Life & Work with Ah-Deli

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ah-Deli.

Hi Ah-Deli, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started really listening to hip-hop at the age of seven. I only heard rap like MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice prior to that but didn’t vibe it with it the way I did with Snoop Dogg and West Coast hip-hop. When I was 15, I found a program where I could record music on my computer and that’s really how it all started. I had a bamboo stick taped to a computer mic and it all began like that, humble beginnings.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
In 10th grade, I recall letting my friend at school hear the first song I made. I was hype about it because it was the first time I went from listener to artist, and to me, it really didn’t sound too bad. I made the beat too. However, let’s just say he didn’t think it was so hot and joked on it for the rest of the day. Even though it was pretty demoralizing, I did not let an opinion sway me towards quitting what I intuitively knew I had great potential in. It motivated me to go that much harder. I am so thankful that I did. Also, that it happened that way to give me tough skin from the jump. I’ve had friends and family support my music and acknowledged my talent since back then. I made mixtapes throughout high school and college until a few years ago when it dawned on me that I just have to jump and grow wings on the way down. It was more about my message that the world needed, especially at a time when most hip-hop artists had been more focused on commercial success and recycling low-vibrational content and behavior in order to rise to the top.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My style of hip-hop is classically inspired, mainly by the golden era. I was able to learn so much from artists like Tupac, DMX, Big L, The Diplomats, Big Pun, Nas, Mos Def, Talib Kweli and so many other legends till I became able to convey my message in a smooth lyrical way, saying what I wanted to in a clever way that true lyricists would appreciate. If you take away the beat, it’s super-poetry. Multisyllabic rhyming and weaving creative puns, similes, and metaphors subtly throughout the beat. Keeping the art of the rhyme alive instead of mumbling, which has become the new “cool” to popular culture for the last decade or so. To me, when you’re genuinely coming from a good place with an honorable mission by not going ‘for the bag’, you have the absolute ability to become timeless. I am proud of the emcee I have become as well as my Persian origin. In school, we were never taught about our beautiful culture and ancient empire that was the largest and greatest the world had seen for about 250 years. We introduced the postal system, the very first human rights known as the Cyrus Cylinder, the refrigerator, and other inventions still convenient utilized to this day, as well as countless contributions towards art, architecture, medicine, science, mathematics, and beyond. I have the fortunate opportunity to communicate and educate, by way of my music, to offer truth and deeper understanding of my generous culture.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I started a movement called World Hop with the intention of bringing the divided world together through hip-hop. I am multilingual (English, Persian, Spanish, and conversational in Urdu) and utilized my linguistic ability to rhyme on my first album released last year called World Hop. The album also offered the classic sound I hope to bring back to the forefront, along with a twist of world instruments to grace the songs with interesting melodies not commonly or traditionally heard in hip-hop music. I am also part of a group called HERU HERU, which aims to heal hip-hop.

Contact Info:

• Email: hiphopahdeli@gmail.com
• Website: www.ahdelihiphop.com
• Instagram: @ahdelihiphop

Image Credits
@donjaididit @burgundi_ave