WORLD MEET FASHAWN

“The strong move silent, the weak get devoured / Too many fake hustlers, the drug game is sour / Rather live like an animal than die like a coward. / Writing lyrics in the midst of / my n***** sniffin’ powder / Lines like it’s 1989 / Just tryna survive in these days and times…”– Fashawn: “Ecology”

Calm, wise demeanor in interviews. Unbridled lyricism on wax. Controlled aggression on stage.

Nothing about the Emcee known as Fashawn indicates that he’s only 21 years old. Born to a broken home in Fresno, California — one where his mother was a drug addict and numerous father figures moved in and of the picture to the point where the city placed him in a group home at the age of 12 — no doubt he was forced to mature quickly. Using rhyme javeling as his escape from life’s harsh realities, Fashawn unloads his angst injected, imagery laced lyrics in every syllable spit on his uplifting life story and critically acclaimed 2009 debut album, Boy Meets World.

Produced entirely by Exile (the same sonic genius behind BHF08 Alumni and fellow California Emcee, Blu’s masterpiece Below The Heavens), Boy Meets World chronicles Fashawn’s journey from youthful trepidation to triumphant lyricist. BMW is concise and distinct, discussing wide ranging topics such as urban strife in his hometown, his disjointed life growing up in Fresno, male suicide due to female infidelity all wrapped around kerosene laced cypher rhymes over a shifting soulful, yet neck snapping boom-bap sound scape. It’s packed with replay value and perspective normally harnessed by someone ten years his senior. It’s less like an album and more like an opus — enough to inspire a generation of bourgeoning Emcees after him. It’s enough to spark an impromptu internet search to discover more about the “kid” drawing Nas comparisons.

And thats exactly what we did.

The following quotations are taken from several Fashawn interviews over the past two years (conducted by various publications), describing his life, his emergence, his influences, his style — all in his own words at different points in his rapidly rising career.

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