Spitting lines of Positive Pain with Raff Alpha
Baltimore emcee Raff Alpha is a self-proclaimed underdog. Growing up his older brother taught him how to rap and write verses. Now, he spits flawlessly and skillfully, outdoing other emcees in the game.
We chat to Raff about his flow, how he flies the flag for people in hard times, and what was behind he’s latest EP, ‘Positive Pain.’ Adam Lunn writes.
Tell us about one of your latest tracks, ‘To Know Me Is To Love Me.’
Well ‘To Know Me Is To Love Me’ is a track I made to let people know what I’m all about. I said in one line in the song that said ‘I rap for the ones who have no food in their refrigerator but got dreams on doing it major as they're out here chasing paper.’ That's what I represent; the underdog and I wanted the song to let people know that's what I represent when I rap.
Your rap is very tight, you seem like you’ve been doing it for years! When did you start and what made you start making hip-hop?
Thanks. Well I started rapping when I was 9 years old because my oldest brother wanted to be the next Master P and get a deal and sign his brothers to his label. (Laughs) He showed me how to write 16 bars at a young age. As I got older I started to take rapping serious and here I am now. So I really didn't get into hip-hop, it was just always around me so I just became a part of it.
How would you describe your flow?
My flow varies. Sometimes I want to spit fast and show my lyrical skill and sometimes I want to spit slow and fill the verse with a meaningful message. It depends on how I’m feeling that day.
Which emcees do you idolise?
Well Common, Nas, and Lauryn Hill are artists I always looked up to but I don’t want to be compared to them at all. I want to be known as Raff Alpha. I try my best to be unique.
Tells us what was behind your last project, ‘Positive Pain’ and how did it come about?
Well positive pain is basically a free album with all original beats. I named the project ‘Positive Pain’ because the songs on the project are talking about all the "pains" I been through and how I learned from them and turned them into lessons, which is why I put the 'Positive" before the "Pain". A lot of people have told me that the album has helped them through hard times and that’s all I wanted, so I feel the project is a success.
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