Teenage hip hop artist Amrit (a.k.a. Alpha) Singh recently released a new single with Matt Wang called “Lakeside.” The summertime ode to his hometown sings the charms of Lake Zurich, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago where “life is perfect.” In an interview appearing on Sister City Love: From Birmingham to Chicago the Punjabi-American rapper, who is starting college in a few days, talks about the Sikh artists who inspired him when he was younger.
When I was 15 I really wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life. Back then I was into Rock music and it never occurred to me that I would really like hip-hop. I started listening to Humble the Poet and Hoodini, only because they were Sikh artists and it was something I hadn’t seen yet. I think that’s really where it all started. I downloaded Hoodini’s “A California Classic” and I don’t think I stopped playing it for an entire month. After that I started writing on my own, putting out songs, and here I am 2 years later.
Find Alpha Singh on Twitter @chitownsingh and more of his videos on YouTube. Thanks to Amir Rai of soon-to-launch Simba Hip Hop for the tip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xre8h-265Tc
