Ashura

Ashura, the underground MC from Philadelphia whose birth name is Ashok M. Kailaith, made it clear from the start that he intended to shape his sound and approach without outside influence. Every beat on his first album, Logikrhymerezon, which came out in 2004 via his independent label, came from his own production efforts that relied solely on live instruments rather than sampled material. That shadowy atmosphere aligned perfectly with the enigmatic presence of this raw but hopeful wordsmith.