Feel free to talk as long or as short as you want about all of it. Just feel free. So the first question I have for you is - who is LORD RA?
LORD RA - at this section of my life, I'm a 23 year old artist, rapper, painter and Phoenician. You know what I'm saying... live from Arizona. And I live to make music. That's my whole thing.
What's that hip hop scene like out in Phoenix?
Phoenix has a very thriving and diverse hip hop scene. And over the last, I would say like five years, we've been getting a lot more attention, which has been nice. Because there's like a lot of talented folks and a lot of different sounds coming up out of the city. Excited to see that blossom.
How often are you performing down there?
I perform pretty often—I would say, like, three times a month. I try not to do too much over that. And I like to space it out a little bit, too. So, if I'm not necessarily dropping, like in the next three months, then I probably won't be outside performing too much either. much either.
Are they like open mics? Or are they artist showcases? What is it that you're performing at?
So it's a lot of homegrown events. We just started getting a lot of spaces pretty recently in the city where I would say music in particular, like that part of the art scene, (especially hip hop) is being able to be showcased fully by itself. The scene kind of started off with incorporating hip-hop and rock nights, to the point where I mainly do a lot of shows at record shops. There's a record shop not too far from me called Grand Ave Records, right there off of Grand Avenue. And the shop owner, Coco, he's had like years in this game, so he's very supportive of the young guys out here. Let us hold our own showcases.
That's really cool. In terms of Phoenix Hip Hop, who were the generations before you? Who were those notable Phoenix rappers?
Like the older folks? I can't think of anybody notable, and I don't want that to come off as crazy at all. Like Phoenix as a scene as a whole is like made up of a lot of younger folks that are kind of getting it together and finally starting to get the name out there a bit. But you know how that goes... it's just that local politics can be very stagnating for a couple of generations before people finally realize we need a whole community to make it work.
And it always takes the younger generation to really make that happen.
Right.
So, what type of cities do you feel like y'all look to for reference? Being from Phoenix, who are some artists? Like, what cities do you look to for inspiration?
I don't know if I can speak for the rest of the city. I would definitely - but I can say fairly that there is a big L.A. influence just because of proximity and people's histories. If you ask a lot of people, their grandparents aren't directly from Arizona. Even if they lived here their whole life. A lot of people's folks be from Southern California. So all those different things will be baked into people's styles.
I got you - you can kind of hear the migration patterns in a way.
Yeah, yeah, that's the perfect way to put it.
Yeah, that's pretty cool. I think we've been following each other for a while on social media, but this was like my first time really tapping in with some of your work, but I saw it off of, I want to say it was because of Gorgeous Jefe.
Ayyy, that's my boy!
He's based out there with you?
Yeah, we make a lot of music together actually.
Okay, that's a good connection to make in my mind. So in your crew, the people that you hang around—that's building up this Phoenix scene—who are some names that you would put out there?
I'll just say before, I will miss some, but I'm going to try to give as many as I can. Yeah, first and foremost, Gorgeous Jefe - we got my boy, Paymedro, my homie Yasuke. There's Unorthodox, Trulove, 602 Profit. Sheesh, like I can go all day! I know you said I can talk as long as possible, but I'm like, damn, this would be a crazy list. Yeah, Phoenix is just full of talent. I definitely hang around with a handful of incredible dudes. But like, even outside of us. There's just, there's just so many people, you know, I come down to miss names.
Are you born and raised in Phoenix?
Mhm, my whole life - all 23 years.
I remember when you sent the project over to me, you mentioned something like, "It's where Africa meets America" type thing. What is the significance of AKATA to you?
So, AKATA itself is like an African slang term for Black Americans, pretty much like a version of, I guess, Coon, to a certain degree. It roughly translates to a black cat who's lost his home. And it's a phrase I've heard a handful of times. I'm not just being in a community with, like, African people directly from the continent of Africa. And I thought it'd be a perfect way to encapsulate my thoughts on being a black American. Like, with that title, you know, because I view everything I do through that lens. I never forgot my history. As a black man, I do know who I am. So I also understand that I'm very American. So I just want to speak on a lot of things dealt with as far as identity, and AKATA just felt like the right way to like the right summary for all those thoughts, you know..
I thought it was a very creative title. Extremely creative because it puts you... a lot of people I don't feel like know that term. You know what I'm saying? Unless they are in close relationships with African folks who use that term, But it holds so much history, you know, what I'm saying it holds stories and holds like lineages and like spirituality, all these different things in this one word, you know what I'm saying? Even the fact of having like the Black Panther and what that means for Black Americans versus Africans, you know...
Exactly, yo. I'm glad you picked up on that.
So, I just think it was a really cool and creative fusion of things. There's a lot that can be said for it. Yeah, everything that you just said. So, how did you know it was complete?
I think when I was the most nervous about what I had, like when I couldn't make any more songs that made sense for it. And then, when I was scared to put it out, I was like, alright, this might just be that time. I physically could not make anything that sounded like it fit on there. Like after a while. I was like, Alright, basically I got forced. I got forced by the other side of my brain.
What do you mean? Oh, okay, like internally.
Yeah, that internal battle. Like, is it good enough? Because it's always gonna be good enough for me. But there's like a like, social anxiety part of releasing into the world.
I can imagine. How has it been received by your fans and supporters and peers?
It's been beautiful. Every project is my baby, and they are taking care of my baby out there. People are giving me really good notes on the project. And it has actually just been a really relaxing time. I'm not saying reviews on my last few projects haven't been positive. It's been so overwhelmingly positive this time around. I can actually, like, relax into it.
I love to hear that. That's not always a thing for everybody. So that's good. You are really at peace with the project, you really put what you had to put into it.
Everything was said.
Yeah, everything. And it was like, I love the melodies that you played with as well. And they're, you know, they're familiar, but they're still yours.
Oh, thank you, yeah.
Where did your production for the project come from?
So this one I produced all by myself, which is, like the third or fourth project, I've got to put out with all my production. And even that, like even just rapping among beats, is my trust in myself. Like that was like a whole different battle. But, but yeah, and I'm really proud of just where I've come with those beats. Because I mean, I made AKATA last year like the top of last year. So my beats are sounding totally different. The mixes sound totally different at this point. Honestly, the way AKATA is being received makes me super excited for the next few projects I have coming.
That's beautiful. So when you were making this project, AKATA, what came first? Like, did you just like to lay out a soundscape? Like, were the beats that you chose specific for AKATA? Were there things that you had made, and they just seemed to work well? Like, how was that?
I like the backwards working philosophy that I kind of picked up from Earl Sweatshirt. Like in an old interview, he states he'll basically start with the outward aesthetic, or even like a word or just having a cover art to look at. And I always knew the AKATA cover art was going to look something like that or just evoke that whole idea of, you know, saying AKATA is essentially just another word for Black American and to think about all the great black Americans that fought for African ideals. It usually starts like that, like I have like a weird ass thought about something that's like bugging me, and then I'll just turn it into like eight songs. It was like a whole little memoir. But essentially, everything started backwards, and then I just started making beats, and then I finished all the lyrics and recorded them.
Wow, that's very... it seems it doesn't even seem like you could really even plan it. It just kind of happens how it does.
Right! I love very deeply how it kind of just floated all together. I don't like forcing anything when it comes down to art.
I can imagine, you mentioned Earl Sweatshirt, where else do you draw inspiration from? Who else?
I will really say my friends and family because a lot of my subject matter—my songs—is a big part of it. It's just like things my grandmother has imparted on me—not even necessarily like the people that they showed me, but even just sharing those experiences. My grandmother used to work at the hospital, so I would just sit in the hospital after she had picked me up from school and wait for her to get off shift. And then we would drive home to smooth jazz and stuff like that. It was like I said, like you said, you can kind of hear the migration patterns, but I guess more so, you can hear the life experiences and how I choose to attack certain things or speak about certain things. Being raised with a certain level of loving care, that's definitely what I pull from.
I love that. What type of music do you listen to? I guess, like, what type of art do you engage with? I know you mentioned that you're a painter as well.
Anything I get my hands on, for real. I have put painting to the side over the last year just because I've been going crazy. I was putting together AKATA and another joint me and Jefe had, Kufi Conversations, so I kind of put painting down, but I'm looking at my wall right now. I have so many rugs hung up here, I got paintings, my studio is set up. You know what I'm sayin'. I want to do it all. I want to direct as well.
That's also what I had questions about. I know you recently put out two videos for "Fly" and "Theme Music." Like, did you write them? Was that your idea? How have those come about?
So, I can never take all the credit, I can always give credit. My boys are here; they go by Outpost Village. But they're like this group of young artists in their own right. But they do videography; they also rap. So getting with them, it's like, it's very easy to work with all of them, from Roy to Steph to Arthur, like all of them - I love those boys. But they're so creative in their own way, I could literally be like, here's a white wall, and here's the setup. And they'll have a whole idea for it, and they’ll break it down and figure out how we can make this the most interesting video as possible. I definitely co-directed on those, for sure.
How'd you feel about how they came out?
I love how they came out! The whole time I've been making music, these are some of the best videos I've had.
I've really enjoyed them as well because, you know, it's aesthetic for me. You can tell you're an independent underground artist, right? But it's still like, but we're still gonna give our best; you know, we're still putting our best foot forward, and we're still creative with it. We're still artists, you know, we're independent. That is definitely what I've received from it, because it's like, there are people who have so many resources to be able to create what they want. And they would try to get the aesthetic that y'all were able to capture, you know, whereas, like, you didn't have to have all that.
So, the "FLY" video was on the same block as Grand Ave Records. And the reason I chose that spot was through life experience. Like just walking to Grand Ave's under that bridge, and I will, I always wanted to shoot something under there because it has a certain feel and look. I hope to never lose that because, like you say, that's not something you can just replicate by thinking something is cool. I think we're art with anything, like if you want things to have a certain aesthetic, there needs to be an intention and everything. For example, there's nothing in the book that gets mentioned, no matter how minor or major, that's in there for no reason. Every little detail, from my cat looking out the window to the color of a car passing by the main character, is going to have some significance. I wanted to attack the same way with the videos and stuff like that.
That's so true. And what would you say? I know you mentioned AKATA was kind of just a thought that you had to attack, but with attacking that thought, like, what was your intention? With the project?
I guess I wanted people to understand that part of me some more. Because to be Black in America is to be misunderstood to some degree. Living life as a black person can kind of feel like a dark comedy, you know, like it can get so bad it is almost hilarious sometimes. And I just find it interesting. And like, I would like to think like people looking back on his project and like the next 10, 15, 20, right, however long from now, can kind of pick up on some of the humor that's in there. Some of the sorrows that are in there. And like, understand this was a Black man and encapsulated in this time, you know, because we're all modern to each other right now. But, I mean, I like to think in my future tenses, like with things like that. Obsession over weird thoughts. Stuff I don't want people to forget about.
Yeah. And it's like, to me, it's a very special story that you're telling, because how many stories do we have about Black men out of Phoenix? You know what I'm saying? I grew up on the West Coast as well. I'm based in Memphis right now. But I grew up in Washington State. And, yeah, as far as I know, the demographics that we both grew up around are similar. I know, there are a lot of Latino folks, a lot of Native folks, some white folks—you know what I'm saying, of course, and you know, we're a minority in a way, especially on the West Coast, I feel like, but moving down South, it's a whole different story. But I just feel like there are certain stories and influences from the West, being a Black person from the West, you know? There are certain things that other folks—other Black folk—don't necessarily understand because they are not from the same geographical region, you know. And so I think that that adds even more importance to what you're doing as well. Yeah, I think that you're putting a lot of paint where it ain't right now.
That's the whole mission. Like, I say I know, I ain't the only one. So to be able to, like, give Phoenix something to be proud of, and rally around is always gonna be my goal, because, like, sometimes people do need to take a walk in my life. Because sometimes people just need a quick kick in the ass—like, hey, you're allowed to do cool shit. Just because they don't think we're necessarily cool. You could still do cool things and do it your way.
Were there particular moments when making AKATA that made you proud? Where you were like, yeah, I'm aligned, I'm on the right track, were there particular moments within creation?
I think it was... actually it was "Eazy Chair (For My Elders)," the last track on a project. And I finished that second verse just, it felt so perfect, because the last two lines on there, like fully encapsulate, not just the meaning of that song, but like, just in general, the whole... ultimately, what I was going for. I'm Black American, and I'm proud of who I am. And I love Black people worldwide. Simple as that. I like how concisely I did it. I feel like it all just came together perfectly. I am very proud of that project as a whole.
I would be, too. Were there any moments that challenged where you were at with it?
Just kind of like what I was talking about in the beginning, towards the end, when I was realizing that I was done. It was like a couple of weeks straight. I just kept trying to make beats and like songs sort of project, and I was like, maybe it doesn't need it. The last one I made for the project and the newest one was "SLUR," which is the opening track. And the whole intention was that I kind of wanted to sound like a radio freestyle and intro to some degree, like Premo made the beat or something. It's kind of sporadic and loud and has a bunch of cuts, drops, and shit. But I feel like that's America in general. It is very sporadic and chaotic and loud and shit.
A mosaic of such. I like that! Okay, will you have anything else you want to add or say about your project—what you got coming next, where people can find you?
Yeah, yeah. So, you know, shoutout 602, 'til I die - Phoenix stand up. AKATA, that mothafucka is out everywhere you listen to music. It might be on Hulk Share at this point, I don't know. Everyone can find me on all my social medias under OldManRa on Twitter is gonna be an underscore (@oldman_ra). And then on Instagram, there'll be a period (@oldman.ra). So, OLDMAN<dot>RA. OLDMAN<underscore>RA. Yeah, I can't, I can't say too much. But I will say there's another HALAL BOYS project coming very soon. It will possibly be out by the time the interview is out. But either way, I'm excited for that work. And that's the one I feel comfortable talking about.
ALL PHOTOS BY EDWIN / Ninety8Views
AKATA: https://linktr.ee/good_lord?lt_utm_source=lt_share_link#366094978 Black Blues Brothers: https://lordramusic.bandcamp.com/album/black-blues-brothers Kufi Conversations: https://jefesgoods.bandcamp.com/album/kufi-conversations INNERVIEW, EDITS + LAYOUT BY JAMEKA
Originally aired via SWISS ARMY RADIO [04.26.2024]
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