[AS PUBLISHED IN MALAY MAIL]
A YEAR ago he was subjected to vile abuse from social media trolls, posting crass comments about facial disfigurement.
But that didn’t stop up-and-coming rapper Aliff Shaharom, better known as Airliftz.
Recently at Publika in Kuala Lumpur, the 18-year-old scrambled on stage at The Bee to give couple of hundred fans a performance to be remembered.
Hyping, dropping some of the hottest bars on the circuit, Airliftz, a product of Raising the Bar, was a young man unbounded by the weight of expectation.
“Nah man, I’m still nervous. I just don’t look at the crowd,” he said a few days later.
“But I’ve got to hype! Don’t want the crowd to die on me!”
The occasion was a special one.
Airliftz launched his debut Bagel EP, released on Jin Hackman’s new This Way Up record label.
Turnaround on the five-track effort was remarkably quick.
It took five days to write and record each track, with the recording process spread over the course of a month between April and May.
Much in the same fashion he began spitting lyrics at 13, “a kid, having fun”, the Bagel EP gives off similar impression but with the nuance of an accomplished musician.
I Don’t Wanna Go Out was written on an evening Airliftz was due to perform in Kota Damansara.
He trudged along reluctantly, wishing he could stay in the studio.
“It was kind of loud bars and areas down there, I didn’t want to go. In the studio, I’m in the zone.”
Title track Bagel was written in similar vein.
“Near Jin’s studio we had this bagel at Molecules Cafe.
“A salmon bagel. I’d never had a bagel before. It was damn dope. I went back to the studio and wrote a song about a bagel.”
These two standout tracks go some way to explaining the vast interest in Airliftz.
He has earned the respect of peers in the hip-hop industry and a slot on the bill of next month’s Good Vibes Festival in Gohtong Jaya, Genting Highlands.
SonaOne has backed the youngster while Joe Flizzow was in attendance for the EP launch.
With typical laidback ease, Airliftz called the opportunity “crazy”, unable to elaborate beyond the scope of the task ahead.
He has come a long way since his first public performance at Raising the Bar open mic aged 16.
He was so nervous he forgot his lyrics on stage and looked to the DJ for assistance.
He managed to pull it off nonetheless, enough to catch the eye of Hackman who has taken him under his wing.
“Jin has always helped out, especially with my performances. He’s been a mentor,” he described his manager, who he credited for helping the songwriting and producing process for Bagel.
At the time he was discovered, Airliftz was uploading his work on SoundCloud.
Only at 14 at the encouragement of his friends, he began writing his own lyrics.
He was inspired by American artistes, namely Big Sean, SuperDuperKyle and Logic, an influence that carried through onto the record.
Airliftz’s nuance, at this nascent stage, is his raw ability rapping.
The vocals are crisp, clever and tight, matched only by the cool man behind the mic.
The most compelling contrast was summed up in the opening minutes of his set at The Bee.
Supporting acts included Orang Malaya, Kid Santhe, A-Kid and luna.dira, who all heaped praise on the man of the moment for his achievement.
The crowd roared as the plucky rapper took to the stage.
“Hello,” he uttered in his soft high-pitched voice, much to the joy of everyone.
“I’m almost 19! Why is my voice still like this?”
The performance that ensued was explosive, as Airliftz rocked the stage and raised the roof.
A week later, he jetted off for the “sweet summer sweat tour” of Asia to play China, Macau, Singapore and Thailand with fellow hip-hop tunemakers alextbh and Zamaera.
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