Huhroon Q&A
By Tosin Faseemo
Huhroon is a Minneapolis-based band. The group started with Haroon Rasheed, a musician, model, and two-time Brave New Voices slam poet. Other members of the group include bassist Megan Mahoney, producer/guitarist Zakariya Khan, producer/synth player Ben Farmer, and drummer Joseph Carl Hays. Keep reading to learn about Haroon’s origins as a poet, creative process, and more.
Are you originally from Minneapolis?
Yeah, I went to school at Southwest High School and graduated 2017. I moved to Minneapolis right before I started in middle school.
How did you get into making music?
I met Qwey, Ben, and Zach all at Ferguson Hall. I was doing poetry all throughout high school. And then, a year after I graduated, I did this show called the Lightbox Studio. I did some acapella stuff, some poetry, and some songs I wrote over Youtube beats. Qwey was like, “You're really dope. Have you ever been in a studio before?” And I was like “No.” So then he's like, “I have a friend, Ben, who has a space at the U of M studio. You should come by some time.” Then we ended up meeting. I think it was early March, and then we made my first song I ever dropped, “HAPPYBDAYHAROON.” I dropped on my 19th birthday that year. So ever since then, it's been dope.
What genre is your music?
I think I try not to put labels on it, but I know it's rooted in hip hop, and then it like tangents off from there. But I think we're capable of stretching and dabbling in anything from hip hop to rock music. But yeah, I still think that at its core it's based in hip hop.
Would you say that your background as a poet helps you create music?
Yeah, it definitely helped with writing. I think that writing has always been important. I just think that if I didn't have my start in poetry, I wouldn't be able to write full and complete songs where the lyrics take you somewhere or can discuss heavy topics. Sometimes it can be something fun. I think a lot of my writing has always been about personal experience, and I think I talk quite a bit in my music indirectly about how I deal with living with depression, anxiety, and just navigating the world, especially over the last couple years since COVID decided to make an appearance.
What's your creative process like?
Zak and Ben start making a beat and then they pass me the mic and I can come up with a slight flow, or a melody, or whatever. And then they go at it, make the beat a little more, flesh it out. Then I go upstairs to the bathroom, or just, walk around humming stuff. And then I come back down like 20-30 minutes later with a verse or an idea. That collaboration is very important. Coming up with different melodies, or helping each other write and fill the space in the song has been really dope.
What are your thoughts on the Minneapolis music scene?
I think it's vibrant and bubbly. I've been a superfan of a lot of the artists out here since I was 16 or 17. I think there's always been really great producers in Minneapolis, and also vocalists and rappers and singers. And there's all types of people out here doing dope stuff. Over the last year I’ve been introduced to a lot of the people out here and that's all been really cool. I still think I'm very new to that scene. I think crossing over as a hip hop artist into the local indie scene is interesting.I think it's cool. It provides a new perspective. I’m doing things now that I didn't even think was possible years ago, like being on stage with live instruments and stuff, and people really love the music more when you have a band.
Who would be your dream collaboration?
I would love to work with Isaiah Rashad. He's been my favorite rapper for as long as I could remember.
What would you say is the number one thing we need in the music scene?
I think we just need to have more free-flowing collaborations. The different genres and the different types of music are so walled-off. It's kind of hard to mingle and connect. Nobody's gonna come to you just because you make really cool music. Nobody's gonna go out of their way to come to you and have you on their song. You have to be the one to reach out, and you have to be the one to make things happen for yourself.
Huhroon will be performing at the Underground Music Cafe on April 22 and the Turf Club on April 23.