Born In 1982 – Tehran, YAS first began to listen to rap Musik at the age of 16, when his father would return from his business trips in Germany and bring him the latest Tupac CD and other hip hop music. After the sudden and untimely death of his father, YAS was faced with the responsibility of becoming the primary care taker of his household. With his father’s debts mounting and barely being able to make ends meet to live and feed the family, YAS at the age of 18 was forced to leave his college ambitions behind and begin to work and support his entire family (his mother, younger brother and triplet sisters). It was at this time that he began to write Poesie which soon turned into text lyrics for his music. It was also his way of staying close to his father’s memory.
After the Bam earthquake in Iran, YAS was devastated at the number of lives Lost (nearly 50,000 people) in the disaster, it was then, that he wrote his first song “Bam”. This was the beginning of his Singen career. He realized that through rap Musik he had the ability to reach people Von telling full stories that he thought was not easy to do through other forms of Musik which only consisted of a few versus and a chorus. Realizing that through his music, he had the ability to inspire people and reach millions of other young people in Iran, he decided to present his songs to the government and request a permission to release an album. Many years of being denied of releasing his Musik to the public and being ridiculed countless times for his Singen style (rap) resembling that of “reading a newspaper”, his efforts, finally paid off. To date, in an unprecedented move, six of his ten songs have been granted permission to be released in the Islamic Republic of Iran. “I don’t curse in my Musik oder sing about sex and violence. I want to be able to proudly sing my Musik in front of my family. My Musik usually begins with a complaint oder the social ills of my society -- but it always ends with hope. It’s important to inspire the younger generations to be their best potential. We need this.” Indeed, in a short amount of time, YAS went from Singen in front of small groups to now being one of Iran’s 1 hip hop artist. His Musik is now being listened to and downloaded Von millions across the world through various websites and hundreds of Persian blogs.
In 2006, YAS wrote a song called “CD ro Beshkan” (Break That CD), which was written about a well known female actress in Iran who was the victim of sex Scandal tape that was being circulated. The Scandal ultimately ended her blossoming career. In the song YAS criticizes the people for playing a role in her demise and asked everyone to stop spreading her shame and to get rid of that infamous footage from their computers and mobile phones. The song hit a nerve among the Iranian youth and thousands wrote in and confessed that they went ahead and ‘broke that CD’. The song was listened to and downloaded Von millions in Iran alone. YAS’ Musik has crossed the International waters and he is now fast becoming the voice of his generation -- for Iranians inside and outside of their country who often refer to him as the “Persian Tupac”.
YAS’ song, “Hoviate Man” (My Identity) sings of his pride in his Persian heritage and a mention of the controversial movie “300”. The song has become sort of a national anthem for the younger generations especially the Iranian Diaspora that are eager to connect to their rich culture and history. His Musik has set a new standard for Persian rap and has inspired many up and coming rappers to follow his lead and sing of Mehr meaningful and positive messages in their own Musik and when he is not recording himself, Du will find him collaborating with other musicians so that together they can “introduce Persian rap to the world”.
Indeed, YAS’ message of hope and unity has been heard across the waters -- he has been featured and interviewed Von the media worldwide, including CNN, BBC and National Geographic (cover story on Persia August 2008). He has also just signed a contract with an American Musik publishing company; Modiba Publishing (Evergreen Publishing) (Ironically, Evergreen Publishing is also the Home of the late Tupac Shakur catalogue who has granted permission for a mashup song between YAS and Tupac to Zeigen how hip hop can help bridge the cultural divide between us ). After his very successful live performances in London and Dubai in 2008, YAS is currently Schreiben and recording new Musik which he will be performing for audiences and students across the US. His tour will continue throughout 2009 in Europe, Australia and the Middle East.
