As someone who has been into hip hop since it’s beginning, it is always interesting to see where different styles come from. Us OG’s, tend to complain about the direction the culture going. Sometimes, I feel the criticism is justified. On the other hand, with today’s technology, people who are true to the art are getting out here making noise pushing the culture forward independently too.
One of these artists I see pushing the culture forward is Akbar Walks. When I hear his music, I hear Ultramagnetic MC’s, Native Tongues and the Eastside Chedda Boyz. He is a relatively young man, so I don’t know if these artists are directly his influences, but maybe the artists that influenced him were influenced by artists who were influenced by these artists. What I’m saying is the roots to his style comes from these artists and the mashup of styles makes for a very interesting and entertaining combination.
Akbar has a unique stream of consciousness rhyme style. He doesn’t stick to the norm. You can’t anticipate what he’s going to say next. His style is very original and creative. At the same time, you can hear the Detroit in everything he does. When I say Detroit, I don’t mean “open mic” Detroit. I mean the Detroit you hear blasting from cars in the streets.
What I am most impressed with about Akbar Walks is his grind. This is why I believe this guy is destined for greatness. When I met him and he said he made music, hip hop music, my expectations were low. That was nothing against him. When you have been around as long as I have, you have heard that millions of times. Most of the time you don’t hear anything worth listening to. But, when I visited his YouTube channel, I saw a whole lot of independently produced songs and videos. All of them were as creative visually as they were musically. When I checked his social media, I saw him going live, giving speeches,etc. He’s all over the place. The bottom line is, he is putting in the work. What I’ve learned over the years is that the hustle is what brings success in business. Akbar Walks has the artistic merit and hustle to make it big in the music business. Check him out on YouTube @AkbarWalks and on [email protected] and you will see what I’m talking about.
Watch “Ben Simmons” by Akbar Walks in the player below. Watch more videos by Akbar Walks on YouTube @AkbarWalks.
Sample “Insurance Money” by Akbar Walks on Spotify in the player below.
