When it comes to hip-hop, it’s hard to sift through the dregs to find someone genuine. Someone who keeps the spirit of the genre and its history nestled closely to their own understanding of the craft. LA-based rapper AYEKAY was a risk for me. Going through his discography, however, kept me intrigued long enough to really want to get to know him.
Following the release of his latest effort, “Mo Sex,” he took some time to answer a few questions for us and introduce himself to our readers.
Who is AYEKAY?
Could you please introduce yourselves for those who might not know you?
Hi, my name is AYEKAY. I rap. I like to have fun and appreciate shit.
What made you want to start creating music? Why hip-hop in particular?
I’ve always had an appreciation and intrigue for music. I’ve also always had a huge interest in words and speech, which is why I started writing poetry to myself in like sixth grade. Once I got more into hip-hop itself I realized that rapping was basically just poetry to a tempo. So I decided to try it out. It was all downhill from there.
Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
I like to learn about any new artist and try to take something away from them. But as far as general cliché hip-hop top 5, probably dudes like Kanye [West], Hov [Jay-Z], OutKast, both members, not just 3Stacks [Andre 3000], Lupe [Fiasco], Tupac, Eminem, Kendrick [Lamar], Drake, just off top. Nowadays I’m really fucking with Freddie Gibbs, Earl [Sweatshirt], Playboi Carti, and Kodak Black.
As far as outside of hip-hop, I’d say my biggest influences are The Beatles, Prince, [David] Bowie, and Sade. Of course, Frank Ocean nowadays as well. I’m a huge songwriting guy, so I really love artists with a resonating pen game that know how to say more with less.
What outside of music influences your craft?
My other huge hobby outside of music is martial arts. It’s been a while since I partook myself, but I’m a huge fan of MMA and watch the sport pretty religiously. Other than that I love to watch movies and am generally appreciative of any medium of art. I love to learn about different cultures and people in general.
Connecting with History
I was lurking through your reddit. I found you mentioned you’ve been reading sociology and “racial” history (I’m assuming you mean black and Latinx history). Why is this important to you?
Oh damn, I had no idea people were reading my comments. I better watch what I say on there, hahaha. Nah, but yeah, I’m very intrigued in sociological studies and basically the history of the world in general. I am a firm believer that everyone should know the history of how the world came to be, what it is, today so we can have a better understanding of all things.
Yes, you were right to assume Black and Latinx history as well. I believe in studying all sides and perspectives, but as an active participant in hip-hop culture I believe it is my duty to educate myself more on the history of the Black community in this country and throughout the world. Aside from that I just find all cultures to be fascinating, so I genuinely enjoy learning these things.
Has this influenced the way you make your music?
Definitely. I try to look at one thing and try to view it through the lens of different people to try and imagine how they would feel if they saw such a thing. I put empathy pretty high on my list of virtues, so trying to learn about other cultures makes me feel like my perspective is broadened.
Authenticity
You’re very vocal about authenticity. What do you think makes an artist “authentic”? Do you believe it’s harder for Asian/Asian-American rappers to be authentic in hip-hop?
That’s a good question. I think there are different ways to try and define the word authentic, but to me personally I think it’s just being yourself and being true to the emotions that you feel. Not trying to conjure up some fake emotions to make a fabricated story of yourself. I don’t think authenticity always has to refer to street credibility or how “hard” one is, but rather just being true to your own feelings.
I think that it may be harder to translate the Asian/Asian-American experience to hip-hop because it’s so foreign to a lot of people that aren’t Asian, and no one has really laid the blueprint yet in a sense. I wouldn’t call it harder, but it may be trickier to navigate the social climate without having a keen sense of oneself and place in the overarching culture and society. Personally, I think that art reflects life and vice versa, and the more that Asians around the globe evolve and mentally awaken it will reflect through the art as well. I believe our community is in a huge awakening phase, and I’m excited for the future.
Mo Sex
You changed up your style a bit for parts of “Mo Sex” (a bit more Drake/autotune with some trap thrown in). Was this a conscious decision for the theme of the album?
The theme of the album sort of fell into place as we were making the music, but the direction was definitely a conscious decision. I wanted to experiment more with just free flowing and not writing as much, so I actually freestyled a lot of the album, just punching in as I go. I kind of look at this album as a way of adding more tools to my toolkit and sharpening up other things I may have been neglecting. I’m looking forward to putting it all together for you guys in the coming future.
“Malcolm” is one of the more emotional songs on Mo Sex. What’s the story behind it?
I was just writing from the perspective of someone who was losing/lost a loved one. During the process of making this album my grandfather had been in the hospital recovering from a surgery for some time, but his recovery wasn’t going well and we knew the end of his life was near. I came to the studio one day with a heavy heart. While we were making this song we got news of Mac Miller’s passing, and that just inspired me to name the song Malcolm. The song itself is a tribute to the loved ones of anyone that may have passed, but I had my grandfather and Mac Miller in mind while we were making it.
You have a lot of gun bars in your music. Can you tell us a bit about why that’s such a big aspect of your lyricism?
I’ve always wrote bars about guns just because my name is AYEKAY and I thought I was being clever when I was younger, hahaha. Nah, but I don’t really have a particular reason. I don’t really believe in violence, but I definitely believe in defending ones well-being with any means necessary. So I guess my philosophy bleeds into my writing in that sense. But to keep it real with you, I just think that shit sounds dope.
Also just as a side bar, I do believe that Asians in America should think more about their place in the hierarchy of America and definitely consider arming themselves if they feel they are living in danger of hate-fueled crimes.
Identity
“In Appear To Be,” you say, “When I look into the mirror, I feel like I’m not what I appear to be.” Do you often have those feelings of lost identity? How do you fight those feelings?
Definitely. I don’t want to speak for everybody, but I feel like most Asian people that were born in America have felt this in some way or another throughout their lives. A lot of people in general, but I stress Asians because I feel that Asians and Hispanic people in America just try to fit along the spectrum of Black and White. A lot of us don’t really know how to identify, so we choose between the two sides, in a sense.
I fight those feelings by studying. Studying more about my culture, different cultures, and the history of the world. I try to find out why these stereotypes of each ethnicity are so prevalent today and where everything stems from. That truly gives me a sense of confidence because if you know where things come from and how things happened, then you can slowly start putting the pieces together.
What’s the most important thing you want people to take away from your music?
Man… Hopefully just not to take anything too seriously. Life is short. Way too short to be spending it not appreciating more people and things. Life is also complex with many different emotions, so appreciate the good and appreciate the bad. Even though the bad can suck, it builds character!
What song of yours best defines you as an artist? As a man?
That’s honestly a really tough question. I’m not even gonna say this is accurate at all, but I’ll pick one off the album. I think “Lone Ranger” is a good representation of me. I’m kind of elusive and stubborn, so I think the hook is basically my mantra at times, haha. I’ll think about this question more. I definitely haven’t made the song that defines me yet.
Plans for the Future
What can people look forward to from you in the future?
Well, hopefully if everything goes as planned you can expect more dope music and the product of whatever artist endeavors I get myself tangled into. I’m not really an established artist or anything yet, so as far as baby steps go, I’m just trying to make a name for myself so I can spread this love, baby.
Do you have any final thoughts you want to share?
Kids. Don’t stay in school if you don’t think it’s for you. No one knows you better than you, but also be conscious of the fact that you may not be your fully developed self yet. Take all things into consideration, nothing is off the table.
Great interview, Cy! Much love to Ayekay.