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Justin Tokimitsu Nozuka (born September 29, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. His debut album Holly has been released in Europe, Canada, Japan and the United States. He has licensed the album to indie label Coalition Entertainment Records, distributed by Warner Music in Canada, Outcaste Records in the UK/EU distributed by EMI and Glassnote Records in the US distributed by Universal Music Group.

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Justin Nozuka
Justin Nozuka in 2013
Background information
Birth name	Justin Tokimitsu Nozuka
Born	(1988-09-29) September 29, 1988 (age 34) New York City, New York, U.S.
Genres	Folk, R&B
Occupation(s)	Musician
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Warner Music Canada Glassnote Records (US) Coalition Music Records Outcaste (UK/EU)
Website	http://www.justinnozuka.com

Biography

Justin was born one of seven children to Canadian mother Holly Sedgwick[1][2] and Japanese father Hiromitsu Nozuka. Sedgwick raised Nozuka and his six siblings as a single mother.[3] He is the brother of musician George Nozuka, musician Henry Nozuka, and actor Philip Nozuka. Other family members include musician Christian, and two sisters, Margaret and Sandra (Sandy). His mother's half-sister is actress Kyra Sedgwick[4][5] and his first cousin twice removed is Edie Sedgwick.

Nozuka began to write his own songs at the age of 12. The earliest of his songs on Holly, "Supposed to Grow Old" and "I'm in Peace," were written when he was 15.[6] While attending St. Andrews College, an international boarding school in Aurora, Ontario, Justin learned to play guitar from classmates.^{[citation needed]} He then went on to the Etobicoke School of the Arts, where he graduated from in 2007. His musical influences stem from artists such as Lauryn Hill and Marvin Gaye.[7]

With help from a fellow Canadian artist, Damhnait Doyle, whom he met at a song writing workshop, Nozuka was introduced to Universal Records talent scout, Allan Reid. He recorded three tracks through Universal with Bill Bell as producer, leading Universal to request that Nozuka sign with their label. However, he decided to "record an album on (his) own, with (his) own freedom".[8]

In 2007, Nozuka released his debut album Holly. The album is named after his mother who helped and supported his chosen career in music. The album has eleven songs to it and includes a hidden track following the final listed song "If I Gave You My Life". Many of Justin's songs deal with mature themes such as the song "Save Him", which is a fictional account of a woman abused by her husband. Another track, "Down in a Cold Dirty Well", is about his perspective being stuck in a well, watching his life flash before his eyes. "Criminal" describes the story of a drunken man facing the consequences of throwing a bottle into a street "where children play with bare feet",[9] and suffers from the overwhelming guilt. In February 2008, Justin was nominated for a Juno award in the category of "New Artist of the Year", following the commercial and critical success of his debut album.

Since then, Nozuka has played at such venues as the Green room stage at the Irish music festival Oxegen and T in the Park in 2007. Nozuka's song "After Tonight" has also been featured in a commercial for Scott Baio Is 46...and Pregnant on VH1, as well as on mtvU's The Freshman. Nozuka has also traveled to Austin, Texas to take part in the SXSW Music Festival as well as being interviewed by many radio stations in the area.

In 2008, Nozuka toured with Marié Digby and Eric Hutchinson. From August 2008 through November 2008, Nozuka toured all around the United States with Gabe Dixon Band & Jay Nash as well as in parts of Europe. In the beginning of 2009, he toured the United States again, this time co-headlining with Missy Higgins and with special guest, Lenka. He also toured in France to heavily promote the Holly album for its re-release.

In the summer of 2009, Nozuka began working on his second studio album, while touring and playing live shows in Europe. The result was his second album titled You I Wind Land and Sea. The album was released in the US on April 13, 2010 and debuted at Number 118 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart. The album receive positive reviews, similar to his first album.

On February 18, 2010, Nozuka lent his vocals alongside 50 of Canada's best and brightest artists on a reworked version of K'naan's "Wavin' Flag." The song was reworked in order to inspire help for Haiti after it was hit by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. Other singers involved included K'naan, Nelly Furtado, Kardinal Offishall, Avril Lavigne, Lights, Drake, Fefe Dobson, Esthero, Jacob Hoggard and Justin Bieber, among others. It was released on iTunes Friday March 12, 2010 for purchase with all proceeds going to designated charities: World Vision, Free the Children and War Child.

Nozuka collaborated with the musical group The Slakadeliqs on their single "Love Controls the Sun" in November 2011. The song is part of the group's debut album The Other Side of Tomorrow. The group released a music video for the song featuring Justin and Slakah the Beatchild riding their bicycles on a rural road and partying.[10]

Nozuka has performed the song "Gone" in his live shows but has yet to record it for an album. Wu-Tang Clan member RZA came across the song and decided to sample it. RZA, joined by Kobra Khan, James Black and Justin, released the song, also titled "Gone," in October 2011 as a tribute to former Wu-Tang Clan member the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. The group filmed a music video for the single featuring clips of Ol' Dirty Bastard. The single is available on online music platform iTunes.[11]

Nozuka has also had various acting roles, including an appearance on Degrassi: The Next Generation as Chuck Hosada, the fictional brother to recurring character Chester, played by Justin's real-life brother Philip Nozuka. Their brother George Nozuka also shared a small role in the same episode playing the third brother, Chad.

In April 2014, Nozuka released his third studio album, Ulysees.[12] After spending 2010 touring, Nozuka took a break and started self-producing the album himself, resulting in a four-year gap between albums. The album features a soothing, calm tone which is significantly different from his previous albums, and is backed by the singles "Right By You" and "Sweet Lover".

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Details	Peak positions
		US	US Heat	US Indie	DU	FR
Holly	Released: March 19, 2007 Label: Outcaste, Glassnote Format: CD, digital	–	6	30	79	23
You I Wind Land and Sea	Released: April 13, 2010 Label: Outcaste, Glassnote Format: CD, digital	118	1	13	40	45
Ulysees	Released: April 15, 2014 Label: Warner Music Canada, Glassnote Format: CD, digital	–	49	–	–	–
Run To Waters	Released: May 18, 2018 Label: Warner Music Canada, Caroline Format: LP, CD, digital	–	–	–	–	–
"—" denotes album that did not chart or was not released

Extended plays

Title	Details	Peak positions
		US Heat
Blue Velvet Sea: The Sessions EP	Released: May 31, 2011 Label: Warner Music Canada, Glassnote Format: digital	50
Chestnut Spoke To Maple	Released: December 11, 2015 Label: Coalition Music Format: digital	–
High Tide	Released: September 22, 2017 Label: Glassnote Format: digital	–
Low Tide	Released: February 16, 2018 Label: Glassnote Format: digital	–
Then, Now & Again	Released: April 9, 2021 Label: Black Box Music Format: digital	–
"—" denotes album that did not chart or was not released

Other releases

• iTunes Festival: London – Justin Nozuka (Live) EP (2007) (available in the U.K.)

Singles

Title	Year	Peak chart positions			Album
		US	CA	CA AC
"After Tonight"	2007	–[upper-alpha 1]	–	–	Holly
"Mr. Therapy Man"		–	–	–
"Criminal"		–	–	–
"Be Back Soon"	2008	–	–	–
"Golden Train"	2009	–	–	–
"My Heart Is Yours"	2010	–	–	–	You I Wind Land and Sea
"Heartless"		–	93	14
"Right By You"	2014	–	–	–	Ulysees
"Sweet Lover"		–	–	–
"By Your Side"	2015	–	–	–	Chestnut Spoke to Maple
"All I Need"	2017	–	–	–	Run to Waters
"Warm Under The Light"	2018	–	–	–
"No One But You" (feat. Mahalia)	2020	–	–	–	Then, Now & Again
"Summer Night o8"	2021	–	–	–
"Nova"		–	–	–	non-album single	–	–
"—" denotes album that did not chart or was not released

Guest appearances

Title	Year	Other artist(s)	Album
"Bad Fog of Loneliness"	2007	—	Borrowed Tunes II: A Tribute To Neil Young
"At Long Last You"[13]	2007	Joe Sbrocchi	Fatlabs Studio
"At the Same Time"	2010	Shad	TSOL
"Love Controls The Sun"	2011	The Slakadeliqs	The Other Side of Tomorrow
"Keep Breathing"
"Come Back Home"	2012	Perfeck Strangers	Series Premiere
"Flood"	2016	River Tiber	Indigo
"I Won't Live Until I Die"	2017	Morgan Cameron Ross	—
"The Only Difference"		Beatchild, The Slakadeliqs	Heavy Rockin' Steady
"The Only Difference" [Bakermat Rework]	2019	Beatchild, Bakermat	—
"Taurus"		River Tiber
"Blossom"	2021	Zacari	Sol

Music videos

• Mr. Therapy Man (Holly, 2007)[14]
• Criminal (Holly, 2007 and 2009)[15]
• After Tonight (Holly, 2007)[16]
• Be Back Soon (Holly, 2008)[17]
• Golden Train (Holly, 2009)[18]
• My Heart is Yours (You I Wind Land and Sea, 2010)[19]
• Heartless (You I Wind Land and Sea, 2010)
• Gone (with RZA, Kobra Khan & James Black) (2011)[20]
• Love Controls The Sun (with The Slakadeliqs, 2011)
• Keep Breathing (with The Slakadeliqs, 2011)
• Right By You (Ulysees, 2014)
• Sweet Lover (Ulysees, 2014)
• By Your Side (Chestnut Spoke to Maple, 2015)
• All I Need (High Tide, 2017)
• Warm Under The Light (Low Tide, 2018)
• No One But You (ft. Mahalia) (2020)
• Summer Night O8 (2021)
• Nova (2021)

Notes

References

External links

• Official website
• Official french website
• Justin Nozuka on Facebook
• Justin Nozuka on Youtube
• Justin Nozuka on Twitter
• Justion Nozuka IMDB

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