THE REAL GOD'S SON: Tahmell

LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK | TAHMELL

INTERVIEW KB TINDAL PHOTOGRAPH @FELIXMANUELPHOTOS

I recently had the opportunity to chop it up with an artist that comes from the direct lineage of one of the greatest, if not the greatest MC to ever touch a mic. He hails from Long Island, New York. He has been on Fox, ABC News, New York Weekly, and multiple Hip Hop platforms. His projects 'Home,’ and ‘Food For Thought’ have put his name in the conversation of heavy spitters over the last couple of years. His years of wisdom, that have been bestowed upon him from some of the greatest artists have brought him and his craft as an MC this far. He is currently on the ‘18th Letter Tour,’ with his dad. He recently dropped the freestyle single, ‘Round Four,’ with Cory Gunz and The Punch Line Academy.  He also released a single with The Heatmakerz titled ‘Unnecessary.’, and his latest project is titled ‘The Soul', fully produced by Da Imphamus Amadeuz. If you haven't figured out who I'm talking about yet, it is the real God’s son, the son of legendary MC Rakim, Tahmell.

Validated: Tell me exactly what part of Long Island, New York, you grew up in, and tell me about your neighborhood and how it influenced you. Give me a little bit of the good, and a little bit of the bad of when you were coming up.

Tahmell: All right. So, I was born in Central Islip, Long Island, and then we stayed out in Wyandanch. We were out there for a minute, and then we moved to New York, over in Chelsea, across from Chelsea Projects. And then ended up in Connecticut when school started. So, I kinda had the best of both worlds; the city and the suburbs as a young kid growing up. Also being on tour before school, being with dad, and stuff like that, was also another experience that I had even before school started. So that was… I had a lot of different visions and views, I would say, in different lifestyles. Especially when I came to Connecticut because that was a whole different lifestyle, like how my friends were living compared to the way my friends were living in Long Island, and all that.

Validated: What was it like for you growing up in the household? What were some of the things that you did as a kid outside of the music stuff, and what kind of music was actually played in the home?

Tahmell: To be honest, there was always music going on, but the music that was playing in the house, dad always played R&B; Sade, Erykah Badu. And you then take it back, there was a lot of old-school R&B, he loved that, and then, he’d get into Hip Hop too. It was a lot of R&B, soul, and stuff like that.

Validated: What were you into as a kid? Did you play sports or anything like that in school?

Tahmell: Yeah, shoot. I played football, basketball, baseball, I even wrestled a little bit. Football was the main sport, I was the runningback. And I played that all four years in school and all that.

Validated: What's your earliest memory of Hip Hop?

Tahmell: I’d say Yo! MTV Raps. Watching that on MTV as a kid. I’ll always remember that because dad was right there. Word up.

Validated: How old were you when you realized who your dad was? You knew he was an artist, but when did you realize that he was the God, Rakim, the status that he had, when did you realize that?

Tahmell: Okay, that was when I was in school, I want to say middle school, and all the kids would come up to me. It was two angles, though, because when I was out with dad, people were telling me, “Yo, we know you and your dad,” but, at the time, it was like, that's my dad and they just love my dad. But when I was in school, these kids they’d come up, “Yo, my mom said this,” “Yo, my dad was saying this.” I'm like, “Oh, word?” It was like, “Yo dang, he is the God.” (Laughs) Word up.

Validated: I know that had to be a crazy feeling once you figured that out like, “Oh shit, he really is that dude.” But your single, ‘Rose Gold’ is out right now, and you dropped  a new single, ‘Unnecessary,’ with The Heatmakerz. How did that collaboration come about?

Tahmell: I know a lot of people in the circle, and I ended up going to the studio, and we linked up, so shout out to him. We were really just vibing, and I was meeting everybody, and then, I just kept going back. When I kept going back, that's when I was like “Yo, what kind of joints you got, what’s open?” And he handed me some joints. I came back a couple of weeks later, and I recorded two joints with him. So, I'm going to go back and get back in with him, but I had a baby. I had a newborn at the time, so that kinda stopped the process for a moment, but we were going to get back, we are going to get back and do a whole EP and shit, word up.

Validated: Your single ‘Epidemic’ from 2021 with Nick Wiz, you sampled your dad from the ‘18th Letter’ album from the song ‘The Saga Begins’. Was that the first time that you sampled your dad on a track?

Tahmell: Yeah, it was. Word up.

Validated: Okay. I searched for some other stuff, but I couldn't find anything with y’all together. Is that something that you've done that maybe I overlooked, or is that something that you’re hoping to do in the future?

Tahmell: That's the plan, that's the plan to do after I catch enough traction, after I'm able to hand him the bag for the song. That's how I want to handle that. 

Validated: Your last project, ‘Food For Thought’ came out in 2021. I know you're dropping a bunch of singles. And you recently released a new project The Soul.”

Tahmell: Yeah, right now, I got a little something.  Me and Amadeuz, Da Inphamus Amadeuz, we've been cooking up, and we got some joints.  I got a joint with David Bars up there, shout out to him. Yeah, that’s something I'm excited for.

Validated: Tell me about the label, ‘First Family Music Group’. Tell me about the team that's behind it. Give me a little bit of insight on that.

Tahmell: Family First, that’s something I put together so that, when I'm moving, whoever's with me, or whoever's rockin', we could move together, it'll be a big thing. Even if they’re not really a part of the label per se. I like venture things, I like venture deals, anyway, so if they got their own LLC, that's perfect. Let's rock, let's make this a little venture thing, let's partner together and do it 50/50, and let's rock. So, ‘Family First’ is just bringing people together, and then, the family that is there, just giving a opening for them.

Validated: Is it just you with the label or you got a team of people behind it with you?

Tahmell: Right now, I got a team. I got an artist, his name is Rider Ruler, he just dropped a single, we pushing that. I got an EP coming with him that I'm producing, I make beats and all that too. So yeah, that's my first artist right now that I'm really pushing, that I can really say, “Yeah, that's my artist.” Yeah, we’re rockin'. I got my cousins too, I got a bunch of cousins, we all rock, and I'm making beats for them. I have some joints going on with them too, and even pushing the stuff that they got, just getting it rockin' so everybody would know it ain’t just me.

Validated: What's it like being on tour with your dad, man? I know you've seen it as a kid and everything, but now you're on the other side of the spectrum, you’re on the stage as an artist. What is that like and what's some of the jewels that he's given you about being an artist and having a tight stage show?

Tahmell: One thing I learned is, “Always be you, you don't have to be anything for anybody else if they feel you need to be doing something or try it this way.” He also showed me how to control the crowd, how to keep the crowd rocking. When you got that little space in your record in the beginning, or you want to get the crowd participating when the hook is on, he definitely taught me how to do that. And I watched it happen, I'm able to mold it myself every night seeing it.

Validated: Hip Hop is about to be 50 years old next year, we're finally starting to see the evolution of artists that were spawned directly from Legends like your dad, Rakim, like Peter Gunz and Cory Gunz, the freestyle that you guys did together. What's the hardest, or probably, even the most frustrating thing about growing up in the footsteps of someone like your dad, like Rakim, who many consider probably the greatest MC ever, man?

Tahmell: Yeah, I can't speak for them all, but with me, there's a shadow. Especially when you're trying to make a way, there’s that shadow of everybody thinking you’re good, and you’re straight already, or you got it because you’re so and so son. So, it's definitely a double-edged sword, but it still gives me that drive to be like, “Well, if you think I got it, I'm going to show you I got it then.” However long it takes me to do it, it's going to take me, but I'mma get it.

Validated: I know, in some older interviews, your pops had talked about how he writes rhymes, and how he likes to fill up the entire space of the bars, and stuff like that. What's your writing style like? What is it like when you're in the studio? What's your creative process like?

Tahmell: It depends. My creative process, if I'm doing something for me, I'm able to really tap in and really sit back, let the beat play all day and kinda write here and there in pieces so I'm not just stuck staring at the page. Sometimes, I might just go in and write a whole verse, and then, come by later on, the next day, or something. Lately, I've been tapping into the new sound and messing around with that. I call it, ‘The money game music.’ I tap into that, and that's something I don't really have to write to, I don't have to write for that. I  just get on a mic and just kinda freestyle, because then, if I think too hard, it won't be what the beat is supposed to be because the beat is what makes the record.

Validated: That's more of a simple kind of format when it comes to those types of tracks.

Tahmell: Exactly.

Validated: Who do you look to for inspiration musically, besides your dad, of course? Musically and business-wise, who do you look to?

Tahmell: I got my man, Nicholas, he's my mentor. He showed me how to make beats, how to mix, how to get my beats sounding right, how to get my vocals sounding right. He always helped me with music points too. Then, I got my man, Divine. He taught me all of the marketing things, and how I set myself up, and all of the different avenues I can go and look up and read as far as just how to make it as a solo artist. It’s just little things like that, that I could kinda just gather in my brain, it'll hit me later once I get into that situation.

Validated: What's been your most memorable moment in the game so far as an artist?

Tahmell: I performed in one of my hometowns for the first time on a big stage. We do this thing every summer called ‘Alive At Five’ in Stamford, Connecticut. So, it's like a big outside festival, they do it in the summer every Thursday afternoon. My man is from out here, his name is Johanne. He invited me on stage, we did a record together. And that was one of the first joints that I was nervous. I had the butterflies and all that. It was the first time I've had to show my town, like, this is what I do. And that was dope.

Validated: On a little bit of a somber note, we keep losing our young artists, man, and our young kings, at early ages, man. Like Takeoff,  PNB Rock, rest in peace to those brothers. What have you been taught about how to move as an artist in today's climate, and what do you think we can do to change the mindset of a lot of these younger artists that are coming up so we can stop the senseless killings, and all that drama, and shit like that?

Tahmell: We need to figure out how we could push the narrative so that people don't think that. There's been a couple of people that don't like to play drill music, like a couple of DJs. At the same time, it goes down to the engineers, and to the producers, and it's also energy that we create with the music and the beat. So, if we get somebody a drill beat, nine times out of 10, they're going to be on some drill stuff. So, we got to figure out somehow to push that other sound into the airways at the same time. I know everybody likes gangster stuff, and likes hard aggressive music, but it don't always got to be about, “I just killed this dude, and I'm on his grave right now.” That's the wild part, but we just got to bring it back to the essence. 

Validated: What sacrifices have you made, or things you had to go without because you invested in your artistry?

Tahmell: I want to say, living with my daughters. They’re the reasons that keep me going because I want to be able to make sure I have the right place for them to come and visit daddy. So that's been my motivation right there.

Validated: Who's the one artist or the one producer that pushed you to step your game up when he was in the studio? Like, you heard somebody spit something, or you heard a beat, and you was like, “Oh, I got to write some next level shit to this?”

Tahmell: You know what, though? It’s different because, when I hear something that's not… I'm all about Boom Bap, I’m all about Hip Hop. So, when I hear that, that's like, “Oh, I could go in but when I have something out the box, it's like, “Oh, snap,” I could step away from that and kinda do something else, like, “Yeah, let me get that right there.” That's what I like to do. I like to be able to… Because, at the end of the day, my competition is the niggas on the radio; Drake, Meek Mill, all these niggas because I know where I'm at, I know what I could do. So, when I get that Drake-style beat or that Meek Mill-style beat, you know what? Now, I got one in the stash, one day I'm going to run into one of these niggas, like let’s do it. Straight up, word.

Validated: Yeah. keep the ammunition ready.

Tahmell: Exactly! J Cole, shout out to J Cole too, I need a track with that dude, asap.

Validated: Yeah, Cole is a beast, absolutely.

Tahmell: Word. He’s somebody that when I heard him, I wanted to step my pen up.

Validated: Yeah. I can imagine. Yeah, he's definitely one of the nicest, man. He's always mentioned in that conversation. I always tell people, “If you ain’t rapping to be one of the best, or stand next to the best, then why are you rapping?” “Why are you chasing that dream if you ain't trying to be one of the best.” You grew up around the best, so I know that kinda rubbed off on you, like, “Look, if I'm going to do this, I gotta give it 110%.”

Tahmell: Exactly, exactly.

Validated: How do you feel you've grown as an artist since you came into the game?

Tahmell: Let alone an artist, I feel like I'm still growing as a man, so my artistry comes from who I am. So, the more I grow, the better my music could be for me. But when I hear my songs, I definitely hear a lot of growth. The main thing is, when people say it's easier said than done, I could tell somebody, “Do the right thing,” a hundred times, but then, I still have to do the right thing myself. So, when I hear my music, it helps me stay on the path of where I'm at, instead of just not doing what I'm saying I'm doing. Like, “Oh, yeah, that's my model right there.” So it's just something that, it’s just, I listen to myself and always grow from that, grow from where I was lyrically, what I was talking about to what I'm talking about now, and just keep building from that.

Validated: What does Hip Hop mean to you?

Tahmell: Unity. It means togetherness, it brings a lot of different walks of life together in one area, and I experienced that a lot with Dad during his shows. We’ll step on stage and be like, “Oh, snap, what a crowd, I wasn't expecting that.” It's dope, it's dope to see the different walks of life in one area.

Validated: You're the first artist that I've interviewed that said ‘unity’ to that question, that just shows the caliber of artist you are, it shows where you come from, and that's dope. What's a piece of wisdom or some knowledge, if you could sum it up in one sentence, that your dad gave you early on about being an artist, about being a businessman, that's still in the front of your mind that you think about on a regular basis? Like, “I remember Dad said this, and that's what I'm going to do.”

Tahmell: “Make sure this is what you want to do.” Like really. People think they want to make a record and let their friends hear it, but that's cool, but if you want to rap, you want to make a business, make sure this is something you really want to get into, and really branch off, and really make a way through the music because the music is just a stepping stone, it's just a step, a doorway to get to something bigger.

Validated: Aight, tell me about any other ventures that you are working on. Anything else that you’re getting into outside of the music and the production and the merch, where people can get the merch and stuff like that? Tell me if anything else is going on.

Tahmell: I got merch coming soon. It's not all set up yet, but I definitely got it coming. It’s something that I'm going to go heavy with the whole year and continue on. But I do got something coming for the summertime. Me and my man, Billionaire Beats, we’re cooking up something and we're really trying to hit the radios. We’re trying to show these dudes, I could do the bars, I’ll give y’all bars, but I'm about to get y'all some real music and some real stuff that we would really listen to on the radio and not be like, “Damn, did I hear that again?” Word.

Validated: That's what it is, that's what it is. Definitely. I don’t knock nobody, if you’re making a way in this Hip Hop game, I salute you, but yeah, man, we need more music that hits the soul. You can only turn up in the club but so much. Yeah, you got to talk about some real life shit, man. So yeah, that's what it is. Any last words that you want to send out to the readers of Validated Magazine?

Tahmell: No, man. Just shout out KB, man. Shout you out. I appreciate the platform. Peace and love is the message I got for y'all. I really appreciate it, and peace and love is something we really need to really understand what it is and go about it. Not just say, “Peace,” and not just say, “I love you.”

Validated: Tell everybody where they can follow you on social media platforms, how they can keep up with you.

Tahmell: You can get me at @OfficialTahmell, that’s on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, all that.