Akil: Rapper, producer… chef?

It seems like every month I have a new favorite rapper. This month it’s a young dude who goes by Akil. This kid is pretty new, so there’s not much info about him in the universe quite yet, which actually made this even more fun. I took off on my own pursuit to get to know Akil.

Before we get going, check out his singles on Spotify. Start with “Bitch Ass”. That song got me out of my COVID-funk. When he exhorts in the hook, “move along wit yo bitch ass”, I thought to myself “He’s not talking about MY bitch ass… is he?” So I lifted some weights just to make sure I don’t have a bitch ass. Thanks for the motivation, Akil.

Akil Tariq is from Indio, CA, where Coachella Music Festival is held every year. I caught wind of him from Soulection Radio, a 2-hour weekly show on AppleMusic, hosted by JoeKay, one of my favorite music curators. He played Akil’s newest track “Nobody,” and I was immediately taken with Akil’s assertive voice and the track’s molasses-dripping beat. When I looked into what other music he has out, all I found was 8 or 10 singles on AppleMusic and Spotify. So I made a playlist on AppleMusic and over-listened them.

Then I found his Twitter account. This showed me he is the founder of something called T.A.S.K (which stands for Teach And Search Knowledge). Of course I had to know what this was. I still have no idea… what… it… actually… is… but it seems like it’s about to be a label, or collective, or production company. Put a pin in that. He’s selling a t-shirt for $50 on the website, and that’s basically the only thing on the site. I have like no money right now in the middle of this pandemic, so someone please stop me from buying it until I get the rest of my income back.

*Update: My friend Michael read this post and went ahead and bought me the T.A.$.K shirt mentioned here! Will post a pic of it. Thanks boo.*

Back to the production company thing. This section of this post has been edited as I just chatted with Akil (SIIIIIICK!!!). He let me know his brother does the production, so it seems we’re dealing with an incredibly talented family. Turns out his bro is Tariq Beats, who has produced tons and tons of music you’ve probably heard (loved that new Mozzy btw). You can (and should) stay up on Tariq Beats at @tariqbeats on instagram.

I found Akil’s Instagram account and discovered he’s no joke in the kitchen too (on that subject, check out his track “All Mine”). Just today on his story he posted that he’s got a new song called “Dear Momma” (prod. by Tariq Beats of course) coming out soon.

I strongly suggest getting on board with Akil now. Would love to see this dude go places, and would love to go along for the ride as an early adopter. Check out the links below to stay in with what he’s got going on.

Akil, thanks for the music, the motivation, the persistence, the beats, the attitude of standing your own ground. It came at a time when I needed it, and it really got me excited. “I put in my 10,000 hours, I been at it” he raps, and it shows.

AKIL
Spotify
AppleMusic
Soundcloud
Twitter
Instagram
T.A.$.K
or you could just check out his Fanlink.

Seems tough to talk about Akil without talking about Tariq Beats. Turns out he’s worked on some stuff I love, so don’t forget to give him a follow. (His IG bio says “multi-platinum producer but it’s tricky 🤷🏻‍♂️”, I loved that.)

*Update: Akil dropped that new single called “Dear Momma (feat. Preston).” It ranks up there with 2Pac and Kanye’s most affectionate songs about their Mothers.*

*edited to reflect that Tariq Beats, Akil’s brother, does the production on Akil’s tracks.*