{"id":2979,"date":"2014-11-20T19:53:53","date_gmt":"2014-11-20T19:53:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/life\/music\/long-beach-rapper-rajh-kirch-tackles-haters-houdini-and-the-magic-of-hip-hop-2\/"},"modified":"2014-11-20T19:53:53","modified_gmt":"2014-11-20T19:53:53","slug":"long-beach-rapper-rajh-kirch-tackles-haters-houdini-and-the-magic-of-hip-hop-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/music\/long-beach-rapper-rajh-kirch-tackles-haters-houdini-and-the-magic-of-hip-hop-2","title":{"rendered":"Long Beach Rapper Rajh Kirch Tackles Haters, Houdini, and the Magic of Hip Hop"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-32261\" src=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Rajh.jpg\" alt=\"Rajh\" width=\"640\" height=\"301\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Long Beach rapper and style-maker Rajh Kirch laments that the current state of hip hop is, in his own words, \u201cplagued\u201d\u2014which largely explains why the musician\u2019s first single off his latest album <em>Magic<\/em>, a collaboration with DJ PR, is titled \u201cThe Antidote.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the video for the infectious track, shot at Long Beach\u2019s WE Labs, he is not shy at noting what he is plagued about\u2014mainly the overcrowded scene and his haters, not so subtly represented by flashing images of the Big Bad Wolf from 1933\u2019s iconic cartoon&nbsp;<em>Three Little Piggies<\/em>. This isn\u2019t to mention the plethora of other symbols in the video, from a pin wheel reminding us of the daily grind to the many shots from the 1923 silent film adaptation Oscar Wilde\u2019s scandalous play, <em>Salom\u00e9<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe game is so flooded\/ Ha, ha, it\u2019s comical,\u201d Kirch sneers. \u201cMy rebirth, I flip the sound\/ I came to reimburse everyone that held me down down down.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"video-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gis6HGU7VY8\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>This isn\u2019t to say that Kirch\u2019s sentiments are entirely pejorative. This is the rapper\u2019s first musical outing since he decided to <a href=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/business\/small-business\/cool-children-s-store-breathes-retail-life-into-north-pine-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">take on the fashion world<\/a> with Ayopre Streetwear and Sandbox Social Club\u2014and for that, he is genuinely happy, if not outright feeling there is a magical aura in the air (which probably explain the track&#8217;s absolutely delectable, dubby beat and the album&#8217;s overall banger-after-banger quality). After all, anyone would be remiss to not acknowledge the surge of phenomenal hip hop coming out of Long Beach this year: from Vince Staple\u2019s utterly fantastic <em>Hell Can Wait<\/em> to Boogie\u2019s addictive&nbsp;<em>Thirst 48<\/em>, it seems the only antidote needed for hip hop is the hip hop that lies outside our city\u2019s walls\u2014and&nbsp;<em>Magic&nbsp;<\/em>is proof of that.<\/p>\n<p>The flip of \u201cAntidote\u201d is <em>Magic<\/em>, the album itself: the album hopes to show how hip hop and creativity revolve around magic-making, about making something insanely complex look easy. Which is why Kirch is momentarily obsessed with Houdini, introduced to him by art director and co-director for the \u201cAntidote\u201d video, Bro Brum.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBrum showed me some vintage Houdini poster art where he&#8217;s locked in chains,\u201d Kirch said. \u201cIt was sort of comic book-ish and that&#8217;s what inspired the fashion styling and the chain shots for the video. \u2018A man that cannot be bound!\u2019 I interpret the song as something about escaping adversaries and personal demons. Houdini was an escape artist. Voila.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Finding his inner Robert DeNiro, Kirch delved into researching Houdini like an actor, discovering what he claims are parallels between each of them. In Houdini\u2019s brilliant sense of business and understanding of his audience, there was always a sense of, \u201cWhat\u2019s next?\u201d\u2014a sensation that Kirch feels he always strives for as an entertainer as well as key to <em>Magic<\/em>\u2019s overall theme.<\/p>\n<div class=\"video-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mb4vnTTuswk\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>This also explains his collaboration with DJ PR, whose production adds playful drum&#8217;n&#8217;bass elements, silky R&amp;B notes, and beautiful bass runs to <em>Magic<\/em>. Being unable to shake the desire to have a highly stylized musical outing after his sabbatical, Kirch saw the perfect partner in PR to make Houdini return from the dead.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI met PR several years ago at the Exhibit A Gallery event,\u201d Kirch said. \u201cHe was spinning and I picked up a mixtape of his that was all 2-step and drum\u2019n\u2019bass tracks. We talked and then worked via Internet from there. I had sketched out a few songs with him but they didn&#8217;t fit my last record so I never released \u2018em, eventually taking a break from music to start build my first fashion brand and business. When I finally got my musical itch back, I realized it would be a better idea to shop it as a whole collaborative project with a strong art direction and theme rather than an purely individual thing. He was very cool about letting me do what I wanna do creatively and I can\u2019t be more happy that he trusts my abilities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As for where the future leads, Kirch is not shy in admitting that he wishes to mount an army of supporters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want an army to break this record,\u201d Kirch said. \u201cBecause I\u2019d love to rep Long Beach outside of Long Beach. I want people to join me and see how far we can reach.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;The Antidote&#8221; is from the upcoming release, <\/em>RAJHMUSIC and DJPR present: Magic<em>, and the single is available on iTunes or&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/soundcloud.com\/rajhmusic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Soundcloud.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Long Beach rapper and style-maker Rajh Kirch laments that the current state of hip hop is, in his own words, \u201cplagued\u201d\u2014which largely explains why the musician\u2019s first single off his album&nbsp;<em style=\"font-size: 15.5555562973022px;\">Magic<\/em>, a collaboration with DJ PR, is titled \u201cThe Antidote.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":211,"featured_media":68265,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[236],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-2979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-rap","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/211"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2979\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2979"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=2979"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}