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Be on the lookout for NYAH IGEL'S EP to be dropped in SUMMER 2008!!!
NYAH IGEL was born John Christopher Woodruff, Jr in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1981. A majority of his upbringing was "down in the Boondocks" of St. Bernard Parish, an area surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico, bayou swamp, marsh land and the "Muddy Waters" of the Mississippi River. John was fortunate to be raised by a drumming father and a dancing mother which naturally exposed him to the beauty and joy of music. Throughout his life, growing up in a multi-cultural family, as well as being heavily influenced by the diversity of New Orleans, John was exposed to various forms and styles of music. His first musical experience was at the earliest ages listening to his father's headphones to keep him occupied while his mother took care of the house duties. Still in diapers, John's father taught him his first rhythms while seated on his lap as his father practiced on his drum set. This has had a huge impact in leading John into a lifelong pursuit of music making. At around the age of 9, John took piano lessons. He eventualy picked up his father's bass and started to learn the stringed instruments which inevitably lead him to guitar. Being the urban/sub-urban street kid that he was, in addition to the heavy growth of Hip-Hop Culture in the early-mid 80's, he began to practice his dancing, freestlyes and vocal capabilities. During the Alternative Rock Renaissance in the early-mid 90's, John was playing guitar while singing in the styles of the then underground "Alternative" artists. In the early years of high school he found himself a full on songwriter collaborating with a female vocalist friend of his at the time, forming a solid and colorful singer/songwriter combo. In 1996 he found himself playing drums not only for the Drum Corps in High School but also for a Rage Against The Machine cover band which began his interest in a political/conscious music career. In the later years of high school between 1997-1999, he co-formed an all original Alternative Rock group called "Thousand Hour Day" which he contributed major parts as Songwriter, Composer, Producer and guitarist. Around this time he also began to be experiment with Punk and Ska which he had been exposed to earlier in his life within the skateboarding scene. Simultaneously, Roots Reggae, a music and culture that was always with John while growing in New Orleans, started to heavily resurface in his life and music and thus becoming the dominant influence and form of expression of John as an artist and freedom fighter.
Though at even an early age, John witnessed, felt and even testified to the many hypocracies and inequalities within religion. It was only until he began to carefully listen to and take in seriously the words of Bob Marley and the Wailers, Jacob Miller, Buju Banton, Burning Spear and Steel Pulse that he began to have his " revelations". He thus left the Church as an early teenager to find God and Truth for himself. From then until the present he has learned and embraced many various forms of spirituality and was divinely led to the mystical, natural teachings of Haile Selasie I and lifestyle of RastafarI.
Between 2003-2005 while in Arcata, California, John has formed an all original Reggae group called "I-Libre" which broke off to form a Reggae/Dub project called "Spear Alliance" and later evolved to "Fiyah Roots Krewe" with NYAH IGEL, at the forefront of these projects as Composer, Producer, Writer, Singer and Musician. At around the same time he contributed guitar, keys, drums, backing vocals and even sound engineering to an original bi-coastal Funk/Hip-Hop/Reggae group out of the San Francisco Bay Area and the Greater New Orleans Area called "The New Lemurians". After a small tour with the New Lemurians, John moved to Austin, Tx in mid 2006. Here he co-formed an all original Reggae group called Sinai Fiyah. He started out as the drummer and eventually moved to guitar and lead/backup vocals. He also acted as Co-Producer and Co-Writer. Six months later, after a short succesfull career with Sinai, John began focusing on his solo project.
From Rock, Hip-Hop, Latin, Carribean and African rhythms to Gospel, Soul, Rhythm & Blues and even Jazz, you'll hear all of these influences in the future music of NYAH IGEL as he blends it with Roots Reggae. With wise, profound interpretations of Life, ancient scriptures, History, Herstory and the times to come, NYAH IGEL is stopping at nothing to fulfill his destiny and to make clear what has been muddy, "especially to the youths", as he strongly claims. With NYAH IGEL driving his own career through his Independent Record Label, Fiyah Roots, along side the amazing efforts of Mana Media Music Publishing, the Third Coast is being represented with a refreshing, powerful and conscious Producer/Performing Artist/Lyricist. His music and song content is strong in Faith, Revolution, Common-Unity, and a Healing Spirit for the human soul, heart, body and mind. Rootical, spiritual, soulful and full of vitality and inspiration, backed by groovin' riddims and infectionous melodies, NYAH IGEL is bound to keep the FIYAH BLAZING HOT!!.
NYAH IGEL IS PROUD TO WORK WITH MANA MEDIA ELECTRONICA MUSIC PUBLISHING CO.
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