from others in the industry today.

“At the end of the day, I want my music to be known for being real and inspiring,” he said. “That’s big for me. What I’m talking about a lot is finding self-progress in my music. There are a lot of people around me who don’t think I can have a version of success. But if there’s one thing to pick up from my music it’s that I’m being real and I’m showcasing how anyone can have a journey of success. Don’t worry if what you’re doing is right or wrong – if you love it, go all-in and see how things work out. If you’re 100 percent authentic and real, you can impact an unknown number of people’s lives. There are many times when I’ll never know how much my music impacts someone, but I can always count on being a positive impact on others if I’m being 100 percent real myself.”