Tag: Aaron Cohen

A true abrasive MC that spits vicious, blunt thoughts over progressive, psychedelic sounds isn’t easy to find in today’s hip-hop industry.

This week’s Indie Pick of the Week, Aaron Cohen, possesses that aggressive, dark format with vocals that exude his gut-wrenching visions and lyrics that would make the average man cringe.

Cohen, has been “seriously” making music for roughly four years. As a kid he listened to a lot of rap and hip-hop music and recalls the one day he began to write his own lyrics.

“I just kind of became obsessed with putting lyrics over music. Whether it’s rapping or singing or whatever, if I hear an instrumental that I like, I just automatically start making up a song to go with it,” he said in an email. “Before that I was rapping, but just for fun, messing around with my friends.”

Cohen was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, but moved to New York City after he graduated from high school. It was in NYC where he began to go “hard” with the rapping and started putting out projects with clothing line, Mishka and Mass Appeal.

The road to success hasn’t been an easy one for Cohen, whom has been dead broke, apartment-less and jobless. Through all the adversity he has continued to stay motivated and continued to work on his craft as an artist.

“I would never complain about any of that stuff because I made a choice to enter a difficult field. I get to do what I love everyday and it’s starting to progress into something bigger than most people thought it would,” he said.

Living in New York City has really opened his eye to different realms of motivation and inspired him to go even harder in the booth.

“There’s a lot of different cultures meshed together, a lot of influences to draw from,” he said. “I have to be walking or moving when I work. I’ve been like that since I was a kid, my brain doesn’t work when I’m sitting still.”

Staying on the move is definitely something he does. He recently returned to the states after doing a promo run in France for his forthcoming EP, “Off the Ground,” which is slated to be released in March.

“My next EP, entitled “Off The Ground” is the best music I’ve made by far,” he said. “I really took my time with this project and let the sound develop naturally. Kemal produced the whole thing, so it’s got a more cohesive feel than any of my previous work.”

He credits his producer, Kemal, for being patient with him, as he says he’s very picky when it comes to beats and likes one of every hundred beats he listens to.

“Kemal cooked up some serious fire for this project, trust me,” he exclaimed. “The songs are a mix of really aggressive production and melodic hooks. The project really represents where I am right now as a person, a blend of hunger and gratitude.”

Melodic is what makes his sound different from other rappers in his opinion. He feels that Kemal’s progressive production and his strong lyrics is a knockout combination that is rare these days.

His newest single, “Psychic,” was released this week via Mishka Clothing.

Listen to it here:

The single is about staying focused, specifically on the vision in his mind, while blocking out negativity from the outside world to fully visualize his destiny.

“I just heard the beat and to me it sounded like, “get out of my face, I’m in my zone contemplating shit,” he said. 

When asked who he would work with, if he could work with anybody in the industry, he mentioned Kanye West, as a producer and a rapper.

“Very few things have had a bigger impact on me than music from artists I love,” he said. “I don’t know exactly what’s next in my life, but I know if my music keeps getting better, things are going to be good.”

WRITTEN BY: BRYAN MELARA – @beeroxx90