Uproxx Underground Hustle: A-F-R-O
Original article written May 21, 2018
Young L.A. rapper, A-F-R-O, is an up-and-comer who’s old school flair sets him apart from other rappers his age. He’s simply a modest, humble kid who knows hip-hop’s roots and pays respect to the greats. “When I was 9, I heard Rakim, I heard the song ‘Microphone Fiend’ and that was the one where I was like, Damn I want to do that.” One artist in particular inspired him more than others “R.A. The Rugged Man… he’s been my favorite since I was 13.” Once R.A. heard A-F-R-O’s music, the legendary rhymer took ‘Fro under his wing. Now, the two artists are working to bring back the gritty, underground strength that most modern hip-hop lacks.
R.A. spoke to Uproxx about the young rapper:
“He makes all of us feel good, because a lot of 17-year-olds only know a lot of garbage that they’re being spoonfed on the radio,” R.A. said. “They don’t know the Rakim, DJ Premier, Kool G Rap, the GZA. So, when I introduce him to GZA and Kool G Rap and Premier in person and he knows their entire biography – stuff that they’ve done 10 years before he was born – they’re like ‘Wow, there’s youth out there like this. We’re not going to be forgotten. We’re being reborn into another generation, our music will live on through dudes like this.’ ”
“What makes him unique today is he’s got a big strong bass voice from the era that I enjoy, like Chubb Rock or Chuck D,” R.A. said, lobbying for more parity in hip-hop. “Where today, all the famous rappers have got little thin squeaky cornball voices. … This kid, he’s not into that. He comes in and he’s hard with his voice. He wants to knock you over with it. His voice is strong and his flow is where he can rap faster than any rapper on the planet Earth.”
A-F-R-O’s voice is truly one of a kind and resembles that of many pioneers from the golden age of rap. His debut album’s in the works and I’m interested to see where it takes him. In a time where many of the most successful rappers have high pitch, raspy voices, I wonder if the public will embrace the vastly different sound that A-F-R-O brings to the table. If he doesn’t obtain massive commercial success, I bet he’ll still acquire a dedicated following. A-F-R-O is the type of artist that’s likely to be respected by his peers and welcomed into the rap game with open arms, much like Joey Bada$$ and Big K.R.I.T.
I’d really love to see A-F-R-O featured as one of the “9 new artists” on the new Wu-Tang Clan remake. Stylistically, I think he’d be a perfect fit.