The Very Good Agency

Raashan Ahmad Interview

Pataphysics caught up up with California based MC, Raashan Ahmad, this week on life, music, Australian customs and other stuff… here is a basic copy of the transcript (as best as I could type it while playing it back to be precise).

You’ve had an interesting career so far, tell us a little about your journey.
Yeah man, I’ve been MC’ing for like 10 years now for real, ‘rappin since I was a little boy, walking up the street talkin to the beat, but I started to take it seriously with a group called Crown City Rockers putting out an album “Natural Phenomenon” in 2001(and ‘Earthtones’ in 2004).  Along the way I’ve just been touring consistently around the states and made it to Japan a couple of times also. I just released my first solo record called “The Push”, and now i’m just trying to make it bigger and better.

How did you get into Hip Hop, and who were your early influences?
I grew up in mid city L.A. going to a public school, and hip hop is and was the voice of the young generation. I was listening to the more conscious hip hop like NWA, Public Enenmy, KRS ONE, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, Souls of Michief, Pharcyde, all of the Native Toungues, I’m a big fan of hip hop in all of its forms.

What do you know about Australia & New Zealand and our music?
Hardly anything man to be honest, i’m not really up on game at all. Thanks to border security and our tour manager not organising entertainment visa’s for our Crown City Rockers tour there a few years ago I’m not really up on it at all.

Raashan Ahmad – Peace

You’ve worked with some great artists in your career so far collaborating and touring, who are some of the most memorable for you?
Have to say maybe when I was on tour with Digable Planets, which was an amazig experience as it was, but working with their keyboardist, Bryan Jackson,  you know I got to do a song with him playing flute on the track, that’s probably gotta be one of my favourite memories, being in a hotel room in the middle of nowhere with an Mbox rapping with one of those cats who made some of my dad’s favourite songs.

You have come out with your debut solo album “The Push” after such a long time on the scene. How do you feel about the album and what can we expect?
I absolutely love it, this album was kinda like my selfish album, when I was making it the conscious album hype was going on, I think you can have conscious lyrics and dance at the same time, you can love the girls and do it all. I have a  song about mum passing on, my kid being born, thanks when the rain lifted, a track called “Fight” about George Bush, a track for my love for hip hop. I tried to make an album that showed more then just one side of me as an artist, but me as a human being.

Who’s playing in your headphones at the moment?
Right now i’m listening to this Wale Mixtape, i’m still listening to the Blue and Exile record,  Q-Tip ‘The Renaissance’, I’m really listening to ‘The shape of broad minds’ by ‘Jarrell’

If you could rock a jam with any cat from history who would it be?
Oh Man, Damn – that’s rough dude… dead or alive doesn’t matter??? probably Billie Holiday – i’d just like to sit in a room with her and just get the vibe she’s like so sad, and beautiful, I could just like stare at her.

So what’s coming up next for Raashan Ahmad?
I’m Touring Australia and NZ dude – I pretty much covered USA last year, so i’m just trying to get out there further and make some more music, put out another mixtape, and the Crown City Rockers new record is coming out, so play some more international shows, make some more music, open up some new minds and get turned onto new things.

You can check out more from Raashan at:

www.myspace.com/raashanahmad

…Pataphysics

Tags: hip hop, Interviews

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