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Second-generation Jamaican, Floridian rapper Wahid shares details on his new EP ‘feast, by ravens’, out 22nd March. The title of the project comes from the parable of Elijah in the Book of Kings. Alongside the announcement, he releases his single/video “Mezcal” - a vibes-heavy party tune tied together by personal anecdotes of a love-hate relationship: “‘Mezcal’ is the expression of love towards a vice of mine liquor, and the vibes it puts me in. I tend to cope by turning to drugs, alcohol, in hopes that it can become our savior or at least a mask. It’s hell on earth.”
Last year’s two-track EP “WILT/CORNERSTONE” was his debut for the LA label, which landed him in Complex-Pigeons and Planes’ highly respected Best New Artists feature for their October edition.
Through Wahid’s sonic storytelling he refuses to submit to negativity and fatalism. His hip-hop collective had just wrapped their first national tour. Their DMs were flooded with A&Rs offering deals and producers looking to collaborate. Then the group split up. It was over before it even began. The ensuing depression was all-consuming. There were days where Wahid didn’t budge from bed, drawing the blinds closed, and numbing the wounds with bottle after bottle of liquor. Despite his best efforts to salvage the wreckage, none of his attempts yielded anything positive. But through the duress, he discovered his inner resilience and perseverance. The results are manifest on his debut Innovative Leisure EP, feast, by ravens – an artful refusal to submit to negativity and fatalism, and a testimonial to the indomitability of the human spirit.
Second-generation Jamaican, Floridian rapper Wahid has today shared his debut two-track EP “WILT/CORNERSTONE.”
Feeling carefree, Wahid shares this on the two tracks, “‘WILT’ is a record conceived after I drank a cheap bottle of Stroysky liquor in the studio with Kaelin and Iggy. I wanted to emulate carefree vibes on Isaiah Rashad’s ‘House is Burning’ album. With a lot of Damian Marley playing through the studio speakers, ‘CORNERSTONE’ is a direct inspiration from a song his father wrote (Bob Marley’s Cornerstone; 1970), which is one of my all time favorite songs. Meek shall inherit the earth, last shall be first.”
Through Wahid’s sonic storytelling he refuses to submit to negativity and fatalism. His hip-hop collective had just wrapped their first national tour. Their DMs were flooded with A&Rs offering deals and producers looking to collaborate. One major label president – who had signed some of the biggest artists of the last quarter-century – told them that they were on the path to becoming global superstars. Then the group split up. It was over before it even began.
The ensuing depression was all-consuming. There were days where Wahid didn’t budge from bed, drawing the blinds closed, and numbing the wounds with bottle after bottle of liquor. Despite his best efforts to salvage the wreckage, none of his attempts yielded anything positive. But through the duress, he discovered his inner resilience and perseverance. Stay tuned for more music from Wahid.