User:Afrykan

Born in Liberia, Afrykan came to the United States at the age of 6. His parents left Africa as civil unrest gripped the country. Brooklyn, New York became his new home in 1982. Afrykan was introduced to making and performing music in public school. From 3rd grade through 10th, he honed his musical abilities as part of his school band, learning to play several instruments. Afrykan bought his first rap record in fifth grade (Rappin’ Duke) and hip hop became his genre of choice. Because of his parent’s strong desire for him to take his education seriously, Afrykan never considered music a viable profession until much later.

In his freshman year @ Queens College, Afrykan began to deejay various college parties with his friends from high school. “I was the student union treasurer so I controlled the budget and would hire myself out for all our functions". It wasn’t until he got a job at a music production company that he gave music an earnest consideration. “I didn’t have enough money for equipment at the time and my boy already had his MPC and keyboard so I would spend countless nights in his cold basement making music. After I got tired of taking 3 buses for an hour and a half just to make a track, I decided to get my own equipment”. He used his business savvy to come up with the money for his passion. “I was promoting parties at the time so I threw a ski trip in 2000. We made like 15 grand and after we split up the profits, I had enough for either a drum machine or a keyboard. So I bought the Triton. I brought it home and couldn’t quite make it in to work the next day”.

After meeting rapper / singer DV alias Khryst in that same cold basement in Queens, his production began to pick up momentum. Khryst had songs on several soundtracks and extensive industry contacts. “He was the first professional musician who gave me the confidence to believe I could really do it”. Afrykan has gone on to produce music for Nas, Damien Marley, DV alias Khryst, and several independent artists. “What influences my production style is basically everything I have ever heard rolled up in one. I am sample heavy because that is the essence of hip hop but I can play when I have to.”