Fake For Real - Tag - Sameer AhmadThe English written companion of Fake For Real: since 1997, reviews and articles about rap music2024-03-11T20:40:46+01:00Sylvain Bertoturn:md5:a035ff44a020bb716e18191580d6e9ecDotclearSAMEER AHMAD - Tracy 168urn:md5:093f2a32720b342c657c0d766930c1da2023-07-17T22:41:00+02:002024-01-11T08:06:25+01:00codotusylvAlbums2023Bad Cop Bad CopFranceiHH RecordsMontpellierSameer Ahmad <p>Sahmeer Ahmad follows his route. Since the critical success of his <em>Perdants magnifiques</em> (magnificent losers) album in 2014, he's built quite a remarkable set of works. The last iteration of this is a short five-track EP destined to be the first half of his next album, and it confirms everything positive we already thought about the rapper based in Montpellier.</p>
<p><img src="https://english.fakeforreal.net/public/Pochettes/2023/sameer-ahamd-tracy-168.jpg" alt="SAMEER AHMAD - Tracy 168" class="media-center" title="SAMEER AHMAD - Tracy 168" /></p>
<p>Sahmeer Ahmad hits hard, as soon as with "NMJS" (an acronym for "ne mourez jamais seul": never die alone), a song that is typical of his style. On some aerial beats, and with an ethereal hook delivered by LK de l'Hôtel Moscou, the rapper shares some remembrances from his youth. This is some stream-of-consciousness, where words barely stick together, except for their assonances and double-entendres.</p>
<p>Here, reminiscences keep on piling up, while Sameer Ahmad associates pop culture with academical references…</p>
<blockquote><p>Les couv's de Radikal remplaçaient Gallimard</p></blockquote>
<blockquote><p>Radikal's covers replaced Gallimard</p></blockquote>
<p><em>Radikal used to be a French hip-hop magazine, while Editions Gallimard is a leading publisher in classic literature.</em></p>
<p>… or he mixes idols of his parents' generation with his own.</p>
<blockquote><p>Mum écoutait Dalida, j'écoutais Dany Dan</p></blockquote>
<blockquote><p>Mum listened to Dalida, I listened to Dany Dan</p></blockquote>
<p><em>Dalida was a chanson singer, Dany Dan is a French rapper.</em></p>
<p>Sameer Ahmad juggles with words. This is obvious, as soon as the "Chibani" song and its first ryhmes. But he does it organically. He doesn't bend the language artificially, as often with those pretending to be poets. And he is a true rapper, his art is all about punchlines, like that one on "Santeria":</p>
<blockquote><p>Premier sur l'indé comme Haïti</p></blockquote>
<blockquote><p>I am the first indie, like Haiti</p></blockquote>
<p><em>He claims he comes first among the independent rappers, like Haiti, the first French colony to gain its independence.</em></p>
<p>A while ago, Sameer Ahmad identified the core principles that make a record successful: disregard norms set by others; never deliver what you think they expect; just do your thing, just talk about yourself. That way, you can never be wrong.</p>
<p>As a matter of fact, what the EP displays is his own universe and experience. This is a cultural world made of rap music, movies, books, and TV programs. And it is so large that anyone can decrypt his words, especially the rap amateurs.</p>
<blockquote><p>C'est thug, c'est harmonique<br />
Et ça du cerveau jusqu'à l'os</p></blockquote>
<blockquote><p>It's thuggish, it's harmonic<br />
And the brain is as deep as the bone</p></blockquote>
<p><em>Of course, this refers to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.</em></p>
<blockquote><p>Je pense que le monde de demain c'est loin</p></blockquote>
<blockquote><p>I think that tomorrow's world is far away</p></blockquote>
<p><em>That one mixes two famous songs from French rap legends NTM and IAM: "Le monde de demain" ("Tomorrow's world"), and "Demain c'est loin" ("Tomorrow is far away").</em></p>
<p>Some other references can look abstruse. Until, while discovering some of them, the listener will eventually understand, and retrospectively reach a moment of ravishment.</p>
<p>Sameer Ahmad also shares his feelings and his sentiments, like on "Mars", the great melancholic song on the EP. And on "DMX", he testifies about his daily life as a musician:</p>
<blockquote><p>En classe éco, un train de vie d'artiste</p></blockquote>
<blockquote><p>In economy class, with my artist lifestyle</p></blockquote>
<p><em>In French, the word "lifestyle" translates into "train de vie" (train of life), hence Ahmad's allusion to the economy class.</em></p>
<p>The rapper of Iraqi descent also talks about his racialized identity on "Santeria", or about him being middle-aged, on "Chibani" ("old", in Maghrebi Arabic and French slang).</p>
<p>Sameer Ahmad was a teacher, in real life. However, even if he is a wordsmith, he knows that in hip-hop, music matters over lyrics. As a result, he leverages the right beats: ageless ones, with no specific style. His only goal is that they sound good, such as his words, so that they strengthen his erratic evocations. And they are so satisfactory that our only wish, after <em>Tracy 168</em>, is to discover the second half of the album.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://amzn.to/47CRM6Y" hreflang="en">Buy this album</a></strong></p>
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https://english.fakeforreal.net/index.php/post/2023/SAMEER-AHMAD-Tracy-168#comment-formhttps://english.fakeforreal.net/index.php/feed/atom/comments/3424SAMEER AHMAD - Apachesurn:md5:1de7c115762acf0bf554a051c9c3f24d2019-12-27T20:21:00+01:002023-01-13T18:03:31+01:00codotusylvAlbums2019Bad Cop Bad CopFranceMontpellierSameer Ahmad <p>Since his album <em>Perdants Magnifiques</em>, in 2014, Sameer Ahmad is praised by French critics, even though his career started much before this. He is less known than other rappers, but contrary to many of them, he rarely disappoints. His latest project, though, is even better. The guy from Montpellier worked hard on it. <em>Apaches</em> is short but dense, and it benefits from some crucial support. Others contributed to make it a beautiful item, such as illustrators Lasse Russe and Hector de la Vallée, as many producers as we have tracks, and a couple of rappers, LK de l'Hôtel Moscou and Nakk Mendosa. That being said, this album is primarily Ahmad's thing.</p>
<p><img src="https://english.fakeforreal.net/public/Pochettes/2019/sameer-ahmad-apaches.jpg" alt="SAMEER AHMAD - Apaches" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="SAMEER AHMAD - Apaches" /></p>
<p>On <em>Apaches</em>, he excels at his own kind of rap, one that evokes instead of telling, one that plays primarily with assonances and analogies. Listening to it is like hunting treasures. It is a journey, through a multitude of personal references, showing that Sameer Ahmad is an educated man – he is a teacher in real life – as well as a pop culture addict. He alludes to hip-hop heroes like Kool Herc, Tupac, Biggie, Wu-Tang Clan, Suge Knight, or André 3000, as well as other African American legends, such as Malcolm X or Iceberg Slim. He mentions Serge Gainsbourg twice, and he refers to the Bible, with words from the Book of Genesis, the Book of Ezekiel, the Last Supper, and the Crucifixion. His other hobby is cinema. He quotes several movies such as the expected Scarface and The Godfather, of course, but also <em>Apocalypse Now</em>, <em>The Scent of Green Papaya</em>, <em>Rocky</em>, <em>Planet of the Apes</em>, <em>Once Upon a Time in the West</em>, <em>A Bronx Tale</em>... This is a thick album, with lots of double meanings, and surprises and discoveries with each new listen.</p>
<p>Behind the Western movie theme, highlighted by an excerpt from <em>Little Big Man</em>, or a few Native American chants – on "Sitting Bull", and then "Safar", with a sample that sounds a lot like the beginning of The Breeders' "Cannonball" – the main subject matter shows through. This album is about Sameer Ahmad's own existence. It is about his life as a son of Iraq immigrated to France to escape Saddam Hussein's bloody regime. Behind the Apache, is the Arab. He talks a lot about the Middle East, and the cover of "Sitting Bull" shows his own father, after he was tortured. He is the boy who settled in the "nice country of Jacques Mesrine" (France's most legendary gangster) and became obsessed with America. The one who, on "Southside", draws a parallel between Outkast's Dirty South and Southern France, to signify he is a marginal rapper.</p>
<p>This album could have been the boring escapade in someone's abstruse and egotist world. However, to make it more appealing, the producers delivered first-class beats. These are made of some ecumenic and ageless music, with old-fashioned samples as well as trap music rhythms, that takes time before settling, through long instrumental intros and closings. This is full of smart ideas, like when John Cale's violin on "Venus in Furs", is recycled on "Papa Legba". Despite the many producers, the quality is constant, even though some highlights are to be noticed, like "Sitting Bull", "C.A.B", "Logos", and the conclusive and magnificent "H2O". There is absolutely no doubt, when <em>Apaches</em> ends, that Sameer Ahmad has delivered his masterpiece.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07S1DD396/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B07S1DD396&linkCode=as2&tag=fafore05-20" hreflang="en">Buy this album</a></strong></p>
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