“The exemplification of the Hip-Hop movement down to its core.” – The Smoking Section
“Fire!” – Vast Aire
Gruff-yet-dexterous emcee Gotta Be Karim loves the streets. “Not necessarily the killing streets, but the energy the streets give you,” he explains. “It makes you hungry.”
Few are hungrier than the St. Louis-born emcee, who recently settled in Atlanta and has impressed nearly every critic who has heard his work. Creative Loafing gave his new digital album 10,000 Apples four stars, calling it “energizing and intelligent” and him “a master of atmospheric, metaphor-heavy hip-hop.”
Karim’s 2008 “Bean Pie” EP was picked as one of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s top five albums of the year, and it was among venerable St. Louis record shop Vintage Vinyl’s top 50 sellers. The St. Louis American called him “One of St. Louis’ most well-respected lyricists.” Recently, Karim has played memorable shows at South By Southwest and CMJ, has performed with Detroit icon Royce da 5’9” and won kudos from Cannibal Ox’s Vast Aire.
Born Karim Hameed into a middle-class Muslim household, he has been hustling since he was a baby, working as a welder, at record stores, as a soda-bottler and for his parents’ flower store. The title 10,000 Apples comes from a memorable trip to Washington D.C. he made with his family in 1995 for the Million Man March.
“We got a U-Haul and a rental van, and went out there with 10,000 apples, 1,000 pastries and 1,000 bottles of water,” he remembers. The guy selling cheesesteak made a killing, but the Hameeds needed another week in town to unload their inventory. Still, it was a great family-bonding experience and a lesson well-learned. Says Karim: “10,000 Apples symbolizes the hustle.”
At 15, he became the youngest-ever poet selected for the 2001 National Poetry Slam in Rhode Island, but gave up the spoken word in favor of rapping and joined St. Louis’ influential Soul Tyde crew. There he collaborated with rising-star singers and emcees like Coultrain and Black Spade. Karim appeared on the latter’s Pitchfork-praised 2008 album To Serve With Love, and Spade also does the bulk of 10,000 Apples’ production. The pair are currently preparing Karim’s debut album, Bullets And Books, due out later this year on their independent music label Cobblestone Rock Music.
Though his influences include Jay-Z, Eminem and Pharoahe Monch, with his fierce, acrobatic flow, beard and Muslim background, Karim is often compared to Philadelphia rapper Freeway. His complex narrative structures and the fact that he doesn’t curse in his rhymes, however, give him a unique edge. “I like guys that go in rhyming,” Karim says. “This ain’t ’85! You’ve got to have something innovative about your flow. I can’t listen to an album unless the beats and the lyrics are touching me.”
“I’m not into hipster rap,” he adds. “I don’t like the image and tight pants, I’m not into that. If that’s what somebody wants to do, that’s on them, but that’s not me.”
With his powerful voice, great ear for beats and on-point messages, there’s no doubt you’re going to be hearing a lot from Gotta Be Karim this year.
