Hasan Salaam
A chat about his new cd and "that Dirty Jerz Mentality"
Hasan Salaam, New Jersey born rapper with a voice like wet electric sex tickling your ear , he uses it to carry messages that resonate long after the beat does on your ear drum.
Hasan Salaam has appeared in publications like The Source and on Fuse Music network, Mun2 TV and Show Time At the Apollo.
He maybe “Mr.Unsigned Hype” but he’s no amature, according to his website, Hasan Salaam has graced stages with Dead Prez, Common, Busta Rhymes, Saigon, Talib Kweli, The Rza, The Gza, Slick Rick, Lord Jamar, Sadat X, Smif N Wesson, Grandmaster Caz, Curtis Blow, Immortal Technique, Pharoahe Monch, Naughty By Nature, & Digital Underground ,Redman, Kidz in the Hall, Akir, Bashir, & DJ GI Joe. His career “highlight” came in 2007 when he had the pleasure of rocking with living legend Afrika Bambaataa.
Hasan Salaam gained praise early in his career with his first album Paradise Lost. He won two awards at the 2005 Underground Music Awards , one for Best Performance and Song of the Year for the single Blaxploitation.
He is active in the community and in the lives of its youth. In Newark he volunteers for the Essex County Youth House, a rehabilitation center for troubled youth.
Hasan Salaam is currently on tour in the UK and Germany.
Observer: Can you tell us about your current project?
Hasan Salaam: My new project is called Children Of God, its about the mathematics of life.
Observer: Mathematics of life? Sounds complicated.
Hasan Salaam: Not really, its just passing on knowledge that we all learn from growing up.
Observer: Especially in Jersey?
Hasan Salaam: Yeah, I'm originally from Camden and spent a lot of my childhood in Jersey City. When you think about it, the only thing we don't got in Jersey is a desert. There's so much variety, growing up in Camden, Jersey City and Teaneck showed me that. Here in Jersey you can pretty much have all of it.
Observer: So you think that being a Jersey boy help shape you and your music?
Hasan Salaam: Yeah, It's the “Dirty Jerz” mentality. Right next to New York, but we can be laid back and suburban, we can get a little country, or grimy.
For me, growing up, Jersey City was grimy. Watching it change ,through gentrification , showed how much people that have don't give a fuck about those that don't have.
At one point Jersey City was the fastest growing city- faster than Vegas and all they got around them is desert. They were tearing down people's homes to build condos for some rich motherfuckers.
I grew up seeing two very different faces of Jersey, when I was a kid, Camden was the murder capital of the world. I would got from there and Jersey City to Teaneck.
Teaneck is a suburban place, but historically it was one of the few places were suburban Blacks were allowed there were so many positive role models. I saw the good and the bad. I really want to show that good.
Observer: What do you think hip-hop now is so focused on the bad?
Hasan Salaam: The oppressor is always obsessed with the oppressed. Hip Hop now is kind of a racist's wet dream.
Observer: Strong words, if you saw someone big in the game, say 50 Cent in the elevator, what would you say to him?
Hasan Salaam: Yo, if I met 50Cent in the elevator I would day “Peace” - ya know what I say to everyone. I'm not going to tell him “ You killed hip hop.” Many Men is one of my favorite songs.
Observer: Where can people get your music?
Hasan Salaam: My new album and the old ones are available at CDbaby.com/cd/hasansalaam4 , Itunes, Amazon.com, Rhapsody and they can catch the video for the single 15 Minutes on youtube and of course HasanSalaam.com.
Keep Coming Back Like Herpes
Varied styles and heavy themes make Hasan Salaam's "Children of God" phenomenal
ZACHARY HUFF LIFE AND LEISURE EDITOR
Posted: 3/24/09
Salaam's voice deserves special mention. It's not easy to describe, but it's impossible to forget. Simultaneously deep, rough and endearing, his flow always sounds effortless and perfect for whatever he's rapping about.
It struck me hard while Hasan Salaam's album spun around in my CD player. Variety is almost nonexistent on albums lately. I'm not complaining; I'm a huge fan of concept albums, long and grand narratives spanning the entirety of a collected work of music.
But juxtapositions simply have no place on most albums. Politically charged artists need to hit me with twelve tracks of the same subject. Someone's talking about drugs and the shady side of life? I usually have to hear about it, almost to a redundant effect.
Hasan Salaam keeps “Children of God” from ever falling into a one-track mind kind of album. Instead, he hits so many different styles and subjects that it's easy to get lost in your own little world of deep thought while listening.
Take “Deliver my Soul” for example. Salaam presents an earnest overview of an unglamorous, realistic look at life as it isn't presented in the movies: shitty jobs, difficulties with women and falling into less than admirable means to survive. He trades verses with guest Majesty over a simple yet pitch perfect backing track that feels ripped from a detective movie.
Maya Azucena's phenomenal vocals on the chorus are heavenly, dripping in richness and evoking the spirit of soul artists of the past. Having her bright vocals against the gritty tale of surviving by any means necessary creates an unusual yet beautiful composition of a track.
Salaam's voice deserves special mention. It's not easy to describe, but it's impossible to forget. Simultaneously deep, rough and endearing, his flow always sounds effortless and perfect for whatever he's rapping about.
Lyrically, “Suga” is a fantastic love note clearly created by strong feelings. But Salaam's vocals make the track even stronger and believable, with a lovesick swagger breaking away at his smooth, deep voice.
Some tracks from the album are very politically charged, with Salaam's strong observations and unflinching delivery making his ideas all the more stronger. “Someplace” is a down key, piano-driven examination of gentrification under the guise of “urban renewal.” As Salaam raps, “tenements becoming condos worth hundreds of thousands/ so single moms with three mouths to feed get forced up out of 'em.”
His restrained, almost quiet vocals bleed a silent resentment that resides right below the surface of many people who are fucked over by the system that inexplicably and irrefutably keeps them from advancing, prospering… even surviving.
“Insomniac PT.1 (Nightfall)” is an almost scathing depiction of life as Salaam has seen it, with shitty living conditions (“poisoning the drinking waters/ only raise the cancer rate”) and segregation (“gates separate communities based on what we make”) at the forefront. Blares of horns punctuate the constant heavy percussion to create a feeling of urgency that is matched perfectly by Salaam's rapid. breathless delivery.
My personal picks for the best tracks on the album are definitely “Angel Dust” and “The Downrock.”
“Angel Dust” is disgustingly addictive and perfectly arranged and produced.
The bouncy funk groove and layered sampling combine with the guest Lord Jamar's vocal contributions to form one hell of a track that will remain lodged in your brain long after you've put the album down.
Salaam recounts the story of a girl forced to resort to shady means to survive, falling into temptations and doing what she has to do to feed her newfound afflictions; as Salaam raps, “she hates cocaine but loves the smell.” The allure of the girl is clear, and this tale of a fallen angel is heavy and catchy at the same time.
“The Downrock,” companion to “The Uprock,” feels like it'd be right at home in cheesy 70s kung-fu flicks, with heavy fuzz guitars immediately setting the mood of the track. Then, out of left field, Arabic rhythms float in from light horns and string arrangements poke their heads out now and then to create a strange amalgamation of a track.
The feverish raps from Rugged N Raw, BadSportt and Smarty Pants all create a distinct urgency that is perfect for “trying to see who can compete against whose moves on the floor.” Be sure to listen to this track in private should you feel compelled to breakdance and don't know how to; it'll make you want to move, whether you know what you're doing or not.
In all honesty, an album hasn't struck me in quite the way that Hasan Salaam's “Children of God” has.
It is never boring, always moving forward and keeping things interesting with varied subjects and a strong mix of sampling and instrumentation.
The production is amazing, matching the lyrics and delivery of Salaam perfectly. I can't think of a reason to not pick up the album and give it a listen; you're bound to find at least a few tracks that really hit you.
The work as a whole, though, is a fantastic example of how a little variety goes a long way.
© Copyright 2009 Observer
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