Mind, Body, And Spirit

11/06/2000 4:00 PM, LAUNCH
B_Sarah Meadows

Afu-Ra made his first impression with an appearance on Jeru The Damaja's 1994 release, The Sun Rise In The East, then once again on Jeru's follow-up, The Wrath Of The Math, in 1996. After guesting on these two albums, Afu-Ra gained recognition that he definitely didn't see coming. "I didn't know what to expect until I went on tour and did some show with Jeru, and saw the feedback from the people," he explains. "That's when I really noticed it."

After dropping a few hot singles of his own, Afu is ready to step up to the plate with his full-length debut offering, Body Of The Life Force. It's produced by some of hip-hop's most respected beat-wielders, such as Trumaster (of Wu-Tang), DJ Muggs, Premiere (who happens to be one of the executive producers), and the Beatminerz. On the lyrical tip, GZA, MOP, and the Cocoa Brovaz help round the album out.

On Body Of The Life Force, Afu displays a higher caliber of lyricism than do most MCs, by focusing on subject matter that's not the "norm." He knows this might alienate him from some rap fans, but feels it's still important for him to do. "Being knowledgeable allows me to shed light on subjects that may not have been discussed, or help to affirm a practice or belief that they already have," he says.

Afu's unique approach to hip-hop is clearly audible on songs like "Self Mastery," in which he talks about trying to dodge the ills of the world in order to maintain one's sense of self. On the lead single, "Equality" featuring Ky-Mani, Afu speaks about the importance of staying balanced. And on "Monotony," the hook says it all: "Knowledge, wisdom, and understanding rules/Everybody got to pay the dues."

A student of martial arts, Afu incorporates the practice into his everyday regimen, and he applies the same mental discipline to his music. "It's actually remembering everything you've been taught," he explains. "Like performing a stance or sparring, or like freestyling and hearing the beat and just remembering what you know. It kind of goes hand-in-hand with rhyming. The motor skills it takes and it involves in the martial arts world transcend so perfectly within the artistry, as far as being an MC or a rapper."

In addition to studying martial arts, Afu went through a serious transformation after adopting some philosophies of Egyptology (the study of ancient Egypt), and has legally changed his name to Afu-Ra, which means, fittingly, "the body of the life force." For him, it was a spiritual awakening as well as a new beginning. "It's symbolic of being born again or turning over a new leaf," Afu says of the name change. "I kind of went through a transition in my life where I was searching for a way out of a somewhat negative life. And that way out was choosing a new name and trying to live on a more positive level."

Afu takes this task to heart, and is a little agitated with the underground-versus-commercial debate raging on in the hip-hop community. Though many believe that the difference between underground and commercial lies solely in the music, Afu thinks that there's another separation between the two: "A lot of people are confused into thinking it's the music. It's not the music. An underground artist is somebody whose record company doesn't have the finances or resources to put them into a commercial light." Afu is trying to shake the label with which he's been branded, and wants people to know that he's more than that. "Unfortunately, I'm viewed as an underground artist. I consider myself just an artist."

As an artist, Afu's main goal is to sustain longevity in a fickle and often unpredictable industry. "I'll just keep creating and keep continuing to show people that, from album to album, I'm getting better. And that's all I can ask out of myself." And with the music that he makes, he's sure to be around.