I remember some time in the early 1990's stumbling upon a cd with the name "Ahmad" prominently displayed in the art. I wondered what no-name, low-talent artist this was and what the heck he thought he could do. My bad.
It soon became clear that that old "don't judge a book by its cover" line applies to cd's, as well. Ahmad's self-titled cd dropped lyrics and beats that WRECKED my ears for years, to-come. Damn-near every song on that cd is thoroughly musically competent-plus, not to mention damned entertaining.
Despite the temptation to label him as "lame" because of the nasal quality of his vocals, there's some serious talent and musical quality stuffed into that cd. Apparently, "Back in the Day" was a very popular single from that cd and was in the soundtrack of "The Wood." Not sure I knew that.
All that said, I wondered what the hell ever happened to Ahmad. Well, in case you wondered that, too, here's our answer: source: http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/articles/music/A_HipHop_Rock_Soul_Hybrid/17105/p1/
The article offers much more than the following excerpt, but:
"The group were conceived by Ahmad Jones, known to long time hip-hop fans simply as Ahmad. The rapper's 1994 platinum single "Back In The Day" was used on the soundtrack of the movie The Wood and catapulted the 18 year old rapper into the big time. But frustrated by the corporate politics choking the music industry and the "plastic junk" being forced on the masses, Ahmad decided to abandon his solo career and form his own label, Lookalive Records. He set out to bring together a dream team of gifted musicians who were committed to the art of music. "It was my goal to create a situation that enabled us to make the music we loved on our terms, and be treated fairly in the process," he explained."Your thoughts?
2 comments:
Good for him. I recall hearing that song but never knew who the artist was. The corporate infrastructure surrounding what they call music today is quite tragic. It would take a frustrated artist to go out and embrace a venture like this having worked in the business and seen firsthand how shady and crooked the "bizness" actually is. I wish him the best of luck. It won't be ez.
That's still no excuse for that big-ass moustACHE, MAN!
:p
(Especially since he and I are around the same age.)
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