Shhhh. The Feds are watching.... TIMZ blends hip hop music with his Middle Eastern heritage and puts his life on display as an Iraqi-American born and raised in San Diego. Features on the album include the legendary Spice 1, TQ, E-Low, Sick Beav and more

14 MP3 Songs
HIP HOP/RAP: Hip Hop, HIP HOP/RAP: West Coast Rap



Details:
EXCERPT FROM 'THE SAN DIEGO READER':

Not Quite Straight Outta Baghdad

Somehow, some way, someday / We're gonna burn this bitch down for what they did in Abu Ghraib / Somebody, somewhere, say something / I've tired myself out and I haven't changed one thing.

"A lot of people hear my lyrics and hear the anti-Bush, antiwar lyrics and assume that I'm a terrorist or I hate the country," says Rancho San Diego rapper Timz. "That's not the case. I was born here in San Diego, but my parents were born in Baghdad."

Timz, 21, graduates next month from USD with a degree in business administration. He says he will spend his immediate future concentrating on music. Last Friday at El Cajon's Crystal Ballroom, he performed at a release party for his first CD, Open for Business.

Timz works part-time at his father's liquor store. On March 1, two employees of an El Cajon liquor store were executed. Like Timz's family, the victims were Chaldean.

"That rocked our community. It showed how strong of a community we are. There are about 20,000 Chaldeans in San Diego. We have the second-largest Chaldean community after Detroit.... A lot of people don't know the difference between Iraqi and Iranian. They lump us into one big group of Bin Ladens and Saddam Husseins walking around.... After 9/11, a few people came into my dad's store and gave him a hard time. If they were drunk and they didn't have enough money [to buy alcohol], they would say stupid things to my dad and his workers."

There's still a whole lot left that needs to be addressed / Like all of this talk that Timz hates the U.S. / Wait a minute, Timz hates where? / Homey, I was born and raised here.

"I am a U.S. citizen, but I do have a problem with the people running it and running it into the ground. The scariest thing is what's going on in Iran right now. They are standing up for themselves, and they aren't backing down. I don't want to see this nation get hurt again like 9/11." -- Ken Leighton







EXCERPT FROM 'THE CHALDEAN NEWS':


Hip Hop Meets the Middle East with San Diegoâs TIMZ
By: Tom Najor



San Diegoâs own local Chaldean artist is making waves in what many consider Americaâs finest city with his first full length CD titled âOpen For Business.â For Tommy Hanna, A.K.A âTIMZ,â being âOpen For Businessâ is a daily routine.


âMy CD is a day in the life,â Hanna said. âWe titled it âOpen For Businessâ because thatâs what I am; open for business all the time. I am at work and if I wasnât at work I was at school and if I wasnât at school I was in the studio rapping.â


TIMZ, 21 is a recent graduate from USD with a degree in business administration. Like many young Chaldean men he manages his families business by day. Being Chaldean and of Iraqi decent is a big theme and somewhat drives the album.


âAs Chaldeanâs we definitely know how to work hard and play hard, me as a rapper I like to not only represent myself but represent everybody around me. We incorporated how we live on a daily basis, how we party nightly, just how we do everything; trying to represent who we are as a culture.â


This is exactly what TIMZ does as he expresses, through Hip Hop, a day in the life. The CD blends classic Middle Eastern beats into a creative and cohesive blend of music that has your head bobbing and your mind spinning as you digest some of the powerful lyrics and political nature the album takes in this journey through the young Chaldeanâs life and mind.


In one of the most prominent, politically driven tracks titled IRAQ, TIMZ delves into what he feels is one of his responsibilities of being a Middle Eastern rapper.


âI have always tried to be involved in what is going on in Iraq,â he says. âAs an artist I have the opportunity to have a voice. I felt it was my responsibility to come out and talk on behalf of Iraq and on behalf of the Middle East. A lot of people lump us into one big group of Bin Ladenâs and Saddam Husseinâs walking around.â


The lyrics are powerful as illustrated from these excerpts of the song.


âDear Mr. George Bush.. why do you insist to make a fool of us? For over 200 years⦠we stood for whatâs good, now we despised by our peers; And what do you...but add fuel to the fire and send in more troops. Oh the troops God save the troops; it wasnât their war their lies their fault. America the beautiful what did they do to you, they used you its so indisputable!â


Expressing and using a Middle Eastern influence in his music was very important on this album. Almost every track blends a familiar Arabic beat in the background that collides with the bass and drums of current hip hop sounds.


âRap music for the last couple years has really adopted using Middle Eastern beats,â stated Hanna. âI wanted to have the Middle Eastern beats not only because they sound great but thereâs also that responsibility again, where itâs like I am a Middle Eastern rapper, I do hip hop so might as well blend the two together and give them something they havenât heard before.â


This difference is exactly what has local hip hop fans in San Diego excited for the young Chaldeanâs potential to make it big in the rap game.


âOne of the main reasons I like the CD is the Arabic influence in every song,â said Rafe Putres, a local Chaldean business owner. âI took the CD to the local Chaldean barber shop and played it in there and it really caught their attention right off the bat. The CD relates to all of us.â


The CD entices even those who donât enjoy hip hop. It is the Arabic beats, the powerful and true lyrics and the passion in the music that has at least one local music fan, Joey Attiq, relating to TIMZâs music.


âI hate hip hop except a very few select artists because most are not believable,â Attiq says. âTIMZ is believable and his music is real. I like his style; itâs a new style of music, a very revolutionary CD. Heâs got a passion for his music and thatâs why I can relate to him. I hope his music evolves into something greater and I hope he makes it big.â


It is this familiarity and reality which comes through in many of the tracks on this album that separates TIMZ from many of the rap artists. Many Hip Hop artists today talk about drug dealing, killing and murder and often times portray themselves as something they are not simply to sell records. For TIMZ however, being Chaldean, telling the truth and talking about everyday life is the direction he feels will offer the most respect and loyalty from his peers.


âI am not a thug, Iâm not a gangster, and I canât and wonât rap about selling drugs, to where most of the hip hop listening world would be able to relate to me a little easier,â Hanna said. âThereâs got to be something different abut you as an artist to make people want to listen and for me itâs being real, telling the truth and giving it from the Iraqi-American perspective.â


With whatâs going on in the world today, the intrigue and his voice is being heard in San Diego and soon nationally. TIMZ and his indie label V.I.G. Productions are currently working on a distribution deal with Universal to get the CD in stores nationwide. TIMZ is also currently working on a video for the IRAQ track which is sure to make waves nationwide.


A CD release party is scheduled for sometime in August in Detroit. For information on this date and for more information on TIMZ, visit www.timzonline.com or www.myspace.com/timz.