J Boog

Jerry Fealofani Afemata (born 1983), better known by his stage name J Boog, is an American-Samoan reggae singer and songwriter. J Boog has released three albums that reached the top ten of the Billboard Reggae Albums chart, debuting with Hear Me Roar in 2007. His next two albums, Backyard Boogie (2011) and Wash House Ting (2016), both reached number one on the Reggae Albums chart.

Early life

Afemata was born in Long Beach, California and grew up in nearby Compton with six siblings in a Samoan American family. As a child, Afemata became interested in reggae music after seeing his sister play the Bob Marley song "Jamming" on the piano. His siblings gave Afemata the nickname "Boog", a play on "boogie" and reference to him not being able to sit still. Afemata first sang for an audience at age nine when his mother had him and his sister sing the Whitney Houston song "One Moment in Time" at a family reunion.

Afemata attended Paramount High School, enrolling because his parents registered him with his cousin's address in neighboring Paramount. While in high school, Afemata began listening to hip hop and the ska punk band Sublime. After graduating from high school, Afemata worked at an...

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