Jahimba Hutson, better known for his professional name A.Y.E. was born into a musical family, getting an early start on stage performing with his father’s rasta reggae band Strugglah as keyboardist & emcee, while in junior high. The band shared the stage with such luminaries as the Wailers, Burning Spear and Jimmy Cliff. A young A.Y.E. watched carefully, listening and learning first-hand from Strugglah. A.Y.E. was born in Calgary, and raised in Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary exposing him to eclectic musical influences including Bob Marley, Nas, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Supercat, Common, Jay-Z, Tribe Called Quest, Kardinal Official, Steel Pulse, Lincoln Park, Agustus Pablo, Sly & Robbie, and Jacob Miller, to mention but a few. Upon releasing his first EP “Goodbye” in 2012 he was quickly identified by national publications and bloggers as one of Western Canada’s young emerging talents.
We took a listen to “Sun Days” and A.Y.E. did more than just simply impress us! He completely transformed us into fans of his. The articulation of his bars are on point, showing skills of a veteran rapper. The lyrical content that was provided in the music, gave a new dimension and insight to the artistry of A.Y.E. His unique vocal tone when he raps shows slight elements of rasp and grit, this gave the delivery a more experienced appeal to it. You can interpret from listening to “Sun Days” that A.Y.E can not only rap to an aggressive type of beat, but he can also deliver on a smooth, laid back instrumental. He has the lyrical skill for it, alongside with his witty charisma. A multi-faceted rapper, A.Y.E cultivates his listener’s taste into the 4 minute track. A.Y.E. has a vibrant career standing ahead of him and we can’t wait to see what’s next.
Listen to “Sun Days” and A.Y.E's newest album here and read more with A.Y.E. below!
Welcome to BuzzMusic! How did you come up with your stage name?
Thank you. I came up with my name around the age of 16 or 17 in high school and at the time I was practicing the Islam faith. The Muslim name given to me was Aleem which means knowledgeable in Arabic. I shortened that to just the letter "A" and from there I created the acronym A Young Extraordinaire. I feel like we are all extraordinary people in some way, this is how my backing band The Extraordinary Gentlemen and the collective Extraordinary People World came to be. The collective was built to help cultivate community, inspire creativity. and invigorate originality. It strives on pushing the boundaries of thinking outside the box, being unique, and embracing oneself.
Can you tell us more about the meaning of your track “Sun Days”? What inspired your writing process?
Yes. Sun Days is a special record to me mainly because of what it represents and the person who has inspired it. Every Sunday there is always something cooking in the kitchen at my mothers house. Friends, family, music, good food and good laughs are the perfect recipe to a Sunday which is what inspired the whole writing process. There's nothing more important then friends and family and the joy they bring - growing together through the good times and the bad. This song is actually dedicated to and of course inspired by my mother. The new Sun Days music video is out now!
How does the music you make now compare to music you made when you first started out?
I've always made a effort to put my life in my music and be comfortable with being myself but that can be tough sometimes with everything thats going on in the hip-hop landscape. A lot of my older stuff was just me getting my feet wet, exploring, learning an slowly discovering who I was becoming as a person and a artist. The new music I'm really focusing on creating body's of work that are timeless rather then what sounds cool or trending at the time - creating my own sound and lane. This new album Soul Food the Audiobiography Of.. is a major step up from my previous material. From the production, the writing, the recording, all the way to the creative direction it all feels right and organic now.
Who are you top three musical influences? Why?
Bob Marley is definitely a major influence within my music and life, ever since I was child my father always had reggae playing in the house and I always gravitated to Bob Marley & The Wailers for the music and message. Nas is my second, the Illmatic album was a huge influence when I was younger hearing boom bap for the first time it changed my life, he opened the window for me to so many other great hip-hop artist at that time such as Common, Tribe Called Quest, Pete Rock, Gang Starr, and the list goes on. Marvin Gaye or Chaka Khan would be my third, probably because their music does something to your soul which has inspired me to create that same thing within my music, my mother would play them at home on the weekend all the time too.
What would be your dream venue to perform?
That's a tough one, my dream venue to perform in would have to be the Apollo Theater in New York.
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