Ahmad (rapper)
Encyclopedia
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 Christian hip hop group 4th Avenue Jones
.
, sung over a sample of the Teddy Pendergrass
song "Love TKO." It also reached #64 in the UK Singles Chart
. It was the first single off his first album, Ahmad
. The remix of "Back in the Day" is also 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. Ahmad later formed a hip-hop fusion 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 France, Germany, Mexico, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, the Netherlands, the UK, Canada, Sweden, Denmark and Zimbabwe.
Fast-forward 10 years, and after a brief hiatus from rap to focus on academia, Ahmad graduated from Stanford University
with a degree in Sociology. Says Ahmad, “I wanted to know what I should have known.” Ahmad was accepted to Stanford after graduating valedictorian from Long Beach City College and receiving the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship, the largest private scholarship for two-year college transfer students in the country. His transition from rapper to scholar did not go unnoticed; his story was featured in XXL magazine, and on the front-page of the Los Angeles Times
.
An accomplished songwriter, Ahmad penned the soul ballad "Mistreating Me" on Leela James
' debut album, A Change Is Gonna Come. "Back in the Day" has been interpolated by The Dream and Mariah Carey on Candy Bling, and by Travie McCoy
on "Akidagain," a song featured on his solo album, Lazarus.
Ahmad's next album, The Death of Me, was released in August 2010. The album featured guest appearances by Crooked I of the Shady Records group Slaughterhouse and Living Legends. The Death of Me is the first project for Ahmad and his wife Trinity's company WeCLAP (We Change Lives, Attitudes and Perceptions). In support of The Death of Me, Ahmad hosted 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 and a first-of-its-kind "VIDEOmixtape" (a 9-minute short film capturing performances of the freestyles, directed by Justin Purser) was released in mid-December.
With 4th Avenue Jones:
With 4th Avenue Jones:
Videos:
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
emcee
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
. Credited simply as Ahmad, he is best known for the 1994 single "Back in the Day
Back in the Day (Ahmad song)
"Back in the Day" is a 1994 West Coast hip hop single by Ahmad. Released when Ahmad was only 18, the song is a nostalgic remembrance of childhood and young teenage years, from a somewhat jaded adult perspective...
," a nostalgic song that became a signifier for nostalgia in hip-hop culture.
Ahmad is also a member of the Christian hip hop group 4th Avenue Jones
4th Avenue Jones
4th Avenue Jones is a Christian American hip hop band based in Los Angeles, California. Their name comes from the last name of founding members Ahmad and Tena Jones , and the street where they lived in South Central Los Angeles when they began their rehearsals.-The Interscope Years:4th Avenue Jones...
.
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" the remix version (produced by Maurice Thompson & Jay Williams of Barr 9 Productions) hit #26 on the US pop charts and #19 on the U.S. R&B charts on the strength of its catchy hookHook (music)
A hook is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener". The term generally applies to popular music, especially rock music, hip hop, dance music, and pop. In these genres, the hook is often...
, sung over a sample of the Teddy Pendergrass
Teddy Pendergrass
Theodore DeReese "Teddy" Pendergrass was an American R&B/soul singer and songwriter. Pendergrass first rose to fame as lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes in the 1970s before a successful solo career at the end of the decade...
song "Love TKO." It also reached #64 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. It was the first single off his first album, Ahmad
Ahmad (album)
Ahmad is the self titled debut album by Ahmad.-Track listing:#"Freak"#"Back in the Day"#"Touch the Ceiling"#"The Jones'"#"Can I Party?"#"You Gotta Be..."#"We Want the Funk"#"The Palladium"#"Homeboys First"#"Ordinary People"...
. The remix of "Back in the Day" is also featured on the soundtrack of The Wood
The Wood
The Wood is a 1999 romantic comedy, written by Rick Famuyiwa and Todd Boyd. Famuyiwa also directed the film, which stars Omar Epps, Richard T. Jones, and Taye Diggs.-Plot:...
, 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
Revolution Records
Revolution Records was a record label that was launched in 1996 as a subsidiary of Giant Records. Brian Wilson signed on the label.There was also an earlier label 'Revolution Records', an English distributor of RCA recordings, based at 490A Old Kent Road, London S.E.1, on which various classical...
—a sub-label of Giant Records—but it was unreleased and he was dropped from the label. Ahmad later formed a hip-hop fusion band called 4th Avenue Jones, a collective with a sound he dubbed hiprocksoul. 4AJ secured a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with Interscope Records
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...
, 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 France, Germany, Mexico, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, the Netherlands, the UK, Canada, Sweden, Denmark and Zimbabwe.
Fast-forward 10 years, and after a brief hiatus from rap to focus on academia, Ahmad graduated from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
with a degree in Sociology. Says Ahmad, “I wanted to know what I should have known.” Ahmad was accepted to Stanford after graduating valedictorian from Long Beach City College and receiving the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship, the largest private scholarship for two-year college transfer students in the country. His transition from rapper to scholar did not go unnoticed; his story was featured in XXL magazine, and on the front-page of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
.
An accomplished songwriter, Ahmad penned the soul ballad "Mistreating Me" on Leela James
Leela James
Leela James is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter. James cites singers James Brown, Roberta Flack, Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway, Gladys Knight, Mavis Staples, and Stevie Wonder as her influences...
' debut album, A Change Is Gonna Come. "Back in the Day" has been interpolated by The Dream and Mariah Carey on Candy Bling, and by Travie McCoy
Travie McCoy
Travie Lazarus McCoy is an American singer and rapper. He is the lead vocalist of the alternative hip-hop band Gym Class Heroes. He released his debut solo album Lazarus on June 8, 2010....
on "Akidagain," a song featured on his solo album, Lazarus.
Ahmad's next album, The Death of Me, was released in August 2010. The album featured guest appearances by Crooked I of the Shady Records group Slaughterhouse and Living Legends. The Death of Me is the first project for Ahmad and his wife Trinity's company WeCLAP (We Change Lives, Attitudes and Perceptions). In support of The Death of Me, Ahmad hosted 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 and a first-of-its-kind "VIDEOmixtape" (a 9-minute short film capturing performances of the freestyles, directed by Justin Purser) was released in mid-December.
Albums
Solo- 1994: AhmadAhmad (album)Ahmad is the self titled debut album by Ahmad.-Track listing:#"Freak"#"Back in the Day"#"Touch the Ceiling"#"The Jones'"#"Can I Party?"#"You Gotta Be..."#"We Want the Funk"#"The Palladium"#"Homeboys First"#"Ordinary People"...
(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)
Singles
- 1994: "Back in the DayBack in the Day (Ahmad song)"Back in the Day" is a 1994 West Coast hip hop single by Ahmad. Released when Ahmad was only 18, the song is a nostalgic remembrance of childhood and young teenage years, from a somewhat jaded adult perspective...
" (US #26; UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#64)
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"
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))
External links
- http://www.poemhunter.com/lyrics/ahmad/biography/ Ahmad at PoemHunter.com
- http://articles.latimes.com/2008/aug/19/local/me-ahmad19
- http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2009/janfeb/farm/news/rap.html
- http://allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2009/03/05/20930202.aspx
- http://www.jkcf.org/news-knowledge/media-coverage/ahmad-ali-lewis-isnt-a-typical-stanford-undergrad-nor-is-he-a-typical-rapper/