Britt Fairchild / Features Writer | Posted: Saturday, January 15, 2005 12:00 am
Iyayi Orhue Amayo doesn/t want the next hottest rap single, or best-selling album.
His goal is much more historic than that.
"I feel I/m part of a new era," said the San Luis Obispo emcee. "Ever since (rapper) Tupac/s (Shakur) death, it seems like the West Coast rap scene has gradually fallen apart. I feel I was put here to help resurrect the West."
Amayo/s debut solo album, "The Renaissance" 77 which went on sale Friday and was independently produced 77 is his first major contribution to the revolution.
Central Coast fans will no doubt recognize on this album Amayo/s wit, energy and delivery from both previous individual and group projects.
At just 21, the Cuesta College student has already performed at several venues in San Luis Obispo County, including SLO Brew, the SLO Veterans Hall and the Pozo Saloon. In February 2002, he opened for Grammy-nominated artist Nelly Furtado at the Cal Poly Rec Center. The following year, he opened for KRS-One and Too Short, among others.
Several of his first performances were with the local group, Danjarus Syndicate.
Since foraging out on his own, though, Amayo said he/s strived to diversify his sound and style, while maintaining the flow and humor he/s known for.
His transformation and maturation 77 with help from multiple producers and rappers including the group The Cathedral 77 is clearly lyrically displayed on "The Renaissance," which follows the previous release of three compilation albums and five mixtapes.
The politically-charged single, "Dear Mr. President," focuses on President Bush, his actions after the events of Sept. 11, and the influence he has on people. That, coupled with the fact that he had visited New York about a month before the tragedy, inspired him to write the song, he said.
"He definitely knew it was going to happen," Amayo said of Bush. "He could have prevented 9/11."
Locally, Amayo has gained a following, thanks in part to the DJs at Santa Maria/s 95.7 The Beat and Wild 106 and San Luis Obispo/s Sly 96, who have played a couple of songs from the album.
The Los Angeles native said he hopes the album will help demonstrate that West Coast rappers have as much lyrical talent as those from the East Coast 77 the two coasts have long rivaled each other 77 and other regions of the nation.
"We/re bringing it just like everybody else is bringing it," he said.
Describing the popularity of rap music as cyclical, he said many of the artists currently attracting attention hail from the south, such as Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, from Georgia.
"It/s definitely a rotation," Amayo said. "It/s coming back (to the West) right now."
The rise in rappers such as The Game, show that the spotlight is beginning to shine again on this coast, he said.
In just the few years of Amayo/s burgeoning career, several in the industry, including The Neptunes, Snoop Dog and Cam/Ron have heard Amayo on the mic. They/ve apparently liked what they/ve heard.
Amayo/s penchant for punch lines led Cam/Ron to name him "one of the illest metaphoric emcees."
His valued advice to Amayo: "/Don/t give em all your good stuff fresh off./"
Amayo took that advice and has started spreading out his punch lines throughout the entire song instead of cramming them all in one line.
Adding that almost all of the currently popular West Coast rappers, many of whom have inspired him 77 Snoop Dog, Dr. Dre and Tupac among others (people whose albums with explicit lyrics he admitted his grandma would buy for him since he was too young ) 77 came out in the 1990s, Amayo also hopes his work will help alter the preconceived notion that all west coast rap is gansta.
"I don/t want people to think rap is all negative. I/m trying to bring a positiveness to it," he said, describing the music genre as a "boiling pot."
"It incorporates everything 77 blues, jazz, funk, rock."
That said, he willingly admitted that some rap focuses tirelessly on the same subjects.
Violence, for example, is often used without purpose or meaning, he said.
In his songs, rather, where he does talk about violence, he said, it is his attempt to "show the effects of violence on the community."
As an artist, he feels his experiences as an African American with Nigerian ancestry, and a college student who lived in South Central growing up, helps him relate to many different people on different levels through his music.
Even with his successes and accomplishments, Amayo understands he won/t become the next rap star overnight.
"This is an industry where you have to be aggressive," he said. "It/s basically about you being hungry until the right person hears you."
Along with local publicity and a recent trip to New York to personally promote "The Renaissance," Amayo continues efforts to book shows in L.A. and the Bay Area, as well as performing in the area and networking with those in the business.
Personable and as articulate off the mic as he is on, it/s difficult to believe that the L.A. native used to fear rapping in front of others.
Although he started rapping in 1996, during his freshman year at Westchester High School in Southern California, it wasn/t until he was a student at San Luis Obispo High School 77 he moved to SLO when he was 16 77 that he performed publicly and gained the confidence he exhibits today.
One day at lunch, another student challenged him to a freestyling battle.
What seemed like the entire school stayed to watch 77 students as well as staff 77 he said, and they were late to their next classes.
"That was my first taste of performing," he said, noting a clear winner was never really decided.
But it gave Amayo just the boost he needed.
"That/s when I knew I was good," he said.
Encouragement from family has been a constant source of support in pursuing his dream, Amayo added.
Majoring in business at Cuesta, with just a few more months to go, Amayo said he plans to go to Cal State Dominguez Hills to finish college.
But, he noted, he might take a year off between to pursue his music.
"My parents always told me to have a plan A and a plan B," he said, noting he understands the importance of a college education. "Nobody can take that away from you."
* Staff writer Britt Fairchild can be reached at 739-2220 or by e-mail at bfairchild@pulitzer.net.
Jan. 2, 2005