Random Abiladeze (born Randy Murray;[1] later known as Rasar, then Rasar Amani) is a Sacramento-region hip-hop MC and award-winning spoken-word poet known for socially and politically conscious lyrics.[2][3] A fixture of Sacramento's underground hip-hop and spoken-word circuits in the late 2000s and early 2010s, he relocated to Las Vegas in late 2013 and became the lead vocalist of the jazz-hip-hop band The Lique.[4][5] He died in Las Vegas on September 28, 2021, at age 35.[6]
At a glance
- Sacramento-region MC and spoken-word poet; conscious/political lyricism.[2]
- Born Randy Murray; from Roseville, California.[1]
- Began rapping in 1998 (on a dare) and took it seriously from February 1999.[2]
- Performed name evolution: Random Abiladeze → Rasar → Rasar Amani.[7][5][8]
- Sacramento native; once worked the cash register at Dimple Records.[8]
- Two-time SAMMIE Award winner for Outstanding Emcee (2009 and 2010).[9]
- Moved to Las Vegas in December 2013; later fronted the band The Lique.[4][5]
- Has shared stages with Nas, Immortal Technique, Tech N9ne, Zion-I, Living Legends and others.[3]
Origin and background
His real name is Randy Murray and he is from Roseville, California.[1] He first rhymed in 1998 on a dare to freestyle, describing himself at the time as "the square from the suburbs," and began taking rap seriously in February 1999, citing Slick Rick's verse on Outkast's "The Art of Storytelling Pt. 2" as an early inspiration.[2] He has connected his worldview to having older parents raised by families from the Deep South, to extensive reading, and to childhood martial arts.[2] In a 2008 interview he was described as 22 years old.[2]
His Sacramento-region roots are explicit across the corpus: a 2008 article ties him to Roseville and to Sacramento's Mahogany Poetry Series;[2] a 2016 feature calls him a "Sacramento Native" and "Sacramento's own," noting he "was one of the kids behind the cash register at Dimple Records more than 10 years ago" and "a regular at local venues and colleges."[8] He himself repeatedly framed Sacramento as his hometown ("916 til the end!").[5]
Spoken word
His first public poetry experiences came at Sacramento's Mahogany Poetry Series in 2004, where Miss Marianna advised him to try his rhymes before that crowd because they would be open to his conscious themes.[2] He has entered poetry slams using his raps, describing music and spoken word as carrying the same message with only the rhyme frequency changing.[2] He is described as an award-winning spoken-word poet and winner of numerous spoken-word and rap competitions.[2][3]
According to the Poetry in Davis performance archive, he won Stanford University's Battle of the Bay Poetry Slam in 2009 for the second consecutive year, and was the 2008 champion of Sacramento State University's Word of Conscious Action poetry slam.[9] He won the Sacramento Area Music Award (SAMMIE) for Outstanding Emcee in both 2009 and 2010.[9][10]
Releases and recordings
- Brutally Honest — a 17-track full-length, with a release party on May 9, 2008 at the Main Street Brewery in Roseville. He dated its creation period to around October 2006, with some verses written when he was 16.[2]
- Skill Before Swagger — released May 11, 2010; entirely produced by AdamBomb, features scratches from DJ Rated R, and runs approximately 30 minutes across 10 tracks.[10] The Bandcamp release credits the 2009 SAMMIE win for Outstanding Emcee.[10]
- Indubitably — an album whose release show (hosted by TAIS at Blue Lamp, with TAIS and Random performing "Don't Be Fooled") was covered in September 2011; the album also contains the original 2010 version of "Walk into my Office," a collaboration with Adambomb of New Orleans.[11][8]
- He guested on Live Manikins' 2011 album Full Canvas, contributing a verse on the track "Heights."[12]
- The Dream Is Over — released in 2013, described by the Sacramento News & Review as a "brilliant alt-rap record." According to the SN&R, the album title references John Lennon's song "God," which speaks to the disillusionment Lennon felt toward 1960s ideals, with Amani linking it to his own experience of disillusionment and self-rebuilding.[13] The Bandcamp page for the album independently confirms the Lennon connection and describes its themes of "dreams, death, transformation, transcendence, rebirth and consciousness."[14]
- He appeared as a guest emcee on Iconoclast Robot's 2014 EP BrightLights/DarkDepths, recorded at Freqy Music Studio.[7]
- He was the only MC on Joe Kye's EP Joseph in the Well and appears on the track "Happy Song."[5][8]
- Democracy Manifest — debut album of his Las Vegas band The Lique (2016), which reworks earlier solo material (e.g., a six-minute "Walk into my Office") alongside new songs.[8]
- As of 2015 he described two unreleased duo projects: Tesla Carver (with producer Medl4) and Divine Science under the group name Mellow Nine (with Styles 1001), the latter slated to feature Sean LaMarr of DLRN, Poor, and Annie Jay.[5]
By 2016 he was reported to have recorded roughly 10 albums over the prior decade.[8]
Name changes
He performed as Random Abiladeze through at least late 2011.[2][11][12][3] By the 2013 Concerts in the Park lineup he was billed as "Rasar (formerly Random Abiladeze)," a designation repeated in 2014 and 2015 coverage.[7][4] Later coverage uses the fuller name Rasar Amani.[8]
Las Vegas, Vegas Nocturne, and The Lique
A 2013 phone call from his close friend, beatbox innovator and America's Got Talent finalist Butterscotch, prompted his move to Las Vegas in December 2013.[4][8] There he worked his way from usher to ringleader of the side-show stage of the Vegas Nocturne show at The Cosmopolitan's Rose. Rabbit. Lie. supper club.[4] He credits Butterscotch with connecting him globally and bringing him to Vegas.[8]
He subsequently became lead vocalist of The Lique, a jazz-based hip-hop band formed by guitarist Sean Carbone with UNLV musicians Jeremy Klewicki (drums), Nick Schmitt (bass) and Jason Corpuz (piano).[5][8] The Lique formed in February 2015.[6] The band performed at venues including Brooklyn Bowl, The Sayers Club, Hard Rock Cafe on the Strip, and The Space, and opened for national acts including Hiatus Kaiyote, Lecrae, and Flo Rida.[6] The Lique secured a local residency, toured venues including Brooklyn Bowl, played festivals, and recorded Democracy Manifest, engineered by Juno-winning sound engineer Dan Brodbeck (known for work with Dolores O'Riordan of The Cranberries) and featuring Bay Area hip-hop figure Zion-I.[8] Rasar served as the band's manager and booker for a time.[8]
At the time of his death, The Lique was in the final mixing process of a third album titled Imposter Syndrome, with an album release party scheduled for December 17, 2021 at The Space — an event that never took place following Amani's death.[6]
Death
Rasar Amani died in Las Vegas on September 28, 2021, at age 35.[6]
Scene relationships and notable shows
- Shared the stage with Nas, Immortal Technique, Tech N9ne, Zion-I, and Living Legends, among others.[3]
- Frequently paired with DJ Rated R, with whom he toured the West Coast; the two were billed together at Submerge's 100th Issue Party (Dec. 16, 2011, Ace of Spades).[12][3]
- His Indubitably release show at Blue Lamp was hosted by Sacramento MC TAIS and also featured a noted performance by MC Ruby Ibarra (a UC Davis alum and a close friend who later appeared on The Lique's "Nastiness").[11][8]
- Collaborated with Joe Kye / Joseph in the Well, returning to Sacramento (Harlow's) for the band's May 9, 2015 release party.[4][5]
- Connected to the Sacramento DJ/crew network: DJ Mr. Vibe (of Sleepwalkers, affiliated with Hieroglyphics) scratches on The Lique's "Nastiness."[8]
- Performed in 2008 with Sacramento dark-folk artist Dead Western, a pairing he later honored in a verse of "Walk into my Office."[8]
Concerts in the Park and festival appearances
He was billed (as "Rasar (formerly Random Abiladeze)") on the May 17, 2013 night of Sacramento's Concerts in the Park, alongside Live Manikins.[4] With The Lique he played Harlow's in Sacramento (Sept. 30, 2016, as main support at the Rituals of Mine album release) and ZuhGFest in Downieville the following night.[8] He also reported a SXSW stop and a "Cali Is Home Tour" of at least 13 shows in 17 days in spring 2015.[5]