The World According To Music - Ghani Gautama - theworldaccordingtomusic.weebly.com

You may not have heard of him yet, but you probably will soon.  Ghani Guatama is not the typical hip hop artist nor the typical thinker. Get him started talking about the music industry and you are bound to learn a lot from him. Ghani Guatama is full of opinions, information, and insight; and before we picked his brain fully of musical politics, the World According to Music wanted to hear a little bit more about him as an artist.   


   Where did the name Ghani Guatama come from?

The origin of my Ghani Gautama moniker is actually rather unspectacular.  I really just chose it because it sounds cool.  Ghani was my tag name during my short career as a graffiti artist.  I came up with it one day when I was smoking a bunch of Afghani and liked the way the letters looked.  I added Gautama to that and started using it as my stage name.  I wanted to have a name that could have been an actual given name instead of “MC so and so” or “Lil' so and so.”  I felt like my government name, Ian James Currie, didn't sound very rapper-ish so I went with Ghani Gautama.  I felt like it created a sense of exotic origins while also paying subliminal homage to my Irish roots.  Ghani is a West African surname and during the dark ages Ireland was the only northern European country that maintained trade relations with west Africa. There's a book called “How the Irish Saved Western Civilization” or something of that nature, that's where I found out about that.  Gautama is an Indian surname, it is attributed to the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama.   Buddhist monks were some of the most well-traveled of antiquity.  It is believed by some anthropologists that they made it as far as Ireland where their teaching gave birth to the religion of the druids.   Plus I think it sounds cool.

      How long have you been doing music? What got you into it?

In a lot of ways I feel like I've been doing it my whole life, but my formal entry into it was in the late 90's.  I took guitar lessons when I was younger and I've always liked to sing and write lyrics.  Eventually I joined band with the intention of being a rhythm guitar player and singer.  As it turns out the other members of the band were much better than me at both things.  I knew my stock was slipping so I needed to find a way to make myself valuable to the band.  One day at practice everyone was jamming and I started rapping.  Everybody in the band said “you should do that.”  I've never looked back since.  I couldn't really pinpoint any one thing that got me into it but I feel like I am the musical sum of my parents.  My mom is an excellent singer, she has the natural gift for it but she's pretty conservative in her taste.  She sang in choirs and stuff.  My dad was more rock 'n' roll, he had more rebellious musical taste and was passionate and charismatic about it but had not a lick of natural ability.  I think I inherited the best of both.

             How would you describe your music?

I try not to honestly, I prefer to let it speak for itself but for the sake of conversation I consider myself a songwriter first.  I don't necessarily dazzle with verbal dexterity, I'm not really interested in writing a “hot sixteen.”  I strive to write complete songs and just happen to use hip hop as my medium (probably because I can't sing or play an instrument.

                What are you working on right now?

I am currently in the process of recording a project called “Strong Medicine” it's the first of three 5-song E.P.s that I'll be releasing this year through my deal with First Team Music/Halogen Records.  It's a bit of a departure for me because it will be the first time I've recorded an album using beats from producers besides my long time creative partner Metrognome.  He's got one song on it but each of the 5 tracks are from a different producer.

               What are your artistic goals?

To be like B.B. King.  The man played 200+ shows a year well into his 80's.  I'd also like to play a show on every continent (except maybe Antarctica) and learn how to say “thank you” in 50 languages.

              Who/what are your influences?

I'm a sponge when it comes to rap so I've easily stolen a trick or two from pretty much any rapper that I've ever heard as far as style and delivery goes.  Lyrics wise I borrow heavily from Issac Brock and Ian McKaye.  I'm also huge into outlaw country, I've been listening to a lot of Waylon Jennings recently.  Plus I read a lot, non-fiction mostly and I'm a big fan of the speculative fiction of Harlan Ellison.

             What are some of your favorite tracks of yours?

The song I'm most proud of is a cut off of “Few Against Many,” my last album, called “Maybe” it was an idea about 8 years in the making.  I remember being in the room while Metrognome was making the beat for it and it ended up becoming a perfect storm of a song.  It is always a hit at shows and is a lot of my friends' favorite track.  I'm also really proud of a song from that album called “Another Day At The Office” it was the first track I ever did with guest verses and I feel like that brought the best out of me.  The title track to my 1st solo album “Give 'Em Enough Hope” is another highlight.  Another instance of an idea years in the making that turned out so well.

                What do you want your fans to know about you?
I'm a man of the people.  I have somewhat extreme viewpoints about the world and make rather intense music but at the end of the day I'm just a person like everyone else.  I think that sometimes hip hop music can put too much emphasis on people's differences.  I like to focus on our similarities.  Every day that I wake up and get to make music is a victory to me and I am extremely thankful for all of the people that have made that possible.  I'd also like people to know that if I can make my dream work so can they, and probably better.

              Who are some of your biggest supporters?

I'm fortunate to have incredibly supportive family and friends.  My label mates Quanstar, Evaready RAW, and Metrognome have been invaluable in getting to where I am.  Besides that everyone who's ever supported me is my biggest supporter, I value each and every person who's ever watched me play a set or listened to a song of mine.  I look at music as a lifestyle choice and a life-long commitment so every person that shows support makes it what it is.

              How can your fans access your music?

All my stuff is available through all major digital outlets.  I'm also active on social networks so just Google “Ghani Gautama” and you'll find me.  And don't hesitate to leave comments and send messages, I always answer them and this might sound sad but I live for fan feedback.

              What has been your biggest challenge as an upcoming artist?

Today's industry is basically a struggle for legitimacy.  Technology has made it possible for anyone to create and market music.  This has evened the playing field to a large degree but it has also created a vast amount of over-choice.  My biggest challenge has been getting that third party recognition and credibility.  Things like press coverage are important to growing a career.  With virtually billions of artists out there fighting for the same limited media space.  An artist like me who is entirely independent often gets overlooked in favor of artists with buckets of money to throw at the situation.

             What is your music making process?

I don't really have a set method.  I'm pretty much always making music, even when I'm cooking dinner or at the gym I'm always tossing around ideas in my head.  Sometimes if I have a deadline or something I'll just lock myself in my room put a beat on repeat and won't come out until I have a song.  Editing is very important, I never bring notebooks into the vocal booth so everything I record has been dedicated to memory.  The process of memorizing the song is the best editing method.  By the time I've recited something a couple hundred times I've usually trimmed out the fat and optimized the execution of the verse.  I also like to perform my songs live a lot before I record them.  That helps me work out all of the kinks.  When you’re live on stage, there's an audience, the music is loud, there's no second takes or punch-ins.  Once a song is down cold for a live show it is a piece of cake to knock out in the studio where conditions are optimal.

              Do you have a main theme to your music?

I know it sounds trite but my life is pretty much the theme of my music.  I try to present it in a way that is universally understandable.  Instead of focusing on specific details I emphasize the underlying sentiments.  For instance, if I write a song about a lame ass job that I hate, I don't focus my writing on specific details like what kind of tasks I'm doing or the eccentricities of customers and co-workers.  Instead I focus on the feelings of being undervalued of misunderstood or stuck in a situation because of responsibilities.  Those are things that any working person could understand from the janitor to the hedge fund manager.  It ties into the whole idea of finding commonalities between people as opposed to finding differences.

*Check the Upcoming Shows tab to see when you can see Ghani Guatama next.

ALBUM REVIEW: Ghani Gautama & Shadow – Live At The Radio Room: WPBR - We Are The Upstate.com

I’m always a little wary about live albums in general. Almost every artist worth their salt (and not worth it) has at least one grandiose live offering, which generally follows a breakout hit album, but that doesn’t mean they should. EPs are more understandable because they serve as fun treats in between recordings or give a snapshot of that period in time for the artist. Underground rappers Ghani Gautama and Shadow from Charlotte execute this perfectly as they just put out a collaborative EP recorded this past February at…The Radio Room?

Yeah, you read that right. A live recording from Greenville’s beloved music dive. Admittedly, I was skeptical coming into this release. I mean, how good could a live recording at the Radio Room be? Don’t get me wrong, We Are The Upstate practically lives at the place. I love it. The shows always look and sound great. And while I know very little about making live recordings, it didn’t seem like the most ideal environment to lay down a live record for release.

Boy, was I wrong. Live At The Radio Room: WBPR sounds fantastic. Sure, it’s not Bullet in a Bible or Live at Leeds level production quality, but everything’s pretty clear, and both artists and their interaction with the crowd can be distinctly heard.

Ghanni Gautama and Shadow both prove their abilities as live emcees, flowing effortlessly over the surprisingly audible beats. I say ‘surprisingly’ because I can’t get over how solid the recording sounds. You can tell the rappers felt completely in their element and were simply just having a great time performing, and because that comes through within these seven tracks, the EP succeeds.

If you enjoy some fun, well executed underground hip hop, use Live at The Radio Room: WBPR as a great sampler for these two rappers’ catalogue. Fans of either shouldn’t miss out on this record as it shows a real sense of community within the small, local hip hop scene that I hope continues to grow.

Herald Dispatch 5/2009

May 2009 Herald Dispatch 03/16/2010
0 Comment(s)

V Club hosts 'Bring Your 'A' Game' tour featuring hip hop artistsMay 14, 2009 @ 12:00 AM

DAVE LAVENDER

The Herald-Dispatch

HUNTINGTON -- If you need any more evidence that it truly is a hip hop musical planet, Akil The MC (ATM) of Jurassic 5 just rolled his solo tour into Cambodia in January, then rolled through those, uh, hip hop havens of Eastern Europe -- Croatia, Bulgaria and Macedonia.

Now out on "The Bring Your 'A' Game Tour, titled Bennington Bound," Akil and tour leader Quanstar have been rolling through Ben and Jerry's strongholds of Montpelier, Bennington and Burlington, Vt., on this cross-country tour bringing the best of indie hip hop to hip hop fans from Brooklyn and Philadelphia to Huntington.

Now in its sixth year, "The Bring Your 'A' Game Tour Series" rolls into the V Club, 741 6th Ave., Huntington at 10 p.m. Saturday, May 16, with an array of underground hip hop artists from around the country.

Headliners are Akil, who is promoting his new solo release of "Collection of Expressions," and Quanstar, pushing the hip hop movie and soundtrack "Do It!: A Documentary."

Also on the tour are Evaready RAW, promoting his album "Appliable Adaptability;" Ghani Gautama with his new release "Few Against Many;" Oakland emcee and activist DLabrie The EOG; Vermont "Hip Pop" band, Strength In Numbers; and "indie" super producer and DJ Metrognome.

Opening the Huntington show is Charleston's two-man rhyme-spitting team Rabbles Rousers (B-Rude and Meuwl), who are also opening for Freekbass in Charleston on Friday night.

Cover for Saturday night's V Club show is $8 advance or $10 day of the show.

Akil, who spent 1997 to 2007 with Jurassic 5, one of the mainstays of the 1990s alternative hip hop scene and a group that played Lollapalooza, and did projects with Dave Matthews, Nelly Furtado, SouLive and others, said it's been beautiful to see the way people around the planet have taken hip hop and made it something of their own.

"I think it's cool that hip hop is everywhere and that you can't just put it in one place in New York or L.A.," Akil said by phone, after a gig in Philly. "We are going to off-the-wall places. I'm not dissing on Vermont, but it's not the first place people would say to perform hip hop. But it's been cool and I think that says a lot about the acceptance of hip hop. I have been around from the beginning of it first being on radio and commercial and to see if grow from that to where it is relevant in Vermont and Cambodia is a testament to hip hop itself."

Akil, an L.A. native whose real name is D. Givens, said this is the seventh year for Quanstar (Janale Harris) to tour his "The Bring Your 'A' Game Tour," a yearly celebration of underground hip hop connecting audiences with some of the most talented acts they will not see through mainstream media channels.

Akil, who's on the tour for the second year, said that face-to-face networking and sharing the music is what he is all about.

"I have found some of the dopest artists from all over which made me create a movement called the Unified Skills District," Akil said. "It's a movement of artists from all over the world who want to link and network together. We are trying to unify them where they are at. I started a movement in my own backyard in L.A. with Los Angeles Unified and we've taken that around the world. I run into a lot of talented people in some of the most remote places. They are looking for a way out and they see me maybe as the closest thing to them being able to make it out. I try to give them as much advice as I can and try to boost them up."

Akil said his new CD, "Collection of Expressions," showcases his writing which he honed fighting for a line and rhyme in Jurassic 5.

"I like to describe the CD as I am going down the same street but stopping at a different house with different stuff in that house," Akil said. "It's still the same street, me a solo artist, but encompasses more who I am and where I come from. I get to state more things than I did in a group setting. I couldn't do that. With four bars here or there I had to really say what I had to say. That built my style. I had to write with more meaning on every line. That's worked to my benefit and enables me to write faster in many different styles. I grew up listening to hip hop when it had a variety to it."

Akil, who grew up listening to everything from Public Enemy and KRS-1 to Masters of Ceremony, The Fat Boys and DJ Jazz Jeff, said that is one of the strengths of "Bring Your A Game," in that it showcases the diversity of hip hop, something not readily available on commercial radio.

"I think that is the natural progression of hip hop and of music in general," Akil said of so many different musical styles mashing up. "It picks up everything that comes close to it. The music has brought everything together. R&B is hip hop and rock is hip hop and hip hop is rock. It has brought all these vibes, and it has brought everybody into it and everybody tries to add their own distinct tastes."

August 2009 Charleston City Paper 03/16/2010
0 Comment(s)

Things should groove hard this evening (Aug. 27) evening at the Pour House as rapper Akil — known best for his work with L.A. group of Jurassic 5 — and Quanstar headline a late-night set and N.C. roots/groove act Laura Reed & Deep Pocket do double-time on the deck and as the opener in the main room. Jurassic 5 released their first disc back in 1997 before signing to Interscope Records and issuing their major debut, Quality Control. They effectively broke up last year. Akil, a.k.a. Akil the MC, currently works as a freestylin’ emcee, DJ, studio producer, and community activist.

“I’m just a down-to-earth brother from South Los Angeles, born and raised,” he says. Akil’s debut solo album is in the works. Expect a hectic and lively mix of old-school funk, turntable scratchin’, and conscious rhymes. Admission is $12, $10 (adv.).

SL Weekly 5/08

Salt Lake City Weekly Music Picks May 1-7 | Live: The Swell Season, Do It!, Northern State, Elbow, Harptallica
By Jamie Gadette
Posted 05/01/2008
DO IT! A DOCUMENTARY
Anyone out there recognize Quanstar? The Compton-born emcee dedicated his life to hip-hop—that, and raising his son as a single dad—but he’s still hardly a household name. Sadly, his story is all too familiar: promising artist works overtime to “make it,” only to realize the secret to success is a trick question. In Do It! A Documentary, Quanstar offers viewers a nice reality check without veering into doomsday territory. Nitty-gritty footage follows the artist recording in a basement practice space and cramped studio, on tour, in hotel rooms with family and friends. The film itself could benefit from some serious editing, but the shaky camera work and muffled testimonies are endearing—especially to other artists trying to make a dollar out of 15 cents. Uprok, 342 S. State, 8 p.m. Info: 363-1523
http://www.slweekly.com/index.cfm?do=article.details&id=a030787e-14d1-13a2-9feb90884cc385aa