Born and raised in Cleveland, currently residing in the Bay Area, JAHI, a lyrically conscious emcee, has been rocking stages, writing prolific songs, and touring internationally for the last 10 years.

Raised in an urban household, which regarded music as more important than television, JAHI’s first musical inspirations came from the sounds of James Brown, The O’Jays, Curtis Mayfield, Sam and Dave, and people like Isaac Hayes and Barry White. With the first huge rise of Hip Hop in the 80’s, it was artist like Run-DMC, Whodini, LL, Rakim, KRS-One and others that inspired JAHI to first pick up a mic and use his eloquent gift of rhyming, charm, and charisma to get block and house parties jumping.

Jahi’s first major break came in 1999 when he was selected to be the first local emcee to perform at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as the opening act for Public Enemy, Slick Rick, Outkast, and Goodie Mob. This was in conjunction with the 20th Anniversary of Hip Hop Exhibition.

Releasing his first album in 2000, Higher Elevation, Jahi realized that he needed to begin his journey outside of Cleveland to see if the world at large would embrace his style of music which is classified as introspective, thought provoking, political, and motivational. Throughout a span of 10 years, Jahi has shared the same stage with Chaka Khan, Chuck Brown, Jay, Z, KRS-One, Scarface, X Clan, Floetry, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Public Enemy, Blackalicious, Dead Prez, Missy Elliott, Dilated Peoples, Raheem DeVaughn, Outkast, Cee-Lo Green of Gnarles Barkley, Jaguar Wright, and Mary J Blige to name a few.

Jahi has released 8 independent records, and one on a major label. His accomplishments range from being a 2nd place Winner in the International Songwriting Competition in the R&B/Hip Hop category, to performing in front of 50,000 people at Wembly Arena. Jahi has toured all of the US and Europe, and has been featured in numerous publications, newspapers, and online sites for his musical works. Jahi has also developed his skills on the turntables as DJ Jah Styles, and was the official DJ for MOCA Cleveland in 2012, and has spun at Progressive Field (Home of The Cleveland Indians), Shattuck Down Low, The New Parish, and The Den at Fox Theater. He specializes in spinning classic soul with clever blends.

Currently Jahi is preparing to release his first memoir, “Things I’ve Seen: A Decade of Hip Hop, Education, and Life on MM Books, with introduction by Chuck D. His current album, Motivation Music, is available at I Tunes. His current mixtape, Strong Step and is available at www.jahiandthelife.bandcamp.com Jahi is also the lead instructor with The Manhood Development Program at Edna Brewer Middle School, in conjunction with The Office of African American Male Achievement/OUSD in Oakland, CA.

The world you live in is not what you think it is. There is another world hidden between the cracks of that which you know. In this world, there is a man that you will not find in any history books or credit reports. He cannot be seen with the human eye at 'the mall' or 'the
club'. He is known only as Richie Cunning and there are very few people that even know of his existence. Countless believers have reported first-hand sightings, claiming to have seen him drinking from a flask on a bus station bench in the middle of the night or even fast asleep on a bus station bench in the middle of the night. However, gentlemen and scholars both maintain that he is nothing more than a myth. A drunken ghost in the collective subconscious of modern society. Many have tried to understand him, but there is only one way to truly understand that which is Richie Cunning. You must leave your world behind and step into his realm, a place thought to exist only in fairy tales and ugly areas of downtown San Francisco. Your journey begins now.

Review of the debut album, "Overproof":

http://hiphoprnbsoul.com/content/view/40/81


Check out the video with Kool Keith, "Night on the Town":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugTi5vYMmLo