It has often been argued that one of hip hop's newer faces is one of, if not the best, underground artists in
the Northwest. And exactly who does that statement refer to?
We are talking about Aires. Aires began releasing his music to the public just over a year ago, but has more recently started something much bigger. His fan base has grown over the globe, with a large fan base in Europe- particularly in Germany and France.
His youtube channel is growing, and fans are constantly writing fan mail and sending him fan photos. He has a handful of projects as well: A new album, a documentary, music videos, a radio show, a website, a clothing line. It's safe to say the guy doesn't sleep much.
That being said, it is almost suprising that Aires takes the time to respond to all fan mail personally. He is sincere and grateful, something that has been lost on mainstream artists. His success has not gotten into his head- he still resides in Billings, Montana, his home town.
He doesn't flash his money around, and he is a bit uneasy when people approach him in public. No, he's not being unfriendly, he's just a little shy about being recognized.
His goals are what really stand out. Aire's goals are not about selling albums, or getting a million twitter followers. His goals are simply to tell his story, and restore the value of hip hop in the industry. As he has pointed out many times, today's mainstream
hiphop, as well as other genres simply glorify money. Artists have entire albums out about how much they can spend on cars, etc., but the meaning of music has long been lost. Aires wants to change it around, and hopes that people will start writing from the heart,
and stop writing about green paper. For him, it's about the things that money simply cannot buy, and for that, he has gained the respect of thousands. Although his lyrics are called 'dark', Aires is real to the core. He writes about his life changing experiences. He writes
straight from the heart, and you can hear it in every beat of his music.
I had the honor of interviewing Aires a few weeks back. I'll admit, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I can sincerely say, it was an amazing experience. He was kind and honest. I am so priveleged to have been able to interview him, and so without further ado......
Q: Firstly, what inspired your name?
A:The poetry in Greek mythology, i fell in love with it as a kid and i liked the name Ares, so i took it changed the spelling to Aires.
I noticed I had a good side and a bad side to me so i use the ''god'' as the good part of me, and ''war'' as the bad side of me ...god of war.
Kinda like a personality battle with in my self.
Q: How do you feel in a "personality battle" with yourself?
A:I argue with myself between the things i learn in life, it's like seeing something, then looking at it in a different point of view and trying to decide whats right and whats wrong and what I should live by.
Q: Do you have any words in particular that you live by?
A:No, mostly basic morals,what i have trouble with is understanding other people, how we have built society, thats basically what I think about when I try to decide.
I sit back and study learn things and I try to look it at all angles...I do this for my own entertainment and now im starting write about it.
Q: That's really interesting. So let's get into the music. When did you decide to being your own label and record an album?
A:I started writing, and it came out better then i thought it would after the ''great depression'' mix tape, i knew i had something powerful. Before the mix tape ,I was with another label and it turned out to be a scam that's why i started lost entertainment.
what made me start writing altogether was poetry and once i realized hiphop was poetry with a instrumental it became music.
Q: People gravitate towards your honesty. What can we expect to hear in "War of One"?
A:Basically, ''War of One '' reflects the battle with in myself a little more then the Great Depression. The Great Depression was the personal issues and i wanted to make it more relevant to the things going on in the world today so i set it up like a big message after the great depression was a war ''war of one'' so not only is it a personal battle with in myself its a message that history is repeating itself
Q: When the album is finished, what do you want people to get from it?
A:Basically there's a bunch of little messages in the songs, and one big message for every mixtape or album i will make,everyying has meaning so basically its a collage of messages,but what i really want is for people to wake up and realize the way we are living needs to change and first we must start with art and the information that people are getting from it because no matter what artists say, we have a responsibility as artisst to tell people wha'ts real.
And Aires ended our conversation with this:
"Hip Hop in America has changed for the worst it has became even more materialistic and money should never be glorified in art,so i see it like this we take the root of what made hiphop in the 90s genre and its message we make it better more like anti materialistic and then we glorify the heart and sole instead and of whats in peoples bank accounts."
I would love to thank Aires for taking the time to chat with me! He is a huge inspiration to me, and I look forward to more conversations with him to share with you guys! I've linked his youtube, but you can follow him on Twitter at:
https://twitter.com/#!/AiresRapper
Hope you all enjoyed, this was a true honor for me!
No comments:
Post a Comment