siege

In today’s music industry an artist needs to be just as sharp with their hustle as they are with their artistry. Siege understands this all too well and has spent every waking moment on his grind from as far back as he can remember. Maybe that’s why his production credits not only include Hip Hop veterans like Freeway (Rocafella Records) and Akon’s newest find Gypsy Stokes (Konvict/Interscope), but also spill out into film (Scary Movie 3 and Raising Helen) and TV (CSI Miami, The Bernie Mac Show, ER, The Shield, Yo Mama, and many more).



Such a diverse portfolio might be enough for most producers, but not Siege. He also makes up half the rap duo, Aman, the independently released success that found an international fan base when the Punjabi laden, up-tempo single “All Around the World” climbed its way to the top of BBC Radio and stayed there for weeks on end.



What’s the secret to such profound success? Good music? Definitely. An almost religious fan base? Perhaps. The real key, however, is putting out music that can bang like anything the major labels have to offer. Achieving that depends largely on brilliant production, a la Siege.



You’ll definitely enjoy listening to the diverse compositions littered throughout Aman’s latest album titled “8.19.” You’ll be surprised to read in the liner notes that all tracks credit just one producer, S. Zaheer, aka Siege. Most comfortable behind an array of keyboards, synths, rack mounted sound modules, and stacks of records, Siege is the kind of musician you want to fall in love with. “8.19” gives you 13 reasons why. Never classically trained and unable to read sheet music, Siege developed his skills by ear – a passionate style of learning that tends to produce the most innovative and profound artists history offers, musical or otherwise.



Starting out at age six on his father’s organ and graduating incrementally to better equipment, Siege equates his sonic progression to that of a painter learning to paint with just a few colors at a time before finally mastering the whole spectrum. “It was like a pair of fresh J’s for most other dudes but my life is music ,” says Siege with a smile on his face. “Each new sound module or keyboard I copped, man that feeling is unforgettable. It’s like all of a sudden you have more ways to express yourself.” Jokingly he adds, “I didn’t really have a choice man, my older brother Amaar stayed in the booth and he wouldn’t let me eat until I knocked out a track for him.” Here’s to hoping the starvation trend continues as Siege brings his music to the open market in 2008 on Green Skye Productions.



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Aman f Freeway & Gyspy Stokes - Can't Shed a Tear