When Nashville hip-hop duo Heru Heru debuted their video, “Cashvillians,” on social media, their primary purpose was to cast a light on the uniqueness and beauty of the Jefferson Street Historic District. The video, which debuted a few months before the March 3 tornado and before COVID closed Nashville, gives light to “a rose in the concrete” in Music City, North Nashville. Filmed throughout the area, and at the Jefferson Street Sound Museum, the video symbolized what the hip-hop duo had been trying to do since they came together to rap in 2012: healing through hip-hop.
https://youtu.be/YuGWv80hxCQ
Ah-Deli (@ahdelihiphop) and Foundation Mecca (@Founditto_the_god) are the members of Heru Heru and they call their style of hip-hop music, “Heal Hop,” healing people through hip-hop music. They hope through their music they can encourage MCs and listeners alike to be original and be yourself. The duo came together when Foundation Mecca began talking about all things hip-hop to his personal banker, Ah-Deli. They shared love for nostalgic hip-hop and the lyricism of artists such as Talib Kweli and Mos Def. The duo began rapping together, blending their vastly different flow styles, with Foundation Mecca using more of a 2Pac & Common flow and Ah-Deli’s flow style more geared towards a Juelz Santana-meets-The Roots-type vibe. Their music also brings in their cultural heritage. Ah-Deli is of Persian descent, fluent in Farsi, and conversational in the languages of Spanish, Kurdish, and Hindi. Whereas, Foundation Mecca is of African American descent, with traces of Hebrew in his language background.
After building a name in the hip-hop scene through various ciphers, Heru Heru released their first album, “Heal Hop,” in December 2019. With the help of their longtime producer, Konscience Beatz (@konsciencebeatz), Heru Heru was able to show their timeless hip-hop style in this solid debut.
Ah-Deli of Heru Heru is also set to release his debut album “World Hop” on all streaming platforms on September 1st of this year. They believe that this album is an instant classic like the ones they favored and grew up on in the golden era.
“We feel like the best way to give back and help the community this year is to give hope through our music.”
—Ah-Deli
It has been an interesting time for the duo. Foundation Mecca performed at the East Room on March 3 and went home minutes before the tornado struck the area. “I woke up to hundreds of messages and Ah-Deli and a friend coming by to check on me when I didn’t answer. I slept through the tornado and had no idea.” COVID has brought its challenges, too. Ah-Deli spoke on how Heru Heru has been “trying to be constructive and work on positive music.” They have recently started a podcast called the MC2MC on Anchor.fm where they chop it up with other local Nashville MC’s. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter protests, the crew just completed 2 new songs. Along with that, Foundation Mecca worked in Hawaii with Darcell McCoy shooting videos and doing music before the COVID crisis reached its peak.
The duo looks forward to the rest of 2020 opening doors for them and others who feel inspired by their music. They are hoping through the EP and the podcast to build up content and expand their fanbase. “We hope to expand beyond the Nashville area and perform throughout Tennessee and the South,” Ah-Deli says. “We feel like the best way to give back and help the community this year is to give hope through our music.”
