With Oakland rapper Habitt‘s debut album, “Talk Of The Town” on Fat Daddy Records out this week, the record label headed by actress Yvette Wilson and her husband Jerome Harry, there have been some questions regarding the identity of one of the album’s featured artists. The Iranian-born poetess and singer Aku G. Fort makes her foray into hiphop, singing the chorus on the album’s track “Hypnotize“. Her vocals are sung in Persian, as Mid-East meets West Coast hiphop.
Aku says, “A lot of young people are now supporting Persians like myself, who are active in hiphop culture. Many of us want to rebel against the racism we are seeing go on against us, and it happens to us no matter where we are in the world, what countries around the world.” She notes that racism has increased since 9-11, and unfortunately, too many people blame all Mid-Easterners for the political situation.
Hiphop, she says, can help people learn that this prejudice is wrong.
Aku notes, “Hiphop is a universal language. I see a lot of people from different countries who are saying things in hiphop music that they never had the guts to say in their own culture’s melodies. Hiphop is a format where the music and flow lend themselves to be able to say things are hard to express through other sorts of music. It’s also part of the attitude of hiphop. You feel free to say things that you couldn’t say before, anywhere else.“
She adds that due to the precarious situation in certain Mid-Eastern countries, this freedom is being enjoyed for the first time by many of those who never had that liberation before. “It means a lot to us,” she explains. “Persian people who relate to hiphop do so because they can express themselves through it better than with anything else. Hiphop is like a temple where they can go and be freed.” It is cathartic, she maintains, noting that hiphop “is like a medication for them because it allows them some release, and it is so precious.“
She is quick to point out, “If there is anything we appreciate, it is freedom.“
Another factor that adds to the bond between many people of Persian descent and hiphop is that many hiphop songs explore racism. “A lot of hiphop songs have special meaning to people who are being unfairly discriminated against. This racism has escalated against Persians because of the war. Since many songs in hiphop address racism and trying to make it in a world where unfortunately, we have to contend with racism, those songs become very personal to us. We are trying to live in a positive way, despite bad vibes that come from certain people who justify their racism, and they cling to it in order to feel a false sense of superiority.“
“Hiphop is the most free form of expression,” she contends. “With the war going on, and all the racism against people from the Mid-East, regardless of where they may be in the world, this is the one place where we can express ourselves and say something about it–in hiphop.”
Aku says, “I am so happy that I have a chance to express myself through hiphop, and to represent, to speak about my own people and nationality. I want to thank hiphop for giving me this opportunity.“
“Talk Of The Town” is available in stores nationwide.
