The West Coast is the home to so many talented rappers on the come-up and one of them is the Iranian/American story-telling lyricist Azad Right. As the son of well-known blind poet Majid Naficy and trained in classical music, Azad has been putting his creativity to use since early childhood and has brought that creative mind over to his career as a Hip-Hop artist. After a period of paying dues, learning, making mistakes and witnessing the advancement of his peers, Azad seems like he’s ready to take that next step in his career. With poetry flowing through his veins and a unique story to tell, AllHipHop.com sat down with the young gifted writer so that you can learn more about him. Ladies and Gentlemen, here’s Azad Right. How did the art of Hip-Hop become a part of your life? I lived in Venice, CA and grew up listening to Eminem, Dr. Dre and Nas. Those were my three introductions to Hip-Hop. I was surrounded by people that weren’t in to the inner-city lifestyle. I never took part in gangbanging but I could relate to the street poetry of Nas. With Eminem, I would print out these lyric sheets and highlight the patterns – the schemes were so intricate. At first, it didn’t make sense how he would rhyme something on bar one and come back around on bar four, so I highlighted it and wondered how I could get my stuff to sound like this. I spent the better half of my teenage years trying to master the multi-syllable compound rhymes. My mom’s boyfriend, R.I.P, would play 2Pac in the car and that also gave me an introduction to the culture. Around my high school years, I took it seriously and would go to open mic events and the Fairfax Poetry Lounge. I saw the come-up of a lot of the artists out here that are now on a high level. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xqf_f0AclY&w=560&h=315] Was there any clash between your Iranian culture and Hip-Hop? Just to give you a little background information on my family, my parents have both been politically active with beliefs that did not exactly line up with the Iranian government. My father never imposed anything on me but my environment caused me to think the way that I think. My Culture itself probably clashes with Hip-Hop but my parents are very open-minded. I grew up in Venice. My producer, who I grew up with, is Guatemalan and Puerto Rican. My other friends were white and black. The Iranian Culture came when I started putting music out they felt like they could relate to me because I’m doing what they have always wanted to do but they got f*cked over doing what they’re parents wanted for them. A lot have told me that they have a voice now because of me. Do you get any backlash at all? It’s been overwhelmingly supportive. I’m sure there are people that say things behind closed doors, but I don’t care. I love what I’m doing. I’m not where I want to be yet but I’m having a great time doing it. If you like it, then you like it. If you don’t, I don’t know about it. Your father is a blind poet? Yes and he is the single most influential person in my life. He inspires the passion for what I do. When I was younger I would go to shows all around the world with him. I would watch the reaction that people had to his writing. All walks of life are touched by his stories. He’s followed his dreams his entire life without sacrificing an ounce of integrity. He told me that whatever I do in life, as long as I do it one hundred percent, nothing else will matter. Actions speak louder than words. A lot of people say that sh*t but he’s really walking that path. Do you have a favorite poem of his that stands out to you? Yes I do, it’s actually a collection of poems that was dedicated to me called, “Father and Son.” There’s so many more too. The trials and tribulations that this man endured is – I don’t think even he’s at peace with it all. I still think that there’s a lot more that he wants to get done in his life. It’s inspiring to see someone who’s been at it for so long, still have a hunger and a desire to do more. Seeing him work on his poetry must have gotten you started at a young age. My mom just showed me a video of when I was 4 years old, sitting on a piano stool, writing journals. The journals were taken to Kinko’s to be copied and I would sell them out to family members on holidays. I was low-key getting my entrepreneur and writing skills going. When did you start to feel that your writing skills were really developing? I got expelled in High School because of a record that I participated in putting out which dissed a local gang that kept jumping my homies. Fortunately they let me come back after I completed an independent study to graduate with my class and go to Prom. There were 4 of us and one of them, whose name I won’t reveal, is in the NFL right now. Another is an MC from Los Angeles who is starting to do well right now. Looking back on that, we’ve all come a long way. I quit rapping for a while after that because I blamed rap and the Hip-Hop culture for getting me in to that situation, as opposed to blaming myself for being a f*cking idiot for doing that. I didn’t even know the people I was dissing. I was going off of what other people had told me. I felt like an a**hole after that and I had months and months to reflect on it. My parents wanted to move because I was getting threats from all […]