LA-based rapper Lamboh Adasi is a hidden gem in the underground. Lamboh’s music is heavy-hitting, witty, and chalk full for word-play and hidden meanings. The first thing you should know about Adasi is that despite being relatively new on the scene, his entire life is built around making music and perfecting his art. “Adasi” is an acronym from the Latin phrase “After dark, the anxious seek Invida [envy], ”Invidia is the Roman name for the Greek goddess Nemesis, who punished arrogance. Adasi’s fierce commitment to self-improvement, experimentation and authentic expression is made abundantly clear in his work ethic. With two full albums, three EPS and a handful of singles, Lamboh has plenty to boast but is true to his name, fully aware that he is just getting started;
“Being an artist, if you don’t genuinely love what you do, you’re not going to last. That’s why you see so many artists, especially rappers, come and go within a year or two. They think they’ll be the shit if they rap, and think it’s easy to blow up. They don’t realize how much goes into this and how much you have to sacrifice. It’s such a balance of being driven enough to work your ass off trying to make great music and build a fan base, while at the same time being okay if you die going nowhere.“
Like most of us, Lamboh grew up listening to whatever his parents listened to. In his case, he was exposed to Eric Clapton from his father and artists like Sheryl Crow from his mother until his “punk-rock vibed” babysitter showed him Green Day; “When she first showed me them, I went through a phase where I wouldn’t listen to anything else. This was somewhere around third grade — I would always have my Discman with me.” From Green Day to Weezy and Kanye, Lamboh went through his phases of musical obsessions through the years, digesting, admiring and learning from the artists he saw as diverse, genuine and boldly creative. Rap, for Lamboh, means energy, a boundaryless exchange of energy, inspiration, and connection — from writing down the first verse to performing the track for an audience, it is clear that this music gives Lamboh life. Everything you hear when you listen to Adasi, (apart from the productions which are provided by his best friend and partner-in-crime, rick ♚) has been self-taught and entirely self-directed. When asked how he went from an avid fan to a recording artist, Adasi explained;
“The short answer is, I just pushed myself to do music…One day I was walking back to where I was staying at with some of the squad. It was my first year of living in Cali. And my friend genuinely asked me what I wanted to do with my life. I told him I wanted to make music. And he said,’That’s what’s up, that’s what you’re gonna do. Go do it. I’m about to drop out of school to go make art.’ And that’s exactly what happened.”
Lamboh’s dedication comes at the price of isolation, and being stuck in his own world. To balance out his intense focus, he decompresses like most: “Whiskey, sex, hurricane, uppers, cold brew” to turn his mind off. Nonetheless, Lamboh is in this for the long haul, and hold big goals for the future with a humble hand; “It’s been hard for me to ever really ‘live in the moment’ and be happy of where I’m at. By the time I hit a goal, I’m already looking to the next.” That is the mark of an artist with a great promise of longevity, even in today’s age where new music can be consumed in massive quantities. That restless spirit that Lamboh possesses, the urge to keep going, never being satisfied, always searching for new heights of the exchange of energy between the listeners and the artist, that is what set’s Lamboh apart from the rest in a sense. “I’m improving every day, so the good is still to come.”
While Lamboh Adasi works on his next project, check out his latest EP nob0dy below.