Recently I've been staying up late fucking with garageband and ableton making a really underproduced and raw (as in underdeveloped) mixtape with the music from Shlohmo's LP "Bad Vibes". The lyrics are completely unedited, I usually keep the very first ones that I write down, and so is the music. I chop it up a little bit to make it a little more sensical and conducive to rapping, but for the most part it's just shlohmo songs with words over it. About a month ago I was listening to Bad Vibes and I was moved by the soundscapes, as I have been since the first time I heard it. And I remember telling someone how it would be really interesting if someone rapped over these beats because they're so incredibly chill, and even though they're hip hop-esque they don't really lend themselves to lyrics. That person suggested that I rap over them... Well I've been a real fan of rap and hip hop for only a couple of years, I grew up in middle class Austin TX in a white/arab home, and I don't have any experience making this kind of music. I don't really scream credible rapper. But you know, this day and age everybody is rapping from white women to Indian dudes, and Arab rappers are starting to get some recognition especially as the Arab World becomes more and more a hub for global youth culture. Who's to say there isn't a niche for a neurotic Arab-American guy from Texas?
It's been an interesting process expressing these raw emotions in a very direct way, saying things that I wouldn't normally say to my closest friends to whoever stumbles across it. Talking about heritage, relationships, narrative, insecurities etc. And I think I'm doing it for a reason, not just to do it. Ever since I started this blog I've tried to be completely honest with the world I interact with. I try to let people know who I am and what I'm thinking, and for some reason so far that has meant laying out for everybody the shit that I don't like about myself. In a sense, embracing those things in an attempt to confront them and get over them. But I'd be lying if I said I don't somewhat enjoy being imperfect and having these faults to share with you guys. It gives me something interesting to say and something emotionally challenging to do. And even though I've gotten like a total of 200 plays since I started this effort, it's worth it to know that someone is hearing it and responding to it.
So I do it because I want to have a dialogue with people, I'm dying to. Some of the things in those songs break my heart to say out loud and I want to share that emotion. Whether for some sort of alleviation or a simple desire for human contact, I'm not sure. But I hope that you get a chance to check it out and maybe understand where I'm coming from.
-Angry T
p.s. you can catch those tracks at http://soundcloud.com/angrytarek
It's been an interesting process expressing these raw emotions in a very direct way, saying things that I wouldn't normally say to my closest friends to whoever stumbles across it. Talking about heritage, relationships, narrative, insecurities etc. And I think I'm doing it for a reason, not just to do it. Ever since I started this blog I've tried to be completely honest with the world I interact with. I try to let people know who I am and what I'm thinking, and for some reason so far that has meant laying out for everybody the shit that I don't like about myself. In a sense, embracing those things in an attempt to confront them and get over them. But I'd be lying if I said I don't somewhat enjoy being imperfect and having these faults to share with you guys. It gives me something interesting to say and something emotionally challenging to do. And even though I've gotten like a total of 200 plays since I started this effort, it's worth it to know that someone is hearing it and responding to it.
So I do it because I want to have a dialogue with people, I'm dying to. Some of the things in those songs break my heart to say out loud and I want to share that emotion. Whether for some sort of alleviation or a simple desire for human contact, I'm not sure. But I hope that you get a chance to check it out and maybe understand where I'm coming from.
-Angry T
p.s. you can catch those tracks at http://soundcloud.com/angrytarek
Just listened to the 4 tracks you've got up on soundcloud. Really dig Sexy Nationalism and Pacin Streets. I want more.
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