(Updated at 2:55 p.m.) Arlington-based reggae band SOJA has been nominated for the “Best Reggae Album” Grammy award for “Amid the Noise and Haste,” released in August.
Amid the Noise and Haste is the nine-member band’s fifth full-length album and first Grammy nomination. The band’s 2012 album, “Strength to Survive,” was No. 1 on the Billboard Reggae charts in the U.S. for more than a year.
SOJA, which stands for Soldiers of Jah Army, played on the Tonight Show in 2012 and played Clarendon Day in 2006.
The band was formed by lead singer and guitarist Jacob Hemphill — an Arlington native who spent part of his childhood in Liberia while his father worked for the International Monetary Fund — and bassist Bobby Lee while the pair attended Yorktown High School in 1997. They recorded part of Amid the Noise and Haste at Lion and Fox Recording Studio in College Park, Md.
The band is currently on tour in Brazil and unavailable for interviews, its manager told ARLnow.com. The 57th Annual Grammy Awards will air on Sunday, Feb. 8 at 8:00 p.m.