RasCity was born In Brooklyn, New York and grew up in Toronto, Ontario who brings a grass roots hip-hop tone with real lyrics in his songs and created from experience as a music producer and songwriter. Ras’ new single “Hungry” is currently available on all platforms.
“Hungry” is a track that grabs your attention right from the jazzy guitar and vocal introduction to this hip-hop tune that sets a sensual mood. The tones of vocals that are in “Hungry” are on point along with the rap sections that blend beautifully altogether with the harmonies provided by the female vocals. The lyrics are well written and delivered with style and ease with the ability to drop lines that flow perfectly together. RasCity has created a sultry vibe with the low, down-to-earth tones that relax the listener at the same time as leaving them “Hungry” and wanting more of the song.
I personally love that RasCity uses a repetition technique to solidify specific lyrics and get his point across along with the relatability that the audience can take from the definition of the meaning behind each lyric. In my opinion, RasCity is an artist that you should keep an eye and ear open for as he will surely be taking the music industry by complete surprise with his sheer talent and ability to create tracks that are catchy and easy to listen to.
Listen to "Hungry" here and get to know more about RasCity in our interview below!
Hey RasCity! Fantastic to chat with you. Can you give us a little background on how you first came to love music?
Well I'd like to start of by saying it's fantastic to have this opportunity to be showcased as a new Hip Hop Artist on your platform. To tell you a little about my musical background, I was first introduced to music as a child. I was a member of a child drumming band. There were 6 of us. We would perform in front of schools and audiences between 500-1500 people. I used to play the bongos. It was a great experience. I feel in love with music and the performing arts when I was only 8 years old, and I never stopped doing it my entire life. For me the most humbling part of the experience about being apart of that band, was that our teacher was a man with multiple sclerosis. He was paralyzed from the waste down. He could not walk. He had a motorized wheel chair. He had difficulty doing a lot of daily tastes that most of us do easily and take for granted. But when he stopped to play the drums, it was breath taking. His best instrument was the Congo drum. He would wow audiences with his precision and love of rhythm and melodic combinations. Still to this day I've never met a better Congo player. The fact that his legs couldn't work, made him so concentrated in his hands. It showed me a lot of lessons about life. Watching a man turn his weakness into his strength was amazing. Through his love and admiration he taught us youth as much as he could. The pain that lay deep in his eyes from his sickness would melt away the second he was in front of that drum. For me it was more then music, it was hope and inspiration. My instructor later died from the multiple sclerosis, but his memory lives on through the great foundation of music he instilled in me and many others.
Where do you draw inspiration for creating your unique sound and meaningful lyrics?
My biggest musical inspiration is actually Bob Marley. I love his lyrics and compositions, and I find them to be very unique. I also love golden era hip hop. I grew up listening to Biggie Smalls, Nas, Tupac, Jay-z, 50 cent, just to name a few. I feel like a lot of people still want to hear that kind of sound still, and there is a demand for it, if it could be modernized. So I came out with the song Hungry. When ever I write a song, it's always inspired by moments in my life. People inspire me. I love to listen. I have been a music producer for over 10 years. Through all this listening I learned to observe what was happening in my life and put it into song. I also learned there is a connection when a lot of other people are having the same experiences. I got a chance to work with a lot of great Artist as a music producer that inspired me to work harder on my personal art. English was always my worst subject in school, so I wasn't the most popular child in high school, because not too many people want to hang out and do Calculus at lunch time. It's my love of math that rolled over into music production, because music is very mathematical based, it's constant counting and repetition. It took me years to figure out how to express myself so others could understand through dialect, because for me music was my language. I have recorded over 16 albums, but it took me a long time to figure out how to turn my voice into a harmonic instrument that could express like Mile Davis on the trumpet, but through words. I have a lot of songs, so I am always inspired. For me to be alive is inspiration. What are the chances to be hear on this big blue rock we call earth. What inspires me most is that I want to connect with people. As a child, I always wished even for 1 day, or one year, or even on hour, that we could all collectively as a planet work on 1 activity ALL at the same time. Even just to say we did. I would love to see a day, even if all of us on earth could collectively have 1 minute of silence together, I'd feel more hope for human kind. Much of the same hope I used to see in my childhood drumming instructors eyes. So when you ask what inspired me for creating a unique sound, in reality, we are all unique, I'm just glad I got an opportunity to work hard, and be heard. The world we live in can be harsh at times, so for me sitting a creating a song, helps me get away from it all.
Is there a deeper meaning behind your track “Hungry”?
When I decided I wanted to write a song called hungry, I stopped eating. When I recorded Hungry, I was actually in day 12 of a 20 day fast. I was literally hungry. I was so hungry for a second I forgot what it felt like to be hungry. We are all hungry. We are born, and very shortly there after we are crying for food. So when I say, this that shit that's make you Hungry, I am really questioning will to survive! Are you a go getta? Can you secure the bag? I was inspired to record Hungry because of all the negative things that were happening in my life at the time. A year earlier, I had lent my car to someone I considered a friend. That person stole the car, he never came back with the car again. I paid first and last to rent an apartment from another person I considered a friend. That person took my money and they did not let me live there, and I lived on the streets for many months before I could find another place. I owned a studio for several years, as a studio owner I was robbed by some of my clients, recording artists that came to my studio robbed me by gunpoint. My dad was dying of Cancer, he was in so much pain, he had lost his appetite. When I say the lyrics, life's a bitch laugh now then cry later, I meant it. All these unfortunate events inspired me to record "Hungry", because life and the people around me were and still are testing my ability to survive. Life is a constant test. Can you still bounce back when everything is taken from you? To be hungry is to be alive, but it's also all we need to survive, it's the motivation to keep going. This is why it was important I forced, self inflicted hunger before I recorded Hungry. I've been hungry since I was born, but sometimes you need a reminder. "Hungry" was not recorded in a recording studio, it was recorded in an empty bedroom in a closet by myself with no recording engineer, with towels for sound proof foam and now it plays on some of the top hip hop FM radio stations in the world. That was my hunger. Yes I am Hungry, and I am trying to survive; as are we all. I think it's something we can all relate to is being hungry, wanting more, wanted to be the best person you can be. My favorite bar of the song is when I say, "Busta, Q-tip, Ladies Love original Violators" Most people probably think I'm talking about women liking guys who are ruff around the edges, which is what I was looking for, but I arranged the words in such an order to pay tribute to the first ever hip hop album I ever bought. It was called the "Violators" and on the cover was a cartoon with Busta Rhymes, Q-tip from tribe called Quest, and LL Cool J, but from those who don't know the LL stands for Ladies Love.
From an artist’s perspective, what drives you to continue to create new music?
I love music. I am an Artist because it helps me learn about myself and other. To be brilliant you need to be able to use both sides of your brain. Apart from the math and language we learn in school, being creative is one of the most important things we can do as human beings. The parts of our brain that control creativity are some of the biggest sectors of our brains. Being creative unlocks, deductive reasoning, problem solving, and most importantly it is the foundation of all engineering and inventions. Our world could never be the way that it is today if it wasn't for creativity. If it were up to me we would all spend time being creative. We should all be artist as some level or another. With each song I create I learn, I learn more about myself and others. The real inspiration behind creating music for me, is expressing myself and becoming a better person. Some people do it in the kitchen as a cook, or as a painter on a the canvas, me I do my work in the recording studio, but we are all creators none the less. I just wish more of us taped into this energy.
Tell us what’s next for you in 2019!
Right now, my next major move is going to be the music video for my Single "Hungry". With all the radio success the next move is to continue the radio campaign and look to TV. Look out for hungry music video on MTV and BET by end of year. I have a lot of different songs and styles. I also sing a little R&B and do a little reggae/dance hall style of urban, and I'm not sure how my audience will take to hearing so many different sounds, but I have over 16 unreleased albums. Right now I am going to work on an album of more or that grass roots hip hop, more of that Hungry vibe. I am about 1/2 way done. Look out for a Music Video, and Album release by the end of the year.
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