The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area has been known for its underground hip hop scene since the beginning of the genre. It still seems as hot as ever with the rising star Tayyib Ali. We had a chance to chat with the up and coming rapper and get into his mind. Enjoy the interview here:
Let’s start at the beginning, is Tayyib Ali your given name or something you came up with for your rap persona?
Tayyib Ali is my given name.
Philadelphia has always had a unique hip hop sound. How would you say Philly has influenced you?
Philly has influenced me to the maximum! We have so many artists who were basically famous in the city of Philadelphia but never known outside of the area. Those are the artist who made me wanna be a rapper, they were doing it when I was young. I’m very blessed to be from Philly, I couldn’t see myself being from anywhere else. There’s so much music history to go back and reflect on, it forces you to create great music and contribute to the sound of Philly.
Who are some of your musical influences?
Nas & Bone Thugs, I can’t think of any more off the top of my head.
Tell us about how a Tayyib Ali song comes together. What is the process?
I’m usually listening to a beat and it has to speak to me, the mood of the beat references a time or feeling in my life & that’s how the lyrics usually come, whether it takes an hour, 20 minutes or 20 days.
There is definitely something fresh in your sound. How would you describe it?
The Keystone (PA) Sound, when you put it on you know it’s that Yung Ali sound.
Looks like things are taking off lately with your signing with Steve Rifkind and working with Russell Simmons. What was that been like?
It’s been cool man, really a great platform for me to start on honestly. We only going up from here! Much love to them for believing in me, this wouldn’t be possible without them. I just recently started my own label ‘Keystone Records’
April 1st Tayyib Ali Released The Most High
Your new album “The Most High” was just released. Tell us about how that came to be?
Lately, I’ve been evolving into a better version of myself, and my last installment was a self-titled project “ALI” which I felt really stood out to me and my fans. So with this project, I wanted to contribute something that showed development or growth. My last name ALI means “HIGH” or THE MOST HIGH. So that’s how the name came about
The album is a full 22 tracks! How often are you writing songs?
I don’t even go out, it’s hard to not write songs when you basically LIVE in the studio haha. I’m writing songs every day when I’m working on a project, I take slight breaks after the project drops just to get a feel for real life again.
It seems you find inspiration in your locale with songs such as “In My City”, “P.A.”, and “Welcome To Philadelphia”. How has your hometown influenced your music?
I feel like every rapper feels a connection with his/her city, but it’s different for me. Philly is a special place and growing up there I never knew I would be making music at this level. So as I grew up, everything I did stayed with me, and it was always in Philadelphia, I feel like I could be the one who brings out a new Philly sound and start a new generation.
Newest Album: The Most High released April 1, 2017
Listen Here: https://soundcloud.com/tayyibalimusic/sets/the-most-high
Follow Tayyib Ali on:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/tayyibali
Facebook: http://instagram.com/tayyibali
Instagram: http://instagram.com/tvyyib
Stream / Buy the record at http://joTu.lnk.to/TATheMostHigh