Ahmad (rapper)

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Ahmad
Birth name Ahmad Ali Lewis
Born October 12, 1975
Origin Los Angeles, California
Genres West Coast Indie Hip Hop
Years active 1993–present
Labels Giant/Reprise/Warner Bros. Records
Interscope/Universal Records
Gotee/Lookalive Records/EMI Records
/WeCLAP
Associated acts 4th Avenue Jones

Ahmad Ali Lewis, who was born October 12, 1975 (as heard in the track "Zoom"), in Los Angeles, California, is an American emcee. Credited simply as Ahmad, he is best known for the 1994 single "Back in the Day," a nostalgic song that became a signifier for nostalgia in hip-hop culture.

Ahmad is also a member of the group 4th Avenue Jones.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Ahmad Ali Lewis was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles. He made his recording debut in 1993 on the soundtrack of The Meteor Man with the song "Who Can." Released when Ahmad was only 18, "Back in the Day" hit #26 on the US pop charts and #19 on the U.S. R&B charts on the strength of its catchy hook, sung over a sample of the Teddy Pendergrass song "Love TKO." It was the first single off his first and only album, Ahmad. A remix of "Back in the Day" is featured on the soundtrack of The Wood, a 1999 motion picture. Ahmad secured his first recording contract while still a senior in high school and promptly earned a gold record for his chart-topping hit.

A second album was recorded for Revolution Records—a sub-label of Giant Records—but it was unreleased and he was dropped from the label. In 2002, Ahmad formed a band called 4th Avenue Jones, a collective with a sound he dubbed hiprocksoul. 4AJ secured a recording contract with Interscope Records, through Ahmad's imprint Lookalive Records. He has toured extensively as a solo artist and as a member of 4th Avenue Jones, visiting such places as the Netherlands, the U.K., Canada, Sweden, Denmark, and Zimbabwe.

Additionally, Ahmad has written, extensively, for other artists. Leela James recorded the Ahmad penned single "Mistreating Me" on her LP "A Change Is Gonna Come." Also, more recently, his song "Back in the Day" was interpolated by The Dream & Mariah Carey for use on her song "Candy Bling," featured on her 2009 Island records release "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel."

Wanting to provide a more stable environment for his toddler son Yeshuwa, Ahmad enrolled at Long Beach City College and graduated as valedictorian, with a 4.0 grade-point average. He was accepted as a transfer student by several universities for the fall of 2008 and chose Stanford University. Ahmad is a 2008 recipient of the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship, the largest private scholarship for two-year and community college transfer students in the country. [1]

Ahmad's transition from hip-hop artist to scholar has not gone unnoticed; in fact, his story was featured in the November 2009 issue of XXL magazine, and on the front-page of the Los Angeles Times.

Ahmad recently formed a new music company called WeCLAP, an acronym for We Change Lives, Attitudes and Perceptions. WeCLAP has agreed to allow its label content to be digitally distributed through Syntax Distribution a division of Quality Junk, LLC, a firm based in San Diego, California. Ahmad's highly anticipated sophomore solo project, The Death of Me, will be the first WeCLAP release.

In support of his forthcoming release, Ahmad is hosting a DJ Far mixtape titled Western Conference All-Stars. The project includes 100 of the best emcees on the West Coast. Ahmad contributed three freestyles to the project. The mixtape was released globally in mid-September. A video performance clip for Ahmad's freestyles is forthcoming.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Solo
  • 1993: Ahmad (Giant/Reprise/Warner Bros. Records)
  • 2010: "The Death of Me" (WeCLAP)
With 4th Avenue Jones
  • 2005: Stereo: The Evolution of Hiprocksoul (Lookalive/Gotee/EMI Records)
  • 2004: "Respect" (Lookalive Records)
  • 2003: "Hiprocksoul" (Lookalive Records)
  • 2002: "Gumbo" (Lookalive Records)
  • 2002: No Plan B pt. 2 (Lookalive/Interscope Records)
  • 2000: No Plan B (Lookalive Records)

[edit] Singles

With 4th Avenue Jones:

  • 2005: "Stereo"
  • 2002: "Move On"
  • 2000: "Respect"

Videos:

  • 2005: "Stereo"
  • 2002: "Move On"
  • 2001: "Respect"
  • 1996: "Come Widdit'"
  • 1994: "You Gotta Be"
  • 1994: "Back In The Day"

[edit] Appearances

  • 1994: "Come Widdit" feat. Ras Kass, Saafir (from Street Fighter" (soundtrack))
  • 1995: "Only If You Want It" (from Pump Ya Fist)
  • 1999: "Back in the Day (Remix)" (from The Wood" (soundtrack))
  • 1999: "The Guest List" (from Something For Everyone To Hate" (Sackcloth Fashion album))
  • 2000: "Fresh Coast" (from Dust" (Sup The Chemist album))
  • 2004: "Give It Here" feat. Pep Love (from All Balls Don't Bounce" revisited (2LP) (Aceyalone album)
  • 2006: "Hard Hit" (from The Movement" (D.I.T.C. album)
  • 2006: "Fight Here" feat. Afrobots, DJ Vajra (from 5 Sparrows For 2 Cents" (The Procussions album))
  • 2006: "More" (from Pro Pain" (Mars ILL album))

[edit] References

  1. ^ Jack Kent Cooke Foundation - Ahmad Ali Lewis isn't a Typical Stanford Undergrad - Nor is he a Typical Rapper

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_(rapper)"