Music
Press
An up-and-coming rhymesayer hailing from Seattle, Washington, Raz Simone makes his grand entrance into The DJBooth with the lead single off his forthcoming debut studio album. Cold finds the artist coming together with beatsmith Nima Skeemz to craft a lightly jazzy instrumental backdrop for bars outlining his personal philosophy on romance, socioeconomic injustice and the paper chase. Director Jon Holman rounds out the package with a candid official video. Raz’ freshman full-length, Solomon Samuel Simone, is currently unscheduled, but the artist plans to announce a solid arrival date in the coming weeks. In conjunction with its release, he will also drop Cognitive Dissonance, an EP-length companion piece showcasing the darker side of his artistic vision. - djbooth.net
Solomon Simone, better known as Raz (formerly of Sound Off! 2009 contestants Razpy & The Vigilantes) caught me with this cry for help, sounding like he's trying to force up the hurt he's had to swallow. When I hear "my auntie want that dope from me/she don't get it from me, she'll get her own cream," it reminds me of stories and pain too close to home. Don't sleep. - The Stranger
Raz Simone is one of the most promising voices on the scene right now. This cut "Cold," off his upcoming Cognitive Dissonance, bleeds with the mix of game and naked self-awareness he's becoming known for; the song is a little meditative for such a hyperactive video but it's cool to see him so turnt up in and around the Pike corridor we all know so well. - The Stranger
Seattle's Raz is one of the more imagistic/dramatical emcees in town — his raps are like raging rivers. So it makes sense to see him on a boat in "Brave," which uses the watercraft for a different impact than in typical hip-hop videos, not "I'm on a boat / I'm rich" but rather signifying movement of words, movement of ideas. - The Seattle Times
At the top of this track, Seattle MC Raz tells the world his government name, Solomon Simone — a name that references powerful, truthful titans of soul — so it's only right that "They'll Speak" is as strikingly naked as it is. In his gushing, stream-of-consciousness style, Raz articulates the sort of old-school pain that's too often lost behind the glamor and nihilism particular to contemporary street rap; no drug lord fantasy, no feeding-my-family rhetoric, just the realization that his addict aunt is going to get her fix somewhere, from somebody he might not know, so he might as well serve her. The short worth of life where he lives has rarely been expressed better: "I've had n***** that shoot n***** for me but wouldn't give me food when I was hungry." — Larry Mizell Jr., KEXP's "Street Sounds" - NRR (National Public Radio)
Discography
EPs:
-Cognitive Dissonance (2013)
-Solomon Samuel Simone (2013)
Collaborative EPs:
-Sam Lachow & Raz Simone - '5 Good Reasons' (2012)
Photos
Bio
Raz Simone is a hip-hop artist from Seattle, Washington. His music has been sculpted by his diverse life and his words stem directly from things happening around him. He values having different instruments recorded on his tracks, as well as playing at his live shows.
From a young age, Raz has been surrounded by art and music. Although his come up in music was not ordinary of someone in the hip-hop game. His mom was an oil painter and he sang in church as a child. Razs initial musical influences didnt contain hip-hop he didnt even hear a 2Pac song until sixth grade.
Poetry was Razs original glimpse into writing rhymes. After writing for school and attending poetry slams, he started putting his words to music scores and eventually beats. After signing to a label, leaving a label, starting a band, taking a hiatus from music and having a real job and then traveling, Raz came back to Seattle.
Raz then released music videos for a few songs, including Theyll Speak, which has gained attention from NPR, as well as the well known hip-hop group Atmosphere.
In the past year, Raz has been working with his collaborative partner Sam Lachow to create a five track EP called 5 Good Reasons. From there came music videos for each track, directed by talented videographers of Seattle.
Currently, Sam & Raz are embarking on a national tour with the group Wax Tailor. Raz is working on his double-EPs, Cognitive Dissonance & Solomon Samuel Simone. He recently released the track Cold with a video that has been viewed almost 10,000 times in its first week.
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