Blog





Akuro “Roma” Imbu
Artist, Producer—b . 1990
akuroimbu@gmail.com

I am an artist who is confidently seeking mentorship to better myself as a musician as well as coalesce my seven years of working, songwriting and producing experience.


Skills

Audio Editing, Audio Mixing, Audio Production, Beat Making, Composing,  Creative Writing, DJ-ing, Music Theory, Recording, Sampling, Social Media Marketing, Songwriting, Arranging—Fast Learner, Leadership, Problem Solving, Professionally Sociable,  Self-Confidence

Listening Options

, Apple Music, Tidal
SoundCloud & Bandcamp etc

The origin of my musical career, 2008

In 2009, I turned a hobby into a life-long mission when I decided that music is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I made a commitment to myself that I would give my all to see this come to fruition.

When I was a senior in high-school, a poet came to visit my English class and it was at this time I became inspired to pursue a career in the music industry. The poet (whose name I can’t recall) instructed my class on how to format poetry as an alternative form of expression. This experience later led me to begin writing songs. I then recorded a demo of several songs (created from initial poetry) and released the demo via social media to share with my friends and family my newfound pursuit.

Beautiful Struggle, 2012

My first full-length project released, a nineteen-song mixtape comprised of a compilation of beats from several local artists and industry instrumentals.

Track Listing
1.  Hoop Dreams                                      3:13
2.  Good Morning                                    3:31
3.  Only God Can Judge Me                 3:32
4.  Take It Slow                                        2:33
5.  Hypnotized                                         4:43
6.  Champion                                            4:13
7.  Failure                                                   3:35
8.  So High                                                3:38
9.  Sky’s The Limit                                   4:19

10. Heights Anthem (ft. Shawn)           4:18
11. Give Me A Minute                                4:05
12. Long Story Short                                2:21

13. TC Chillin’                                             2:30
14. Hustle Up (ft. Domo & Rakim)        4:04
15. Get That Money (ft. Infared G)       3:16
16. Rollin                                                     3:46
17. Grateful                                                 2:58
18. Sexy                                                      2:57
19. Summer Party                                    3:51


The project entitled ‘Beautiful Struggle’ was and still is a reflection on my life after finishing high school. In this time, I considered attending college seriously and eventually decided against it. I knew vaguely where I wanted to be in music, but did not know how to get there. I spent over two years performing around the city of Minneapolis trying to build a connection with my community. Eventually, I made a name for myself at a local sneaker boutique-art gallery-performing arts venue called Studiiyo23 in Uptown Minneapolis. It was at Studiiyo23 where I discovered other artists, performers, entrepreneurs, writers who were willing to support me and help guide me towards my stage in being an artist.


Late Bloomer EP, 2014

After releasing ‘Beautiful Struggle’, I took time away from music to better understand myself holistically. During this period, I spent roughly two years working for non-profit organizations based in Minnesota with my own social entrepreneurship in mind

Track Listing
 1.  ‘91 Honda Interlude                             4:34
2.  I Should Be In Miami                          4:03
3.  Mindfulness                                          5:09
4.  Get It How You Live                            5:40

At this stage in my career, I started to recognize that I aspired to be more than solely a rapper. I worked freelance as a production assistant for my brother (a content producer and videographer); camera operating and recording audio before deciding to start another music project. ‘Late Bloomer EP’ became the first project I produced entirely independently; producing, recording, editing and mixing every song. Even with the distractions and setbacks in my life ranging from; family problems, the death of loved ones, periods of unemployment, and drug use, I knew I had to persevere both to complete the ‘Late Bloomer EP’ and to remain an active, positive part of my community. I feel this stage in my life and career was absolutely a critical one.

LOVE EP, 2015

My fourth independent project, a six-song EP, produced with a Minneapolis producer Egypto Knuckles. Released via SoundCloud, Bandcamp and limited quantity physical copies.



Following the ‘Late Bloomer EP’, in an effort to complete the ‘LOVE EP’ I worked with a new creative group to help conceptualize and produce the project. This involved me traveling to San Juan and Vieques, Puerto Rico for 5 days with my friend and art director Anthony Konigbagbe two both complete the final days of recording the project and shoot the album artwork’s cover photography.

From Minneapolis to Brooklyn, 2015

After a severe car accident on Oct 7th 2015, I decided confidently to move to New York on Oct 30th 2015, after deliberating the decision for several years.

I moved to Brooklyn in October of 2015 without a form of employment arranged, hoping to secure an income stream in the music field. Whilst finding two part-time jobs, I started DJing in the Lower East Side two to three nights a week and performing at open mic nights in Manhattan and Brooklyn. I wasn’t able to secure a full-time positon in music. However, I was able to setup a home studio and record new music all the while.

Times Are Crazy, 2016

An eleven-song album written, produced and mixed by myself with mastering done by Eric Bloomquist at River Rock Studios in Minneapolis. This would be my first project finished and release since making the transition to the East Coast.

Intro                             0:40
Hit The Road              3:07
No Holds Barred        2:54
Madness                      3:49
Lonely Soul                 3:28
Lost In Translation     3:10
Ghost Rapper              3:37
Help Is On The Way   3:53
The Darker Side          4:02
Everlasting Glow         5:16
Meant To Be                6:49
After a year or so of living in New York, hustling and creating new music both for myself and others, a new project began to form unconsciously. The album concept (one I think is my strongest to date) emerged from a conversation a had with my roommate and art director Anthony. We constantly speak on our own respective state-of-minds and one topic I couldn’t avoid revisiting was ‘pushing myself’.  I felt since high school I’ve been constantly pushing myself and most recently with moving to New York. However, with work and music I felt slightly stagnant and that my next growth spurt would probably come from gaining a degree in NYC. So before releasing my net project which I have tentatively titled ‘Times Are Crazy’ I decided to first apply to NYU’s Clive David Institute of Recorded Music and begin my pursuit toward being not just solely a contemporary artist/producer but also an educated music entrepreneur and scholar.

Other musical work

https://akuroimbu.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@iboAmor/videos


Fashion/other creative work

https://sites.google.com/view/akuroimbu/home
https://www.linkedin.com/in/akuro-imbu-5922a575/


Further Reading

To Be a Dreamer
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