Last January, Hoosh released the very colourful and contrasting visuals to his morose Song ‘Nights’, a remarkably intimate and introspective track that seemed to encapsulate what many of us are going through at the moment. Forcibly enough, the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered the need for many of us to take a step back and reflect upon ourselves - a sentiment that Hoosh has tried to further capture through the release of his latest EP Everything is Going to be Alright last month.
Virtuously filling the void between rap and singing, Hoosh is hitting the nail on the head by bridging the seemingly immense gap between both genres which only makes hip-hop culture ever-so versatile. Since his last release, Hoosh has managed to channel his own demons into suave yet compelling ballads, clear evidence of his ability to weather his own storms like no other. Describing his newest project as “an immensely personal debut EP,” the U.S.-based rapper showcases most of his thoughts and reflections around his artistic endeavours between the vices, flaws, and fears surrounding his career within the musical and entertainment industry.
Yassine Hariss: To begin, what’s a word you would use to capture your experiences over this recent chapter?
Hoosh: It’s all surreal to be honest. That’s the main word that comes to my mind when thinking about the past few months. I had never built a project as such until this point in time. It felt like something I was going to get to at some point, sooner or later, but I didn't know that this year would be the year where I was going to get it done nor the year where things would pan out the way they did.
YH: Could you elaborate on what your project ultimately seeks to capture, or a message you hope to convey?
Hoosh: A lot of time and effort went into ensuring that this project was an accurate description of where I was at the time. From top to bottom every track is heavily-rooted into a lot of personal experiences and their subsequent lessons. This project was constructed to fit a certain theme. From the lyrics to the beats and the songs, everything flows together seamlessly with a sentimental feel to drive the mood home. Everything released before were just singles, not bound to anything bigger as they were not meant to fit anywhere specific or particular. I’ve just been praying for it to be received as a complete and coherent project and for that reason it was important for it to get it out and move onto more exciting stuff.
YH: What was the logic behind the artistic process of looking introspectively and embracing your emotional experiences?
Hoosh: Having managed to open myself up through this project feels like a huge weight off my chest, almost as if I had let go of some past baggage. It was necessary to go through this step and pour my heart out, or else the pain I’ve experienced, and still experiencing, would be in vain. I feel like everything happens for a reason and instead of allowing these hardships to take over you, why not also use any creative outlet you have, which in my case is music and songwriting, to turn these burdens into something beautiful as opposed to losing that energy. At the end of the day if someone is going through similar stuff and they hear your song and manage to connect with it - the service for me is already done.
With that being said, I do feel better although I still sometimes get flashes of the feelings painted in the project. Not everyday is the same and to be honest I still battle with most of the stuff mentioned. It's not really something that was specific to the time. But Alhamdulillah, I can't complain as I do feel very blessed to be surrounded by people that hold me down and that can provide the guidance and direction needed when I can’t see for myself. At this point, I just want to keep on trying to learn more about myself and how to deal with myself while also channeling it through music. I feel like I have been tapping into different inspirations and making different kinds of music because of that. I’m just super excited to drive new singles again and keep expanding on production as well as my overall abilities.
YH: Finally, when you look towards the future, what’s next for your music?
Hoosh: I don’t even feel like I have even started yet, I’m just growing my hunger and will to take my music capabilities to the furthest extent - because music is above everything else for me.
