Abbas Hamad (born the 27th of May, 1987), better known by his stage name Bas, is a Sudanese artist from Queens, New York. With a diplomat father, Bas traveled around a lot as a kid getting an international experience of music and culture. Bas is signed by J. Cole’s Dreamville Records and Interscope Records.
His music career peaked in early 2011; however, his first studio album, “Last Winter”, was released on the 29th of April, 2014, followed by his second studio album, “Too High to Riot”. Bas has been very vocal through his music in his support of the Sudan uprising. Like many African artists, Bas has had an enormous impact on Sudan’s younger generations through his music and song lyrics. With the past and current political situation, rap in Sudan has become the perfect tool in supporting the revolution while telling its stories of resilience.
His latest song, “Jollof Rice feat. EarthGang” talks about the African continent and knowledge of the African culture. It also signifies the importance of African Men showing their ode to African women through advocating for certain cultural practices, dishes, and charms. The music video is vibrant, colorful, and incorporates festively dressed models, generating a fashion runway theme with old-school film edits. This style of the music video is unique. However, it has continued to be favored by younger viewers who urge to connect back to the early 90s and late 80s.
Bas is known as confident and seductive in his music videos and song lyrics, thus attracting young viewers from all over the world. However, the song discusses Bas’s and Earthgangs’s preference of one-night stands through styles that illustrate to fit anything combining modernity and early 90’s theme. The lyrics “My loyalty to my options I’m a stay free, granddaddy used to pick cotton” talks specifically about his African culture and how far they have come. Thus, the combination of seductive with confidence comes off very quickly.
Despite the cultural difference between Bas and J. Cole, their style of writing and wrapping is very similar. Bas has a primary Sudanese audience that uses his music for political matters to raise awareness against the government. Nevertheless, anyone who listens to Bas’s songs can relate and identify as inclusive and international.
Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/bas/?hl=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FiendBassy/
Other Links: https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/best-sudanese-rappers
Leave a Reply