My name is Preach Ankobia, I am the official Voice of the Streets, I represent Kalmunity Vibes, Mind Peace Love, Stolen From Africa, Endigee Clothing (contrary to popular belief you do need a T-Shirt!!), Crime in the City and many more.
Not just a man with a mic in front of a DJ, Preach is dedicated to bringing back hip hops integrity and brings a commanding and charismatic presence to any staage with his 5 piece band whom weaves an unforgettable vibe in most of the over 400 public appearances he has made over the last 7 years.
Owner of AnkobiaOne Entertainment (Formerly YoungStar United Records) and the developing Crystal Sound Lab and The Scents of Life Arts and Health center, Preach is comfortable wearing many hats and continues to stack them up with his vigorous work ethic.
From being a dancehall and club DJ at the tender age of 14 to releasing a bevvy of singles on radio, appearing on mix tapes and compilations, releasing 2 music videos and his debut album “Voice of the Streets” locally, pushing the careers of local artists such as Fredy V, Ceasrock and Jonathan Emile, co-producing and co-hosting Ckut 90.3fms Soul Perspectives, producing and promoting countless events to promote hip hop culture and transcending the music to become a youth worker and aid in the construction of the Jeunesse 2000 hip hop program with head and hands, it’s almost hard to believe that this young veteran still has years to go before he smells his thirtieth birthday.
So what’s next for Preach Ankobia? We invite you to join us on his journey to see for yourself....
Q & A with Preach Ankobia
How did you first get involved in music?
I've been in love with music in its entirety ever since discovering MJ as a child back in the 80's, but honestly my involvement with music began as an intervention of sorts when I was being a stubborn 13 year old growing up in N.D.G. My older "cousins" are known as the Black Temple soundcrew, a DJ sound system that gave me my foundation as an artist.
Unlike most 14 year olds who are usually trying to find some trouble to get into on a Saturday night, if they are allowed to leave home, I was at venues such as Motions, Soca City, Tiffanys, Bingo Palace and more spinning alongside names such as DJ Clue, Tony Mattherhorn, Kilamanjaro and more simply to keep me away from certain crowds I used to run with as a teen. By the time I was 16, hip hop became my niche and was further nurtured by my 9th grade english teacher at Wagar high (Mr.Semeniuk) who threw out his regular curicullum for me and simply graded my verses!! That's really how it began.....
What is the underlining theme behind your mixtape?
The theme of my new mixtape is simple, you can't block the sun! Antumbra is just a fancy word to explain an annular eclipse, which is when the moon tries to block the sun and can't fully achieve its goal due to the ring of fire (the rays that surround the sun) I know a lot of people look at my mixtape cover and simply see an orange circle, but that is an actual picture of the last annular eclipse that happened over the Maldives in January of this year....
I say you can't block the Sun because I think we always see the road blocks ahead of us and never realize that no matter what is thrown in front of you once you hold a belief in self, stick to positivity and keep a stead fast motion, nothing can stop you...
Why isn't hip hop ready for Preach Ankobia?
It doesn't really matter if hip hops ready for me or not, I haven't lived in that box for a hot minute now, my music encompasses a spectrum of sounds, this production is for the heads, but my sophomore about is a house/pop electro project that I'm truly excited about.
Why isn't the industry ready for me? because I represent something they can't control.
Why aren't you/they ready for me? because I don't eat or regurgitate the garbage they're continually sold. But I do know that I have a place in arts timeline and I also know that we are experiencing a global shift that will make us reconfigure our priorities sooner than we'd like and that's when I believe from my debut album "Voice of the Streets" to what I'll be doing at that time will be most relevant and fully understood....
For now I'm just enjoying the ride.....
Join him @ preachankobia.weebly.com and check out my newest music, blog posts, interviews and more.
Download his Latest Mixtape "The Antumbra" Choice track "Breathe"
