A Conversation with Asha Imuno
modrNation: Where are you from?
Asha Imuno: I’m from Moreno Valley, Southern California. Kind of a smaller city energy.
modrNation: What led you toward a career in music?
Asha Imuno: There was always music around me as a kid, I had a really musical upbringing. I was in marching, jazz, and concert band in school, basically learning instruments in my free time to stay out of trouble. I started producing that way too. When I couldn’t get people to rap over my beats in high school, I started rapping to them myself. Over time I got into singing and songwriting. I had so many interests and hobbies that family never would have anticipated me focusing on music as a career for real. I'm thankful for ways that music has allowed me to begin exploring other creative pathways I'm passionate about by extension.
modrNation: What are some of those creative interests outside of music?
Asha Imuno: I have this brand I’ve been building called WAITINGROOM. Without speaking too much too early, we're just getting started between live experiences, an episodic series & a few other ideas that give people something they can reach out to & grab hold of. We sold out two shows in Los Angeles last year and we’re planning more installations now. We’ve been giving all of the proceeds to this charity called the Melanin Youth Foundation in Moreno Valley that provides resources to young kids in schools back home. WAITINGROOM is a way to directly reach out and provide our community experiences that reflect exactly how we’re trying make them feel - I’m super passionate about stuff like that.
modrNation: Some people may not know that for the most part you are a self-produced artist. Can you talk a little bit more about that side of your artistry?
Asha Imuno: It all started out that way; first I was dropping just beat tapes which was how I found my first online community. I took a lot of inspiration from people like Ovrkast. and Knowledge and guys who were just saturating amazing music. And over time I realized that there was no reason to be just a producer or just a rapper or just a singer; my approach to production has always been to allow room for the intersection to take place, especially with this album that I’m working on now. I feel like I am pushing the boundary of how I previously thought of my own music to be whether it’s overtly hip hop, and the production is integral to communicating what it’s all about.
modrNation: How would you describe your style as an artist?
Asha Imuno: I would say it's fluid and it’s part of what makes me me; my style is indefinite. Of course, I am hip-hop, but I feel that I have a funk soul which I think is shown in some of my melody choices and in the lyrics. In my heart it’s like even from the earliest music I remember hearing, whether it be 808s or trap drums, it’s all going to feel funky in a way for me. Some people tend to feel a lot more r&b, but if I had to call it something I would definitely have to say future funk.
modrNation: What influences and motivates you as a creator?
Asha Imuno: I'm always taking cues from my favorite works. My creative diet will always bleed into my tendencies as a creator in any given moment. Understanding which lens feels the most honest to me in that moment— or which palette will allow me to communicate what I'm feeling in a song— is equally influential.
modrNation: What is the importance of honesty and vulnerability for you when creating?
Asha Imuno: It's everything bro. I put all of my focus into understanding the feelings I want to convey in order to make sure the sensations I feel in the process have a chance to translate to the listener. The moments that feel most candid are often the most uncomfortable to revisit, but I think that's part of what makes them special to share and perform. I think honesty and clarity is by virtue most transient. There's a lot of coding involved though. Sometimes I do want to be seen through a veil, like the dark lyrics of "ZIG ZAGGING" existing in context of the brightest song I've shared so far.
modrNation: Can you talk about what it was like working with Aaron May back in 2019 when you collaborated on the track “one for me”?
Asha Imuno: Aaron May is no doubt one of the most talented artists and producers I've gotten to work with. "One For Me" making it onto his album "CHASE" actually came mad unexpectedly. We initially got connected in 2019 after the project had already dropped & I came to find out there was this kid in Houston who was ripping my demos straight from Soundcloud. That kid basically became cool with Aaron May and members of his collective MIA off the strength of demos I had shared to my page. Aaron and I got directly connected to clear it up, linked in LA with him, Jay Millz, Zahvoni, and Alan Warhol a little while later and have been homies ever since.
modrNation: You gifted us your debut single “big words” which you quickly followed up with your debut album “good news”. Can you talk about the process behind creating your early work and is there any wisdom you’ve learned that you have taken with you to future projects?
Asha Imuno: When I started work on Good News, I was 18, taking the train back and forth to cook with the homies in LA, just having fun throwing darts at the board to show myself what all I was capable of creating. It took time for me to understand that just because I could make "x type of song" doesn't necessarily mean it's part of the greater world I'm building. I'm 21 now and still throwing new darts, but with more of a vision to contextualize the feeling I'm aiming for, if that makes sense.
modrNation: You took a bit of a break from releasing around 2021, only putting out one single that year. What were you up to around that time?
Asha Imuno: Mostly working on myself and figuring out what's coming next. Building out this album has been a big part of that. I like to think of sharing music as a check in— where I'm at, what I've seen, felt and experienced since you last heard from me. I've spent a lot of the time just experimenting & pushing the boundary of what I know I can do with my voice.
modrNation: Do you have a favorite song of yours or one you feel really embodies who you are as an artist or person both in and out of music?
Asha Imuno: It changes every day. I think about each of my songs as a new degree of my expression and identity, on record. Sonically, my DNA is kinda all over the place so I find myself jumping from R&B to cloud rap to house stuff & back to classic hip hop a lot of the time. Part of the fun of crafting an album is deciding which lens I wanna speak through at the time. My favorite right now is a song that we made for Pins and Needles; 7 different iterations, starting as a dark rap song and realized as a stripped back guitar ballad.
modrNation: Where are you trying to take your artistry in the coming years?
Asha Imuno:I see myself working with my favorite upcoming artists, branching out with WAITINGROOM & curating experiences for people around the world. But we'll see. I could be locked in designing furniture or clothing or scoring films or something else. I'll always be exploring and rethinking my relationship to art. My album Pins and Needles is coming out this year, so that's where my heart is for now.
