You may not have heard of him yet, but you probably will soon. Ghani Guatama is not the typical hip hop artist nor the typical thinker. Get him started talking about the music industry and you are bound to learn a lot from him. Ghani Guatama is full of opinions, information, and insight; and before we picked his brain fully of musical politics, the World According to Music wanted to hear a little bit more about him as an artist.
Where did the name Ghani Guatama come from?
The origin of my Ghani Gautama moniker is actually rather unspectacular. I really just chose it because it sounds cool. Ghani was my tag name during my short career as a graffiti artist. I came up with it one day when I was smoking a bunch of Afghani and liked the way the letters looked. I added Gautama to that and started using it as my stage name. I wanted to have a name that could have been an actual given name instead of “MC so and so” or “Lil' so and so.” I felt like my government name, Ian James Currie, didn't sound very rapper-ish so I went with Ghani Gautama. I felt like it created a sense of exotic origins while also paying subliminal homage to my Irish roots. Ghani is a West African surname and during the dark ages Ireland was the only northern European country that maintained trade relations with west Africa. There's a book called “How the Irish Saved Western Civilization” or something of that nature, that's where I found out about that. Gautama is an Indian surname, it is attributed to the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. Buddhist monks were some of the most well-traveled of antiquity. It is believed by some anthropologists that they made it as far as Ireland where their teaching gave birth to the religion of the druids. Plus I think it sounds cool.
How long have you been doing music? What got you into it?
In a lot of ways I feel like I've been doing it my whole life, but my formal entry into it was in the late 90's. I took guitar lessons when I was younger and I've always liked to sing and write lyrics. Eventually I joined band with the intention of being a rhythm guitar player and singer. As it turns out the other members of the band were much better than me at both things. I knew my stock was slipping so I needed to find a way to make myself valuable to the band. One day at practice everyone was jamming and I started rapping. Everybody in the band said “you should do that.” I've never looked back since. I couldn't really pinpoint any one thing that got me into it but I feel like I am the musical sum of my parents. My mom is an excellent singer, she has the natural gift for it but she's pretty conservative in her taste. She sang in choirs and stuff. My dad was more rock 'n' roll, he had more rebellious musical taste and was passionate and charismatic about it but had not a lick of natural ability. I think I inherited the best of both.
How would you describe your music?
I try not to honestly, I prefer to let it speak for itself but for the sake of conversation I consider myself a songwriter first. I don't necessarily dazzle with verbal dexterity, I'm not really interested in writing a “hot sixteen.” I strive to write complete songs and just happen to use hip hop as my medium (probably because I can't sing or play an instrument.
What are you working on right now?
I am currently in the process of recording a project called “Strong Medicine” it's the first of three 5-song E.P.s that I'll be releasing this year through my deal with First Team Music/Halogen Records. It's a bit of a departure for me because it will be the first time I've recorded an album using beats from producers besides my long time creative partner Metrognome. He's got one song on it but each of the 5 tracks are from a different producer.
What are your artistic goals?
To be like B.B. King. The man played 200+ shows a year well into his 80's. I'd also like to play a show on every continent (except maybe Antarctica) and learn how to say “thank you” in 50 languages.
Who/what are your influences?
I'm a sponge when it comes to rap so I've easily stolen a trick or two from pretty much any rapper that I've ever heard as far as style and delivery goes. Lyrics wise I borrow heavily from Issac Brock and Ian McKaye. I'm also huge into outlaw country, I've been listening to a lot of Waylon Jennings recently. Plus I read a lot, non-fiction mostly and I'm a big fan of the speculative fiction of Harlan Ellison.
What are some of your favorite tracks of yours?
The song I'm most proud of is a cut off of “Few Against Many,” my last album, called “Maybe” it was an idea about 8 years in the making. I remember being in the room while Metrognome was making the beat for it and it ended up becoming a perfect storm of a song. It is always a hit at shows and is a lot of my friends' favorite track. I'm also really proud of a song from that album called “Another Day At The Office” it was the first track I ever did with guest verses and I feel like that brought the best out of me. The title track to my 1st solo album “Give 'Em Enough Hope” is another highlight. Another instance of an idea years in the making that turned out so well.
What do you want your fans to know about you?
I'm a man of the people. I have somewhat extreme viewpoints about the world and make rather intense music but at the end of the day I'm just a person like everyone else. I think that sometimes hip hop music can put too much emphasis on people's differences. I like to focus on our similarities. Every day that I wake up and get to make music is a victory to me and I am extremely thankful for all of the people that have made that possible. I'd also like people to know that if I can make my dream work so can they, and probably better.
Who are some of your biggest supporters?
I'm fortunate to have incredibly supportive family and friends. My label mates Quanstar, Evaready RAW, and Metrognome have been invaluable in getting to where I am. Besides that everyone who's ever supported me is my biggest supporter, I value each and every person who's ever watched me play a set or listened to a song of mine. I look at music as a lifestyle choice and a life-long commitment so every person that shows support makes it what it is.
How can your fans access your music?
All my stuff is available through all major digital outlets. I'm also active on social networks so just Google “Ghani Gautama” and you'll find me. And don't hesitate to leave comments and send messages, I always answer them and this might sound sad but I live for fan feedback.
What has been your biggest challenge as an upcoming artist?
Today's industry is basically a struggle for legitimacy. Technology has made it possible for anyone to create and market music. This has evened the playing field to a large degree but it has also created a vast amount of over-choice. My biggest challenge has been getting that third party recognition and credibility. Things like press coverage are important to growing a career. With virtually billions of artists out there fighting for the same limited media space. An artist like me who is entirely independent often gets overlooked in favor of artists with buckets of money to throw at the situation.
What is your music making process?
I don't really have a set method. I'm pretty much always making music, even when I'm cooking dinner or at the gym I'm always tossing around ideas in my head. Sometimes if I have a deadline or something I'll just lock myself in my room put a beat on repeat and won't come out until I have a song. Editing is very important, I never bring notebooks into the vocal booth so everything I record has been dedicated to memory. The process of memorizing the song is the best editing method. By the time I've recited something a couple hundred times I've usually trimmed out the fat and optimized the execution of the verse. I also like to perform my songs live a lot before I record them. That helps me work out all of the kinks. When you’re live on stage, there's an audience, the music is loud, there's no second takes or punch-ins. Once a song is down cold for a live show it is a piece of cake to knock out in the studio where conditions are optimal.
Do you have a main theme to your music?
I know it sounds trite but my life is pretty much the theme of my music. I try to present it in a way that is universally understandable. Instead of focusing on specific details I emphasize the underlying sentiments. For instance, if I write a song about a lame ass job that I hate, I don't focus my writing on specific details like what kind of tasks I'm doing or the eccentricities of customers and co-workers. Instead I focus on the feelings of being undervalued of misunderstood or stuck in a situation because of responsibilities. Those are things that any working person could understand from the janitor to the hedge fund manager. It ties into the whole idea of finding commonalities between people as opposed to finding differences.
*Check the Upcoming Shows tab to see when you can see Ghani Guatama next.
Where did the name Ghani Guatama come from?
The origin of my Ghani Gautama moniker is actually rather unspectacular. I really just chose it because it sounds cool. Ghani was my tag name during my short career as a graffiti artist. I came up with it one day when I was smoking a bunch of Afghani and liked the way the letters looked. I added Gautama to that and started using it as my stage name. I wanted to have a name that could have been an actual given name instead of “MC so and so” or “Lil' so and so.” I felt like my government name, Ian James Currie, didn't sound very rapper-ish so I went with Ghani Gautama. I felt like it created a sense of exotic origins while also paying subliminal homage to my Irish roots. Ghani is a West African surname and during the dark ages Ireland was the only northern European country that maintained trade relations with west Africa. There's a book called “How the Irish Saved Western Civilization” or something of that nature, that's where I found out about that. Gautama is an Indian surname, it is attributed to the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. Buddhist monks were some of the most well-traveled of antiquity. It is believed by some anthropologists that they made it as far as Ireland where their teaching gave birth to the religion of the druids. Plus I think it sounds cool.
How long have you been doing music? What got you into it?
In a lot of ways I feel like I've been doing it my whole life, but my formal entry into it was in the late 90's. I took guitar lessons when I was younger and I've always liked to sing and write lyrics. Eventually I joined band with the intention of being a rhythm guitar player and singer. As it turns out the other members of the band were much better than me at both things. I knew my stock was slipping so I needed to find a way to make myself valuable to the band. One day at practice everyone was jamming and I started rapping. Everybody in the band said “you should do that.” I've never looked back since. I couldn't really pinpoint any one thing that got me into it but I feel like I am the musical sum of my parents. My mom is an excellent singer, she has the natural gift for it but she's pretty conservative in her taste. She sang in choirs and stuff. My dad was more rock 'n' roll, he had more rebellious musical taste and was passionate and charismatic about it but had not a lick of natural ability. I think I inherited the best of both.
How would you describe your music?
I try not to honestly, I prefer to let it speak for itself but for the sake of conversation I consider myself a songwriter first. I don't necessarily dazzle with verbal dexterity, I'm not really interested in writing a “hot sixteen.” I strive to write complete songs and just happen to use hip hop as my medium (probably because I can't sing or play an instrument.
What are you working on right now?
I am currently in the process of recording a project called “Strong Medicine” it's the first of three 5-song E.P.s that I'll be releasing this year through my deal with First Team Music/Halogen Records. It's a bit of a departure for me because it will be the first time I've recorded an album using beats from producers besides my long time creative partner Metrognome. He's got one song on it but each of the 5 tracks are from a different producer.
What are your artistic goals?
To be like B.B. King. The man played 200+ shows a year well into his 80's. I'd also like to play a show on every continent (except maybe Antarctica) and learn how to say “thank you” in 50 languages.
Who/what are your influences?
I'm a sponge when it comes to rap so I've easily stolen a trick or two from pretty much any rapper that I've ever heard as far as style and delivery goes. Lyrics wise I borrow heavily from Issac Brock and Ian McKaye. I'm also huge into outlaw country, I've been listening to a lot of Waylon Jennings recently. Plus I read a lot, non-fiction mostly and I'm a big fan of the speculative fiction of Harlan Ellison.
What are some of your favorite tracks of yours?
The song I'm most proud of is a cut off of “Few Against Many,” my last album, called “Maybe” it was an idea about 8 years in the making. I remember being in the room while Metrognome was making the beat for it and it ended up becoming a perfect storm of a song. It is always a hit at shows and is a lot of my friends' favorite track. I'm also really proud of a song from that album called “Another Day At The Office” it was the first track I ever did with guest verses and I feel like that brought the best out of me. The title track to my 1st solo album “Give 'Em Enough Hope” is another highlight. Another instance of an idea years in the making that turned out so well.
What do you want your fans to know about you?
I'm a man of the people. I have somewhat extreme viewpoints about the world and make rather intense music but at the end of the day I'm just a person like everyone else. I think that sometimes hip hop music can put too much emphasis on people's differences. I like to focus on our similarities. Every day that I wake up and get to make music is a victory to me and I am extremely thankful for all of the people that have made that possible. I'd also like people to know that if I can make my dream work so can they, and probably better.
Who are some of your biggest supporters?
I'm fortunate to have incredibly supportive family and friends. My label mates Quanstar, Evaready RAW, and Metrognome have been invaluable in getting to where I am. Besides that everyone who's ever supported me is my biggest supporter, I value each and every person who's ever watched me play a set or listened to a song of mine. I look at music as a lifestyle choice and a life-long commitment so every person that shows support makes it what it is.
How can your fans access your music?
All my stuff is available through all major digital outlets. I'm also active on social networks so just Google “Ghani Gautama” and you'll find me. And don't hesitate to leave comments and send messages, I always answer them and this might sound sad but I live for fan feedback.
What has been your biggest challenge as an upcoming artist?
Today's industry is basically a struggle for legitimacy. Technology has made it possible for anyone to create and market music. This has evened the playing field to a large degree but it has also created a vast amount of over-choice. My biggest challenge has been getting that third party recognition and credibility. Things like press coverage are important to growing a career. With virtually billions of artists out there fighting for the same limited media space. An artist like me who is entirely independent often gets overlooked in favor of artists with buckets of money to throw at the situation.
What is your music making process?
I don't really have a set method. I'm pretty much always making music, even when I'm cooking dinner or at the gym I'm always tossing around ideas in my head. Sometimes if I have a deadline or something I'll just lock myself in my room put a beat on repeat and won't come out until I have a song. Editing is very important, I never bring notebooks into the vocal booth so everything I record has been dedicated to memory. The process of memorizing the song is the best editing method. By the time I've recited something a couple hundred times I've usually trimmed out the fat and optimized the execution of the verse. I also like to perform my songs live a lot before I record them. That helps me work out all of the kinks. When you’re live on stage, there's an audience, the music is loud, there's no second takes or punch-ins. Once a song is down cold for a live show it is a piece of cake to knock out in the studio where conditions are optimal.
Do you have a main theme to your music?
I know it sounds trite but my life is pretty much the theme of my music. I try to present it in a way that is universally understandable. Instead of focusing on specific details I emphasize the underlying sentiments. For instance, if I write a song about a lame ass job that I hate, I don't focus my writing on specific details like what kind of tasks I'm doing or the eccentricities of customers and co-workers. Instead I focus on the feelings of being undervalued of misunderstood or stuck in a situation because of responsibilities. Those are things that any working person could understand from the janitor to the hedge fund manager. It ties into the whole idea of finding commonalities between people as opposed to finding differences.
*Check the Upcoming Shows tab to see when you can see Ghani Guatama next.