Agallah Sits Down With Boom Bap Nation To Talk New Music, His Failures In Hip Hop & More
Written by Live 89FM on November 23, 2019
Conducting interviews with some of the best artists in hip-hop let alone music is one of my
favorite parts of this job. Unfortunately we live in an era where the people doing the interviewing
aren’t doing their research and aren’t taking these opportunities seriously. Artists notice this and
understand that being completely open and honest can sometimes hurt their careers. Not the
case for Brownsville hip-hop artists Agallah.
The second you open his Bandcamp or Spotify bio, Agallah owns his failures in the industry so
far. There’s no BS, there’s no excuses, he’s taking this on the chin and with that Agallah has
opened himself to becoming one of hip-hop’s most prolific artists both on the mic and on the
boards. Between both Spotify and Bandcamp, between beat tapes and vocal albums, Agallah
has released at least six albums this year. It’s not easy staying this consistent in all assets of
music, while having this kind of output. I had a chance to sit and talk to the Brownsville hero and
talk about all the music he’s dropped this year and how he’s been able to keep his head held
high over the last few decades.
Boom Bap Nation: Now you’ve been around and making music before I even knew how to write
an article on hip-hop. But for those who somehow don’t know the OG, who is Agallah?
Agallah: My real name is Angel Luis Aguilar f.k.a 8 -Off The Assassinator P.k.a Agallah Don
Bishop Propain campain C.E.O Artist, producer, Dj, engineer and songwriter from Brownsville
brooklyn i worked with a lot of golden era artists and produced for epmd, onyx, busta rhymes,
das efx, lloyd banks, remy ma ,big pun, group home, big daddy kane to sean price to guru and
premier, dipset and many more have used my production or as an artist featured on and wrote
rhymes and choruses for many artists
BBN: I believe one of the biggest misconceptions young artists have coming up in hip-hop is
that getting to a place like New York or California is the key to success. Can you talk about that
a bit?
Agallah: Well you wanna be known everywhere and you wanna have your music accessible and
have people able to get to your music so now i feel like cali and New York are cities you wanna
be seen and heard in but just cause you known in them areas does not mean you’ll be
successful. most artist coming up getting tired of they own city that i meet and wanna blow up
elsewhere.i would suggest overseas is a good market for certain type of hip hop. know ya fans
don’t worry about the haters or the ones who aint following stay on your grind eventually when
you pop they will follow.
BBN: Your 2019 has been absolutely insane and I think it’s far to say you’ve been one of
hip-hop’s most prolific this year (let alone your entire career), what has been the key to your
consistency & output this year?
Agallah: Crazy you say that I still feel like I have not reached my peak yet . I know it sounds
humble but to make these records it’s not easy to keep pouring out emotions on a track and being able to top my last hit is a challenge. im not a “template” following artist where you gonna
be predictable and then disappointed cause i aint drop what you was expecting from a Agallah
record cause im constantly changing, finding new formulas. this is high science so i try not to
overstand the laws but I challenge myself to do great as i possibly can. i am leaving a legacy
behind i want people to give a fuck about.
BBN: I think what some people miss when it comes to your body of work is the amount of
production you do on your own records. What determines whether or not you’ll rhyme on your
own work and how much time does it add to the album creation process?
Agallah: Well i picture in my mind what others have not done before and ponder if that’s what i
want to do i gotta be sure of it and then I start crafting the sound first. once I have that sound in
place i start coming with ideas I watch movies, read books and comedy I get inspiration from
people on the street I may see something spiritual and get inspired it’s definitely a wide aspect
of how I create. if I feel a joint and my head start bobbing to it vibe is right and i know what i’m
saying is truly me or i may get on a another wave depending like ghul is my alter ego sometimes
it’s scary cause you actually start thinking you ras al ghul lmao
BBN: In doing some research for this interview I’ve noticed you’re pretty vocal and upfront about
your time in the industry and the ups and downs that have come with it. This an extreme rarity
these days, can you go into that a bit?
Agallah: Well im pre internet. a lot of people are afraid of the truth and scared of the outcome.i
been thru hell and back and really want people to know my truth im not a saint but I will not
allow my fellow colleagues to make the same mistakes I have in this industry and still learning til
this day how to manage a steady career and stay afloat off doing what i love is make music.this
can either hurt your sales and boost em these days so you need damage control like a
motherfucker facts
BBN: Another rarity whether in or out of music is honesty. We hear gun and drug talk ruling the
radio, ruling hip-hop, however and maybe you’ll agree a lot of these cats are out here lying on
wax about what they’ve been through and done. Why is it so important for you as you release
more and more music for you to maintain honesty and transparency with your audience?
Agallah: I feel like this is a grown mans business , jay z a billionaire and love him or hate him he
up the ante corporate america uses hip hop and makes money from it.so rappers listen if you
rapping about guns and drugs do it different. i feel like a lot of dudes copy a style a few months
later the conscious or they ratchet again lol i mean kendrick can be conscious or rachet and still
have both audiences for example.
BBN: Your catalog is scattered across the digital universe however I see you using platforms
like Bandcamp to perfection to get your art out. Why is it important to own the art you’re releasing and should other artists look into platforms like Bandcamp?
Agallah: shout to my guy harley hussle for that he put me on to the bandcamp hustle. I seen it
and went in and made money doing so. it empowers the artist to handle they own merch and
business. I want the sense of ownership cause you feel like you working for something. heads
can go visit www.agallah.bandcamp.com or get it on all streaming services for the music and
there is merch as well.
BBN: You’ve been going nuts with your releases since the beginning of the year? Can we
expect anything else from Agallah to close out 2019? And is it ok to even ask what you’re
coming with in 2020?
Agallah: well its 4th quarter i got one song out from coke fixtion 2 called flawless i may drop in
November or wait i haven’t decided also ag al ghul the revival on the way 2020 gonna release
instrumental albums as well on propain campain / empire distribution heads can expect more
music on the way