Abel Meri
Abel Meri | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Abel Demeke Meri |
| Born | August 23, 1980 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
| Origin | Alexandria, VA |
| Genres | Hip hop music |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 2016-present |
| Labels |
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| Associated acts |
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| Website | www |
Abel Meri is an Ethiopian-American rapper and songwriter from Alexandria, Virginia.[1] His music is categorized as conscious rap[2] and political hip hop[3] with social commentary.
Early Life
Born in Ethiopia, Meri moved to the UK at the age of three. His family moved to Bahrain in 1985 before relocating to Los Angeles in 1990 after the start of the Gulf War. Meri claims he was playing outside at a friend's house in Los Angeles on April 29, 1992, just two miles away from the intersection of Florence and Normandie where the attack on Reginald Denny occurred during the 1992 LA riots. Meri said he witnessed much of his Koreatown, Koreatown neighborhood burned down during the riots after the acquittal of the police officers charged with beating Rodney King. Meri has said this left an impression on him at the age of 11 years-old and would influence his perspective and works.[4]
Career
Meri has released over 70 songs on SoundCloud beginning in 2016.[5] His remixes of popular and iconic rap songs earned him attention for their positive messages and Meri’s lyrical ability.[5] After releasing original songs on SoundCloud, he officially released "Make It Last" in March 2020 on his independent imprint, Soul Full Music. He released more independent singles the same year, including "Where The Hope At"[6], "Jaded"[7], and "Ignite"[8] produced by DJ Pain 1, along with 2 EPs, Smooth[9] and TNSZ - The No Skip Zone.[5]
Style
Meri's style is considered a blend of East Coast and boom bap hip-hop.[2][10] Many of his songs revolve around faith-based themes that reference his Christian faith.[2][10][11]
BLM EP
Following the deaths of George Floyd, Shooting of Breonna Taylor, and Killing of Rayshard Brooks, and against the backdrop of the Black Lives Matter movement, Meri’s latest EP #BLM[12][13] was well-received by critics[2][5][14] for its message of civil rights[15] and rebuke against racism and inequality in America.[16][17] An official video for the lead single, "Black Lives Matter"[18][19], was shot at the Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, DC, during the 2020 Juneteenth memorial.
Truth to Power
Meri’s follow-up to #BLM, titled Truth to Power, was released on September 3, 2020. Ebbony Epinillos, writing in The Source, called the album “a notable addition to the repository of BLM-inspired art.”[2]
Recording Process
Meri has been noted for his unconventional bootstrap recording process.[20] After noticing the acoustic similarities between a traditional recording booth and the cockpit of a car, Meri experimented with recording vocals from the driver seat of his car. The results led to a recording workflow that Meri claims has led to produce studio-quality music.[20]
In the media
References
- ↑ "Word Playground With Abel Meri". Vintage Media Group. 2020-06-22. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Miss2Bees (2020-08-25). ""Truth to Power" – Abel Meri Delivers Socially Conscious Lyrics and Pays Homage to Hip Hop". The Source. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Wiles, Matthew (2020-07-08). "Abel Meri's Lyrical Conscious Rap is Saying Something Worth Hearing". Bigtime Daily. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
- ↑ "Abel Meri: DMV Drive". AllRapNews. 2020-08-12. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Maria, Myraine (2020-08-12). "Abel Meri". Hip Hop Since 1987. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "ACE Repertory - Where The Hope At". ASCAP. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "ISRC Search - Jaded". ISRC Search. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "ACE Repertory - Ignite". ASCAP. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "ISRC Search - Smooth". ISRC Search. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Abel Meri – "Stream of Consciousness"". Thisis50. 2020-08-06. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
- ↑ "Rapper Abel Meri Fights Racism with Honest and Powerful Lyrics". Techkrest. 2020-06-29. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "ISRC Search - #BLM". ISRC Search. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Huldafire, Jubilee (2020-07-15). "Abel Meri's Bars are Raising the Bar on His Latest EP "#BLM"". Raptology. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Abel Meri - #BLM (EP)". Stereo Stickman. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
- ↑ "The incredible Rap messenger 'Abel Meri' drops "#BLM" a prolific deep dive and social commentary on the current state of civil rights and police brutality in America". Muzic Mirror. 2020-06-20. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Rapper Abel Meri Evokes the Power of Music to Provide Political and Social Commentary". Yahoo News. 2020-06-22. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Rapper Abel Meri Delivers a Poignant and Timely Message with His Latest EP "#BLM"". Vents Magazine. 2020-07-01. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
- ↑ "ACE Repertory - Black Lives Matter". ASCAP. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Siddiq, Mustafa (2020-07-03), Black Lives Matter (Short, Music), Abel Meri, Soul Full Music, retrieved 2020-10-15
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Pierre, Ryann (2020-07-17). "Hustle and Flow: Rapper Abel Meri Is Shaking up the Recording Industry in the Comfort of His Car". New York Weekly. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
External links
This article "Abel Meri" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles taken from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be accessed on Wikipedia's Draft Namespace.