Raashan Ahmad

If you’re a regular here, you know we’ve been pushing the music of Crown City Rockers, as well as the solo releases from MC Raashan Ahmad, for quite some time.

Raashan’s an interesting cat, always a pleasure to hang out, shoot the shit, and work with. We filmed a talk Johnny Firecloud had with him backstage at our Rock For Justice / Give A Damn benefit last month, and put it together with some live highlights from his solo set. Full Article »

As big fans of Raashan Ahmad, we’ve followed the rise of his Crown City Rockers crew over the years and watched the Bay-area MC blast off as a solo artist on The Push, his excellent first full-length independent release. We’re thrilled to announce his latest project, Soul Power, available now through the brand-spanking-new Antiquiet Releases. Full Article »

Raashan Ahmad, Crown City Rockers‘ resident MC, is ready to unleash his first full-length solo effort upon the world. It’s called The Push, it hits stores May 20th, and it’s a breath of fresh air in a musical climate plagued by an epidemic of success by piggy-backing and repetition. Raashan’s role in the living-legend, funk/soul/hip-hop group has clearly helped prepare the B-Boy for a confident first step out on his own. We discussed The Push with Raashan back in March, and he was kind enough to show his appreciation by hooking us up with the album before it hits stores.

Read on for our review. Full Article »

I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of shitty hip-hop. The devolving trends of recycled misogyny and cartoonish, ridiculous materialism in hip-hop that fuel a crumbling industry have kept me from doing anything more than ride the ’seek’ button through the radio waves for years. There is a nearly-untapped world of quality hip-hop in the “underground” scene, a place where assertive, socially conscious rhymes meet diverse musical influence. It’s a place that deserves a hell of a lot more attention than it gets.
Crown City Rockers are among the best and brightest of today’s hip-hop scene, bringing a melting pot of soul, funk-laced grooves and old-school inflected rhymes to the table. 5 Gold Stars, their follow up to 2004’s Earthtones, is due to hit later this year. We caught up with Crown City MC Raashan Ahmad to discuss Crown City, his solo project The Push (out May 20th), and the inconvenience of revolution.

Full Article »