There’s a common misconception that rap and hip-hop only feature provocative and the least meaningful lyrics of all the music genres. But for artist “MOE$,” he sticks to his guns and writes songs with words that speak his mind, and evokes emotions in each listener.
MOE$ was born on May 23, 1991, to an Egyptian- American family in the city of Alexandria, Egypt. He immigrated to the US when he was eight years old and has been living in New Jersey ever since. He was raised in the cities of Jersey City and Avenel, where he was surrounded by the growing culture of hip hop and rap in the early 2000s. As one would expect, Mohamed was heavily influenced by these types of music and grew into an artist who has developed the skill of fluently combining this genre with rhymes and lyrics.
Mohamed spent time in middle and high school writing short raps and rhymes with his friends with themes of what they were seeing or experiencing in the culture at the time. He then made an attempt to land a career in engineering after high school, only to realize that he was on the wrong track. He found that the path he was meant to take was in music because his passion for the art of writing meaningful lyrics hasn’t faded one bit.
To start, Mohamed circled back to his skills. He redeveloped his authentic sound, sublime vocal tone, and eventually developed his own niche within the hip-hop industry. Mohamed was back to his musical roots and again found himself comfortable creating songs through combining sound and weaving words articulately to create the vibe he was aiming for. This was when he started creating various freestyles and put himself on the map of the music industry.
After writing and recording his first songs, Mohamed continued to educate and train himself to become a better artist. He explored other ways of writing and maximized his talent to create different genres of music until he could create absolutely any type of track he wanted. His unique style and creative approach are reflected in each of his songs from his first EP namely, Hold It Down, What It Look Like, Lifestyle, Street Code, Down for Me, Work for That, The Way You Do, which you can all stream on Apple Music. His second EP, Nothing Left To Say, which is he currently working continues to reflect on the complexities and emotions of his journey since he put his work out there in songs like, In The Way, Everytime, and Like That.
Taken from his own words, Mohamed’s lyrics are directly inspired by real-life experiences, thoughts, feelings, and opinions, which he then transforms into music together with the flow and style he has envisioned for each song. He explains, “Everything around me really becomes an inspiration to me in a way where I just translate into my own lyrical but very much easily conveyable language. There is no better way to succeed than building art that comes from who you are. If I didn’t convey who I am and the complexities of life that make us through my song, then to me, what would it mean then?” Mohamed values authenticity in his work, which he vows will always be an integral part of his art and musical journey.
Mohamed listens to a variety of music styles to learn from other artists and draw inspiration in several ways. His playlist varies from the oldest Eminem and Jay-Z songs to the most recent in pop, such as Halsey’s music, so that he could gain a general understanding of his competitors and what the rest of the industry has to offer. In a way, keeping an open-ended strategy also allows him to build a diversified target audience.
With a rapidly rising influx of up-and-coming artists in the music business, especially in the rap scene, it’s common to see the “rapper” image. It’s a type of branding effortlessly associated with hip-hop and rap; however, Mohamed keeps himself separated from cookie-cutter artists through his genuine talent in songwriting and a sharp ear for the best musical arrangement. Mohamed states, “The art of putting together words that generate certain feelings, thoughts, opinions, experiences, or certain messages is something that I will put out and continue to master.”
Nothing is more important to Mohamed than creating a lasting legacy through his words and unique style. His incredible vocal abilities and invaluable experience-driven lyrics are definitely a statement for all.
