My name is Iras and I'm an African rap lyricist, composer & storyteller.
I've been trying to shape my cosmos for years now and this website is the result of those years. There's a lot of things on this website defining who I am (my music, my label, etc) and I hope you'll take the time to see it all before you pass any judgments.
I've baptized this website Iras World because the things that define me as a rap storyteller can not be retrenched to my music. Where I came from, who I am as an artist, what my goals are, what my hopes might be and so on, are also part of my world. I'm offering y'all my entire universe and that is the sole purpose of this website, not just the sharing of my musical entity.
I don't want to sound pretentious by saying that I have a gift but if that was to be the case, I think that gift wouldn't belong to me but to the world which acknowledged it. That is why I have to give the latter back to that same world for free.
Ergo my entire discography will be available for FREE on different platforms (iTunes, Iras World, etc) because :
My cosmos is mere free so spread it like a spree
I know it could be construed as unrealistic, especially if a label expresses an interest in signing me. Since I'm obsessed with my eventual legacy after I'm gone, merely like most politicians, it entices me to try to do things differently. Indeed, very few artists would start their career by thinking of the end of the latter hence, most would live in the moment by enjoying every second of it.
As far as I'm concerned I can't afford that, so I think ahead so as to have enough time to share my entire vision. You'll understand why by trying to figure out who I am. In any case I'll do my best to stick to my principles even if it means being a pariah !
Nowadays it's all about making money quickly or at least feigning to make it. However let's not be damn vain by being a hypocrite here. Every artists on this earth secretly dreams of fame, money, surfing on the top of the charts or any other ways the music business quantifies success. It's sad but these days it's merely the only way to let people know if they're good or not.
So when I say "successful" I'm talking about the concept the entertainment industry defined years ago by quantifying success with money quotas and/or selling ratios.
Quantifying art is hard to characterize since it's a subjective matter and the audience is known to be perviously dumb most of the time. But since I don't plan on selling my art therefore the commercial aspect is out of the equation.
I don't and I won't pretend that I do create some amazing materials, not at all. I'm just a fan who got few skills and try to keep doing what he loves. In a way you could summarize my style with one word : peculiar ! That is so, because I'm a storyteller merely like a lot of my African forefathers.
Ergo the songs I craft don't emphasize the following topics : "partying, girls, cars, the project, the street, pimping, hustling, having or making money, smoking weed, ego trips, etc."
I'd rather create characters, their psyches & thence put them in motion through stories which will be subsequently translated into songs. Thus, if I want to talk about pain (for example), I'll create a character who'll be feeling that emotion instead of just talking about it in an absolute manner.
On another note I have other zeals than music & I'm gonna talk about those passions and everything I deem worth sharing with y'all in my blog.
I've syndicated the latter so if you'd like to read my blog entries on the go through an RSS feed reader you'll find on the left a link that'll help you achieve that goal.
I was born and raised as a catholic but as I was growing up and educating myself I started to feel disgusted with the catholic church because of the crusades, the lies, the murders, the cover ups....
Hence if you ask me today whether I'm a religious man or not, I will answer that I do believe in God but not in a religious entity anymore. They have too much blood on their hands and not enough love, understanding and compassion in their hearts. Those thoughts on religions, the world & on philosophy are going to be in my blog as well.
As you delve into my cosmos you may notice that I wear a mask. The mask serves a lot of purposes nevertheless to sum it up I do so, every time I'm "Iras", because I'd like my art to get the spotlight while I (the man behind the mask) stay in the penumbra :
I, as an individual, do not matter only my art does
I know that time could be construed as transient ergo spending the latter in my neck of the wood could be perceived as dilatory. Therefore, because you took the time to read my words and listen to my craft I ought to thank you.
Then from the bottom of my heart thank y'all for what you might have done, for what you may do now or for what you might do so as to take my vision further.
