Sol 4 Soul Music

Introduction: Originally from the electronic music mecca (Detroit, MI), Omar Johnson is rapidly taking the house music scene by storm with his soulful trendsetting mixes, rightfully placing him alongside San Francisco Bay Area's premier DJs and producers. His formal training in recording/sound engineering, DJ arts, and classical instruments (saxophone and trumpet) have proven to be great assets for him in the studio and on the tables. His influences can be traced back to his Detroit roots. By age 7, Johnson was already entertaining crowds at local talent shows with his trumpet and making mixtapes for friends and family members and did parties by age 12. Growing up in a family full of music lovers and musicians, he developed a taste for the sounds of the '70s soul and '80s R&B, which would later fuel his soulful creative style. He fondly recalls his aunt and older cousins travel to parties in cities like Chicago and New York as they returned with mixtapes by local DJs for his listening. With exposure to such musical talents, it wasn't long before Omar found himself interested in music production. Listening and studying the styles of artists/producers like Quentin Harris, Kerri Chandler, Larry Levan, Frankie Knuckles, David Mancuso, Nicky Siano and many others afforded him a solid foundation to build upon. Originally producing house music with an old Roland TR-808 and Juno 106, Johnson soon began dabbling in hip-hop production, producing tracks for a San Diego based crew, Noo Noo Groove. After deciding to focus his attention solely on house music, he moved to the Bay Area.