TiRon & Ayomari join forces to make organic, fresh hip-hop | The Triangle

TiRon & Ayomari join forces to make organic, fresh hip-hop

On Sept. 13, TiRon and Ayomari released their first collaborative album, “A Sucker For Pumps.” Standout songs include “Thing Go Right,” “All My Love” and “The Neighbors.” The two united for one of the best hip-hop albums of 2011.

TiRon and Ayomari aren’t your typical rappers. Instead of pushing content every few months, they sit down with projects, be it a mixtape or album, and make sure they get it right before releasing it to their loyal and growing fanbase.

Over the past three years, TiRon has released two mixtapes, while Ayomari has released one.

The first time the two appeared on a track together was on TiRon’s first mixtape, “Ketchup,” which was released in early 2009. Over the past few years, the two have teamed up on Ayomari’s mixtape, “The Peanut Butter & Jelly Solution,” as well as TiRon’s second mixtape, “MSTRD.”

“We think we make great music together. It’s organic and comes from an honest place,” Ayomari said.

It had been almost a year and a half since either of them had released a new project. Starting in June, the two resurfaced with “T&A: The Prelude to ASFP,” a mixtape including all songs the two had recorded in the past and a few additional tracks the two were holding on to. Just three weeks later, the guys released the “En Kärlekshistoria EP,” a project recorded while the two were touring in Sweden. The seven-song EP was recorded in just three days and features production and instrumentation from Swedish artists.

“We’re very close with our fan base. We knew our fans wanted new material, so we decided to meet them halfway and give them a taste of the bigger project,” TiRon said.

The bigger project TiRon was referring to is their debut album, “A Sucker For Pumps,” which was released Sept. 13. The album is very unique because it doesn’t sound like your typical hip-hop album. There are no songs written to be huge radio hits or club songs. Everything is true and stays within the “world” that the guys created.

From the moment you press play on the first track, “Jack Kerouac,” all the way to the final track, “Fin,” you are sucked into the sound, vibe and theme of the album. Each song not only connects to the overall message but flows seamlessly from the song that came before it.

“We wanted to change the perception of hip-hop — what it can be and what it sounds like,” Ayomari said.

The guys felt that hip-hop today has made women into objects, so they decided to make this album to show their appreciation for the opposite sex. “There weren’t a lot of people talking objectively about women. It’s always objectifying,” TiRon said. The album tells the story of the complexities of relationships with women and what people go through on a daily basis. Standout songs include “Thing Go Right,” which talks about the issues and the downfall of a relationship, and “All My Love,” which features a Slick Rick sample and talks about the pursuit of a woman who is in a difficult relationship.

Rarely do you see artists, especially unsigned artists, create a complete album — one in which each song has a purpose and a meaning. TiRon said he was “trying to give fans some good music that they could grow with and means something a year from now.” Many artists today push content to stay relevant, but with “A Sucker For Pumps,” the guys wanted to make an album that will resonate and mean something to each person that listens.

In a time where artists are becoming brands and are often straying away from the true art within the music, it’s incredibly refreshing to see two young rappers come along and respect the music and its roots. “A lot of people don’t respect the true work that goes into the music — how passionate you have to be to do this by yourselves. We’re old-fashioned with our approach, but we want to make sure the music is right,” TiRon said.

TiRon and Ayomari are truly artists and should be on your radar if they aren’t already. While all of their solo projects are great, their work together is even more impressive. And after all of their hard work over the past year and a half, they were able to deliver one of the best hip-hop albums of 2011, “A Sucker For Pumps.” The album is available now on iTunes and Bandcamp as well as streaming on Spotify.