R-Mean

Artist Information

Biography

Los Angeles-born, overtly-Armenian rapper R-Mean (Armin Hariri) is bringing word of his mountainous ancestral republic to one of our biggest cultural expressions of all : hip-hop. His multi-cultural background and extensive fan base has afforded him multiple opportunities to perform around the world including Canada, Europe, and all over the United States. Through his diverse upbringing, though always true to real hip-hop, R-Mean breaks international barriers through his music like no other artist.

R-Mean’s lyrical prowess and melodious flow has amounted to 13 thousand records sold independently. He has been featured as the opening act for Nas as well as Bone Thugs n’ Harmony. His numerous appearances include MTV’s “Rapfix” with Mobb Deep and freestyling on the legendary “Wake Up Show” on Power 106, Los Angeles. He was also personally invited to New York to appear on Shade 45’s “Sway in the Morning” to deliver yet another explosive freestyle.

With a flow reminiscent of Nas and Eminem, his life experience sets him apart from the sea of artists. R-Mean is a hero of adversity with a distinctive background: born in Los Angeles, he was raised in Amsterdam by a single mother. When R-Mean was one years-old, his father succumbed to an ill-timed death due to medical malpractice. Growing up he faced the dark challenges and oppression posed to minorities.

Eventually he moved back to Los Angeles to pursue his dreams. Using college as a means of moving to California, he enrolled in classes hoping to get signed before ever finishing school. Instead, he ended up graduating from UCLA and even went on to obtain a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Loma Linda University. After analyzing his life, he decided to quit healing through medication and instead heal people through what he feels is the best medicine in the world, music.

R-Mean is armed with a strong and loyal fan base that never fails to show how much his music touches people's lives. He is honored to have received fan mail with heart felt testimonials and pictures of people bearing tattoos of his name and lyrics. Currently he is working on his most ambitious project to date, entitled “7 Deadly Sins,” scheduled for a Fall 2012 release. The first single “Lost Angels” features multi-platinum artist The Game and is now available on iTunes and the music video is live at www.rmean.com.

Instrumentation

Romeo "Goodfellas" - Singer, Production/DJ
French Damato - Guitar/Singer
Alex Kodo - Hype Man

Discography

Broken Water on iTunes

Jackin for Beats

Risin Son - on iTunes and Pandora

Nah Mean Mixtape Vol 1. on iTunes and Pandora

The Infection Mixtape Vol. 2 on HotNewHipHop

Lost Angels (ft. The Game) (Single) on iTunes

Talkin To You (ft. Joe Budden) (Single) on iTunes

Official Website

http://www.rmean.com

Links

• MySpace
• Last.fm
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Official Website
• Youtube

Audio

• Talkin To You ft. Joe Budden
  Listen  
• Lost Angels (feat. The Game & Marka) [Explicit]
  Listen  
• Opposite Of Silence
  Listen  
• Vice Versa
  Listen  
• Fly Away Featuring Soseh
  Listen  
• Still Risin
  Listen  
• How U Want It (feat. Romeo)
  Listen  
• Crocodile Tearz (music video version)
  Listen  
• Pretty RoundRound feat. Romeo
  Listen  

Video

Lost Angels ft. The Game (Official Music Video)

R-Mean Live in Boston

Photo Gallery

Press

• Sway Exclusive: R-Mean ft. The Game and Marka – “Lost Angels” [+ Show ]
  

  Making their mark in Los Angeles, the Lost Angels R-Mean and Marka unite with LA’s own, The Game for...Making their mark in Los Angeles, the Lost Angels R-Mean and Marka unite with LA’s own, The Game for their latest collaboration. Sway exclusively got the first look on their visuals, as all 3 artists show you around their city.
  Watch the Alex Kodo-directed video of Lost Angels, below, and download it HERE.

• MTV: R-Mean's 'Dope' Sound Impresses Mobb Deep [+ Show ]
  

  He can only get better from here on out," Havoc tells up-and-comer R-Mean on "Get in the Game." C...He can only get better from here on out," Havoc tells up-and-comer R-Mean on "Get in the Game."
  
  Crocodile Tearz music video premiered on MTV's Rap Fix

• Listen Up: R-Mean [+ Show ]
  

  Armenia is a small country of fewer than four million people sitting in the south caucus region of A...Armenia is a small country of fewer than four million people sitting in the south caucus region of Asia and landlocked between Turkey, Azerbadjian, Georgia, and Iran. You should know this because Los Angeles is in fact home to one of the largest Armenian immigrant enclaves in the world. Celebrities Serj Tankian and Kim Kardashian (who both grew up in Los Angeles) have each made a powerful impact on their respective fields of alternative music and reality television, introducing disparate and unique takes on Armenian identity into American pop culture. And now, with lyrical prowness and melodious flow, Los Angeles-born, overtly-Armenian rapper R-Mean is bringing word of his mountainous ancestral republic to one of our biggest cultural expressions of all : hip-hop. This fall R-Mean is dropping his most ambitious album to date, 7 Deadly Sins, on Pentagon Records; and the autobiographical first single "Lost Angels" features non-other than multi-platinum artist The Game. A sleek, raw black and white video helps take us inside R-Mean's version of Los Angeles, from Downtown to Little Armenia and back.

• Rapping it Up [+ Show ]
  

  When enough people start paying attention to one person, it can denote the beginning of a movement. ...When enough people start paying attention to one person, it can denote the beginning of a movement. Something about that person’s rhetoric resonates with those who listen.
  
  A skilled rapper, R-Mean (Armin Hariri) tells stories ?to a beat straight from his heart. He describes his family, socio- political angst and cultural phenomena in the form of sincere poetry to a beat. “I’m not supposed to think/ We buildin’ fancy houses for broken homes, there’s no control with broken wings/ A lonely soul that only drinks and copes by holding pens until his emotions flow through ink,” R-Mean raps in “Vice Versa,” a self-expressive song about society. “That’s what hip-hop is about, keeping true to yourself,” R-Mean says.
  
  I met R-Mean years ago through my involvement with Armenian student groups. He was on every shortlist of potential performers at fundraisers and important cultural events organized at universities in Southern California. He drew Armenian youth to events like no other underground artist. He was always happy to perform as long as there was an audience. ?R-Mean has a seemingly lighthearted personality. He likes to joke around and talk to the people around him. In the years I have known him, I have never seen the man visibly upset. It is obvious that he takes to the pen to express his woes.
  
  This he does through his style, which is insightful, deep,?and sometimes dark. “I see my moms starin’ at me in that?open hurse/ that’s when I knew we could get out of these confinements/ don’t ever shush me, I am the opposite of silence” he expresses in “Opposite of Silence.”
  
  The Roots
  
  Much of his character can be attributed to his interesting background. Raised by a single mother due to the untimely death of his father, R-Mean’s family struggled to maintain?their culture in Amsterdam, where he grew up. He describes Amsterdam as being bereft of Armenians, and as such, he was always looking to connect to his kind. “We used to drive an hour and a half on Saturdays to take Armenian classes,” he told me. “And not at a school, but a place where the moms came together, taking turns teaching us the language.”
  
  Los Angeles
  
  R-Mean finally connected to his roots when he moved back?to Los Angeles, the city where he was born. L.A. is where he came out with the song that made him a hit in the Armenian community. It was called “Open Wounds,” and dealt with the events of 1915: “A bit of mystery lies in history’s eyes/ ‘Cuz in time the facts and the figures get twisted with lies.”?The song was not popular simply because it touched upon a topic dear to many, but also because it had a professional quality and an authentic sound. Armenians everywhere responded, culminating in a total number of 13,000 record sales for the independent artist. ?Despite the success, R-Mean’s path was met with resistance. Back in the nineties, hip-hop was not as globalized as it is today where there are lyricists in almost every culture, voicing the struggles of their people. Many countries, including Armenia, have their own niche of disgruntled youth expressing their discontent with society, or simply providing social commentary. However, while there are plenty of artists rapping in the Armenian language in the Armenian mainstream, there are not many Armenians rapping in English in Los Angeles. “When I first started, I would hear ‘what are you doing, Armenians are not supposed to rap,’” R-Mean recalls. Looking back, it is clear that he never took the criticism to heart.
  
  —
  
  To read this article in its entirety, subscribe to Yerevan Magazine, or purchase the November/December 2012 issue.

• R-Mean Freestyles Over the 5 Fingers of Death [+ Show ]
  

  LA’s own, R-Mean, hung out on #SwayInTheMorning and played us his new track with Joe Budden, and spo...LA’s own, R-Mean, hung out on #SwayInTheMorning and played us his new track with Joe Budden, and spoke on how that collab happened, as well as his current single with the Game, titled Lost Angels. Of course, Sway didn’t let him leave with out blessing the mic with a freestyle — 5 to be exact, for the 5 Fingers of Death

• Exclusive Interview:R-Mean The Next Big Thing [+ Show ]
  

  Editor’s Note: I’m excited to bring you an exclusive interview with R-Mean — one of hottest rising s...Editor’s Note: I’m excited to bring you an exclusive interview with R-Mean — one of hottest rising stars in hip-hop today. R-Mean has appeared on MTV Rap fix with Mobb Deep and on the world famous Wake Up Show on Power 106 live for a freestyle session. Power 106 has also featured R-Mean on radio drops for DJ Felli Fel, Tha Goodfellas and Tito, Friday Night Flavas in rotation since September 2005.

• I Got Next
  

  R-Mean amd the Game team up for the track “Lost Angels” from his mixtape “Nah Mean” go cop that!

• “The Rise of the Lyrically Inclined” – Interview with Rapper R-Mean [+ Show ]
  

  Framed photographs of Eminem, Nas and Wu-Tang Clan albums grace the walls of R-Mean’s office in Glen...Framed photographs of Eminem, Nas and Wu-Tang Clan albums grace the walls of R-Mean’s office in Glendale, California. The Armenian rapper has been constantly on the grind. The final tracks are being recorded for his new album, and the video shoot for his first single with The Game is wrapped. “A lot of people say, ‘What the fuck you doing? You grinding?’ but we really are. There’s so much to do,” he says sitting across from me donning a hoodie, a black fitted cap and yellow suede Nikes.
  
  Born in Los Angeles, Armin Hariri moved to Nijmegen, Amsterdam as an infant. His father passed away during a kidney operation, and his mother was left toraise the 1-year-old boy on her own. As a teenager, many of R-Mean’s peers were immersed in the prevalent drug game, but he managed to hold down an honest job at his uncle’s rug store. He hoped to play basketball for the Pre-Professional Dutch National Team, but chronic pain led to knee braces, and his dreams of ruling the court were ultimately shattered...cont

• Favorite Tracks: Week 1 [+ Show ]
  

  Okay, so here’s a new thing we will be doing here at Defy. We will be posting our top 3 favorite tra...Okay, so here’s a new thing we will be doing here at Defy. We will be posting our top 3 favorite tracks every week. These tracks will have something to do with our lifestyle. Something that represents us. So lets begin.
  
  
  Coming in at 1st place: R-Mean featuring the Game – Lost Angels

• R-MEAN - "THE RISIN SON" [+ Show ]
  

  R-Mean (Armin Hariri) is an artist who has risen above struggles, but never struggled to be unique. ...R-Mean (Armin Hariri) is an artist who has risen above struggles, but never struggled to be unique. Intellectually stimulating music with substance, served through his swag, his masterful wordplay and insight entices audiences internationally.
  
  R-Mean’s lyrical prowess and melodious flow has amounted to 13 thousand records sold independently.
  
  He has opening for Nas and Bone Thugs n’ Harmony.His numerous appearances include MTV’s “Rapfix” with Mobb Deep and freestyling on the legendary “Wake Up Show” on Power 106, Los Angeles.
  
  For years I've watched the progression
  of a young MC by the name of R Dash Mean, who poetically comprises his verses with a killer delivery and captivating hooks that seem to remain in your mind for days on end.
  
  Born in Los Angeles, raised in Amsterdam, and being of Armenian descent; R-Mean has a diverse background and has experienced struggle in its truest form after the sudden death of his father.
  
  
  Having been raised in a single family home drove Mean to want to achieve excellence at whatever he set his mind on! It was of utmost importance for him to attend school and earn a doctrine in Pharmacy. Not only is he highly intelligent, but truly believes in the healing power of music. He discovered his love for the art of Hip Hop, at around ten years of age, when he began formulating songs and producing music that speaks to your soul. It's this art form he has managed to perfect, which has independently earned R-Mean fans from all over the world and sold over 10,000 units!
  
  After the release of his first album a few years back, "Broken Water", which garnered the attention of music executives and fans alike. He began opening for major artists such as Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Nas; all while releasing several other projects that can all be found on iTunes. He has performed worldwide in Europe, Canada, as well as across the United States, from New York to LA. With an invitation to perform a freestyle on the "Wake Up Show" on Power 106, and on The Morning Show in NYC for Sway; in which he murdered his competition with such ease and sophistication!
  
  R-Mean's latest collaborations were with The Game on Mean's single called "Lost Angels", which also showcased an epic video shot in the streets of Los Angeles, by Alex Kodo's film company called, "Who Shot Ya Films". Mr. Kodo manages R-Mean and their independent record label "Pentagon Records". They also released a single featuring Joe Budden, called "Talkin To You", which will be on his latest mixtape called, "7 Deadly Sins" to be released late 2012. The initial feedback from the release of "Lost Angels" & "Talkin To You", has been truly remarkable.
  
  When asked how it was to work with The Game R-Mean states, "I had this vision to really try to capture that old signature West Coast sound but with an updated twist and I think Ear2ThaBeat really did an incredible job producing this single. I chose my man Marka to sing the hook 'cuz I knew he's one of those singers that can kill that street shit and put soul into the song. Then it was easy for me and Game to fill in the verses. It was a great experience being in the studio with Game as well. He's a real good and humble dude. He knocked out that verse so quick it was impressive to witness!"
  
  For years I've watched the progression
  of a young MC by the name of R Dash Mean, who poetically comprises his verses with a killer delivery and captivating hooks that seem to remain in your mind for days on end.
  
  Born in Los Angeles, raised in Amsterdam, and being of Armenian descent; R-Mean has a diverse background and has experienced struggle in its truest form after the sudden death of his father.
  
  
  Having been raised in a single family home drove Mean to want to achieve excellence at whatever he set his mind on! It was of utmost importance for him to attend school and earn a doctrine in Pharmacy. Not only is he highly intelligent, but truly believes in the healing power of music. He discovered his love for the art of Hip Hop, at around ten years of age, when he began formulating songs and producing music that speaks to your soul. It's this art form he has managed to perfect, which has independently earned R-Mean fans from all over the world and sold over 10,000 units!
  
  After the release of his first album a few years back, "Broken Water", which garnered the attention of music executives and fans alike. He began opening for major artists such as Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Nas; all while releasing several other projects that can all be found on iTunes. He has performed worldwide in Europe, Canada, as well as across the United States, from New York to LA. With an invitation to perform a freestyle on the "Wake Up Show" on Power 106, and on The Morning Show in NYC for Sway; in which he murdered his competition with such ease and sophistication!
  
  R-Mean's latest collaborations were with The Game on Mean's single called "Lost Angels", which also showcased an epic video shot in the streets of Los Angeles, by Alex Kodo's film company called, "Who Shot Ya Films". Mr. Kodo manages R-Mean and their independent record label "Pentagon Records". They also released a single featuring Joe Budden, called "Talkin To You", which will be on his latest mixtape called, "7 Deadly Sins" to be released late 2012. The initial feedback from the release of "Lost Angels" & "Talkin To You", has been truly remarkable.
  
  When asked how it was to work with The Game R-Mean states, "I had this vision to really try to capture that old signature West Coast sound but with an updated twist and I think Ear2ThaBeat really did an incredible job producing this single. I chose my man Marka to sing the hook 'cuz I knew he's one of those singers that can kill that street shit and put soul into the song. Then it was easy for me and Game to fill in the verses. It was a great experience being in the studio with Game as well. He's a real good and humble dude. He knocked out that verse so quick it was impressive to witness!"

Setlist

1. Five Fingers feat. French Damato
2. Not A Day Goes By feat. French Damato
3. Hate Me
4. Accapella
5. Opposite Of Silence feat. French Damato
6. How U Want It feat. Romeo
7. Crocodile Tearz
8. Lost Angels
9. Pretty Round Round feat. Romeo
9. Still Risin
10. Nothing Left to Lose feat. French Damato

Basic Requirements

Calendar