Atiim began writing songs at the age of 12 and performing at 14 years old. Inspired first by Menudo, and then
by Whodini, Atiim became further influenced by local Bay Area rappers like Too Short, Ant-Banks, Seagram,
Dangerous Dame, and many others. Next he was drawn to the East Coast style of music where he began to incorporate
poetic lyricism into his style. Expanding his horizons both musically and politically, and inspired by the challenge
of fusing East and West Coast sound styles, Atiim began writing lyrics that addressed important issues, and that
could perhaps be understood outside of local lingo and accepted by a larger listening crowd.
In Junior High School, Atiim joined a local group in Berkeley called Gangstas By Heart (GBH), and began writing to
turntable instrumentals. This group formed out of a need to express the alternative to street violence. At Berkeley
High School in the early 90s, Atiim trained and performed with the Live Lyricist Society, an elite club of lyricists
and performers who actively worked on freestyle writings, performance, and public speaking. Embedded in Hip Hop, he
started a group called Fourth Kind that displayed dance, East-meets-West-Coast-style rap and lyricism, and
performance. Also during his high school years, he joined ranks with his brother, best friend, and cousins to form
a family rap group named 5N'Dime, and wrote
lyrics, choruses and song concepts for the group. They performed at showcases in Los Angeles and recorded at Skyline
Studios and Pajama Studios in Oakland.
In 1997, Atiim recorded numerous poetry/spoken word sessions and laid down hip-hop tracks with God-brother Kobane
(member of 5N'Dime) at Roof Top Studios in San Leandro, California. A year earlier, Atiim began working with
producer D-Jones. Their chemistry was phenomenal and this new fire fueled the music. By 2001 D-Jones and Atiim
decided to produce and release their music independently. Atiim founded
Ridah Ridah Recordz & Publishing
and began work on his debut album. Entitled In Pursuit of Happiness, this musical debut displays the good range
of Atiim's rapping, writing, and lyrical skills. Mixed at Skyline Studios and Mastered at Pajama Studios in Oakland,
In Pursuit of Happiness is a passionate work that's funky, fun and formidable. It was completed in May of
2003 but ran out of funding to go any further.
Atiim collaborated with David Jones, yet again, and a new producer Navarro Henry and began recording his sophomore
album 1 pen, One pad, A minute (available soon). Ridah Ridah Recordz and Publishing (R3NP) collaborated with
5N'Dime to produce a group album with the debut title "The Classic". It was released in February of 2005
and can be found on CDbaby. In the same year Atiim met Bekka Fink and was given an opportunity to join her band
Bekka's Frogland Orchestra as a vocalist. Bekka
invited him to collaborate with writing lyrics, expressing his spoken word and pushed him to express himself through
yet another medium, song.
In 2004 Atiim joined a band named Izum, which later became known in the Bay Area as
Shotwell 25, a Bay Area Funk/Jazz/Hip-Hop/Afro-Cuban band.
With a full horn and rhythm section at his disposal, he worked on his live performance playing in many of the Bay Area's
local venues. And in 2005, Atiim formed his own band BOMANI Musik (formerly known as SupaFRENDZ), a funky mix of hip hop,
R&B; and Funk. Also in 2005, he began collaborating with Divasonic
as a co-writer, support vocalist, and roadie.
In 2007, Atiim finally released his debut album In Pursuit of Happiness (July 22nd, 2007), which was done
in collaboration with David Jones (The Tunmaster) at Backyard Enetertaiment Studios in Indianapolis, Indiana
(Current Studio location is Pitsburg CA). This release is through TuneCore (Tunecore sucks!), which makes his
music digitally available world – wide on iTunes and other electronic distributors.
Atiim is currently preparing other back-logged music for release in 2009 to begin his focus on new material. He is
collaborating with other producers and singers like Divasonic by writing, producing and performing, and rehearsing
with his bands BOMANI Musik, (newly formed)
Dragon Spit 22, and
7th Street Sound to record some
live and original tunes.
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