Illect Recordings is Excited to Announce Latest Signing Sojourn

Sojourn kills emcees…yet this vet is much more than a battle rapper.  After cutting his teeth in the mid-90’s as a member of California crews Tunnel Rats and Future Shock, Sojourn has spit, beatboxed and drummed alongside living legends and successful artists like Ras Kass, Myka 9 (Freestyle Fellowship), Braille (Beautiful Eulogy) and Theory Hazit.

His career has seen him win major San Diego battles, “The Breakthrough” and “Sunday Service,” and release multiple albums, including his solo debut Sojournalism: The Summer Articles.

From age 5 till now, Sojourn is constantly evolving, in music and life.  In 2015, we benefit from that growth.  Look for Sojourn’s beat tape Tabula Rasa, the Art Therapy EP and his sophomore solo album, The Talking Drum.

About Sojourn

• I am a drummer, emcee producer, husband and father. 1/5 of the original Future Shock and one of the founding members Tunnel Rats. Worked on the Foot Soldiers project and various Hip Hop Is Music projects. Pensive, passionate and musically inclined describe the man known on microphones as Sojourn. Sojourn is strongly connected to creative self-expression through the outlets of emceeing; performance poetry, beat boxing and drumming. Musically inclined since the age of 5, Sojourn (Tres Hodgens) has found a way to make music, one way or another. Outside of his own camp he has laced tracks and verses for other artists including Braille, Ohmega Watts, Theory Hazit, Blame One, Ras Kass and Myka 9 of Freestyle Fellowship. He has also contributed tracks to The Foot Soldiers project on Antagonist records as well as projects that featured Special Ed and KRS One. His first guest feature on a label was LPG’s “The Earthworm” with the other members of Future Shock on a song entitled “Deafening Silence”. Shortly thereafter Future Shock’s debut LP “Remember The Future” was released in 1996 on Brainstorm Artists International. Sojourn was featured with Future Shock on the Tunnel Rats debut album “Experience” and Peace 586’s “Risen Son” LP. Here he lent his lyricism and beat-boxing skills to add to the overall sonic strength of these projects respectively.
 From there he went on to contribute a solo song for a Syntax Records compilation Night Owls entitled “More Than Rap”. Future Shock released “The Art Of Xenos: Entertaining Aliens” on Syntax records in May 2001. For this album he made his ‘debut’ as a beat-smith/up and coming producer.
 It was also around this time that he expanded his drumming chops by sitting in with a Latin jazz band called Black Mambo.
 Playing with a jazz band and engaging other emcees at open mics and producers at beat battles make Sojourn a strong presence in Southern California’s Hip Hop scene. Sojourn’s improvisational skill has won him two major San Diego emcee battles: “The Breakthrough” held at The Scene and “Sunday Service” at Antonio’s showcase in San Diego. Competing and winning in San Diego beat battles gained the attention of renown West Coast lyricist Ras Kass and earned placement on his latest project with DJ Rhettmattic: A.D.I.D.A.S. (All Day I Dream About Spittin’).
  Sojourn teamed up with Braille and his label Hip Hop Is Music to release his debut solo album Sojournalism: The Summer Articles (now on iTunes). Since the release he is working on his upcoming beat tape Tabula Rasa and sophomore solo album tentatively titled The Talking Drum (slated for a late 2013 release). Through it all, Sojourn’s mission is to create art that breaks the shackles of conformity to the run of the mill. Sojournalism is a continuation of this mission and showcases his production as well as his lyricism and style. Take a listen and let the music speak for itself.