Ash Riser

The first time I heard Ash Riser’s voice is likely the first time most of you reading this did too, even if you can’t quite place what that voice sounds like by reading his name.

“We’re far from good, not good from far / 90 miles per hour down Compton Boulevard.”

The booming baritone that delivered those iconic lyrics at the beginning of Kendrick Lamar’s Section.80 classic “Ronald Reagan Era” is an uncredited Ash Riser. It's the same voice you'll hear on “Keisha's Song,” “Determined,” “Barbed Wire” and “Wesley’s Theory.” For years now, Ash has been one of the most frequent collaborators amongst several members of hip-hop's favorite label; his vocals and influence are all over TDE’s discography, such as the distinctly grandiose, swirling chorus on Ab-Soul’s “Beautiful Death.”

During the GKMC studio session days, TDE label boss Top Dawg offered Ash a record contract that would have entailed signing a management deal with Dave Free (TDE's president and Kendrick's manager) and getting a project distributed right after good kid dropped. Unfortunately, that deal ultimately fell through due to a financial disagreement over how Ash would be compensated for his previous collaborative work. In the time since, however, Ash has steadfastly remained independent, focusing all of his energy on crafting a sound that will break through without the constraining “help” of signing with a label.

This decision illustrates a very important point about Ash Riser, and one that people are just starting to catch on to; take the LA artist at surface value, and you’re missing out. There’s a lot more to the 27-year-old than that booming, raspy voice and all those TDE placements.

All of Ash’s work is intensely layered, a sound that has been changing and evolving constantly over the past decade-plus, reflecting wide influences and a deep understanding of what music he wants to make and how to make it. Dive in, and it’s easy to see why Kendrick, Ab and Q have been enamored with Riser’s eclectic style and distinctive voice.

In the lead-up to the July release of his debut album as Ash Riser, Ghosts—which was preceded by several vocal-driven EPs, a handful of trappy dubby EDM projects as Ashtrobot, and work as the lead singer of LA indie rock group and cult favorite Pistol Pistol—I was able to chat with Ash about his artistic path, his creative process, depression the importance of vulnerability, and the funniest moments making musical magic with Ab-Soul. - Djbooth

Ash Riser has been figuring his sound out for over ten years, and it’s never been consistent. He started out as the singer/guitarist of indie rockers Pistol Pistol, which counted the legendary Kim Fowley as fans. When the band split up, however, he dipped into the emerging dubstep genre as Ashtrobot, emulating acts like Rusko and Caspa. Unsatisfied with simply creating basslines, he started blending in more of his songwriting skills, releasing his Modern Medicine EP in 2015.


And that’s when the Ash Riser persona really took off, leading to collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, Ab Soul, Tae Beast, and more. It was then that Riser found the final piece of his musical puzzle in hip-hop, fitting it together with his electronic and rock background. The complete picture came together as Ghosts, his debut full-length due out July 7th.

Ghosts features had its origins in Riser’s Downtown LA loft. There, he surrounded himself with friends as he wrote, produced, and performed every song on the album, The 14 tracks (plus three skits) include features from Odd Future’s Left Brain and Mike G, Quentin Miller, OverDoz, and more. All of Riser’s journey to this point is heard in the rock (“Hell’s Waiting Room”), gospel (“Lord Don’t Fail Me Now”), R&B (“Selfish”), and even pop (“Can’t Breathe”) found throughout the record. It all comes together as a fiercely unique, hard-fought collection of songs that introduce Ash Riser as a fully formed artists like never before.

Ahead of its official release tomorrow, take a listen to Ghosts in its entirety below. Pre-orders are going on here. - COS

Ash Riser is a multi-talented artist whose expertise spans from singing to production and more. The Los Angeles native got his start as a young man in an indie rock band called Pistols Pistols. As the singer and guitarist for the band, Riser caught the attention of major music industry players and eventually set out to have a solo career.

Riser rose to the top of the underground dubstep scene in L.A. under the alias Ashtrobot but later decided he wanted to get back to his roots of writing and singing. Riser mentions the importance of getting back to songwriting, saying, "I wanted to express myself lyrically and make more than mediocre bass lines."

Simultaneous to his own career, Riser has worked with the hip-hop community, most notably forming a longtime relationship with rapper Kendrick Lamar, whom he worked with long before his acclaimed To Pimp a Butterfly album. His work has led him to also work with other hip-hop artists, including Ab-Soul, Tae Beast and up-and-comer Jay IDK.

Riser hopped on the phone with Billboard to discuss his upcoming project Ghosts (due July 7), what it's like to work with Kendrick, and what he hopes people will take away from his music.

Who were your musical influences growing up?

My mother is pretty much the reason why I do this. I fell in love with bands like The Clash. Obviously The Beatles, Led Zepplin, you know, rock 'n' roll bands. When I really started listening to music on my own, Gorillaz and The Strokes and just that whole indie wave of rock. You know the rock invasion that happened around 2005? All those groups really shaped me into the artist I am now.

Did cross-genre collaboration at the time also influence your cross-genre work?

Yeah, I remember watching [the Gorillaz video] "Clint Eastwood" debut on 106 & Park when I was in sixth grade. And I remember they played the Gorillaz video on TRL. I watched it on there and everyone loved it. I watched it on 106 & Park and everyone hated it. But I thought it was the best representation of genre blending done. Because before then it was like Aerosmith and Run-DMC. And then Wu-Tang Clan and Limp Bizkit. And I loved Method Man. My genuine love of hip-hop has definitely kept me on that side of things.

How did you come up with the album title Ghosts?

I had started on the album, and "Ghosts" is the title track as well. There's a song I wrote called "Ghosts," and it was the last song I made for the album. And then literally two weeks after I made that song, my house was broken into and my laptops were stolen, and my hard drive was broken. And I almost lost everything. And I was listening to the pre-mixes I had, and the original name was going to be And the Villains Keep Winning, and I just felt like at the time that was our motto, and it was a negative portrayal of what we were doing. So when I went back and listened to the album cohesively, and I realized the last song I had written summed the whole entire album up in one word, I felt like it made the most sense. Ghosts represents the people that come in and out of your life. It represents fighting your demons and conquering your fears. The whole album has a lot to do with my relationship with God and how I've grown apart from religion but still kept my faith. I constantly find myself talking to a higher power in my music because it's my therapy.

Was there any song on the album that almost didn't make it?

Yeah, there's a couple songs that almost didn't make it. I made about 30 tracks; we only used 17. Probably my most favorite that almost didn't make it is "Hell's Waiting Room." I felt like it was a little too experimental compared to the rest of the project, which had a lot of borderline pop. But that song in particular was a little too left. The more and more I listen to it and I put it in the place it is on the album, it sets a good tone for the rest of the album. It kind of surprises you in the middle of it. Sonically, what I'm saying in that song is really important.

Aside from being a producer and a singer, you're a writer. Why is that so important for you to emphasize?

A lot of people out here aren't writing their own shit. And case in point why Quentin Miller is on the intro because I have respect for a lot of writers. I think that the written word is one of the most powerful things we have. And I think when it's done correctly, those are the people who deserve the shine. They are the people who are the brains behind the operation and not just the face of it. I've written a lot of things I didn't get credit for. So being a writer, being someone on the side of how that plays out, if you don't stand up for yourself, you're not going to get what you deserve. I just feel like people should know I really do this, been doing it damn near half of my life. I just want people to realize I'm not a puppet.

How did you first link up and start working with Kendrick Lamar?

I've been working with Kendrick since [2010 mixtape] Overly Dedicated. So I met Kendrick through MixedByAli, who I went to junior high with. I was just cool with him. And then my band was playing at Troubadour that night, and I got a phone call. It was Ali saying he had an artist he wanted me to work with and asked if I could stop by the studio in Carson. I said, "Yeah, for sure." We had sold out that show, so I told him to come out to the show. So I pull up and that night I did "Barbed Wire" and "Determined," then Kendrick just kept calling after that. I worked on every project except for DAMN. I was in the studio at least five to six sessions during [2012 album] good kid m.A.A.d. city. When we were working on [2015's] To Pimp a Butterfly, I was there a lot. He would just call me an Uber every single day, and I'd be there eight hours every day for like a week straight. [Laughs] So my relationship got pretty good just based off mutual respect for each other. And then he blew up. I had no idea that he would be as big as he is. He had just dropped [2012 mixtape] Compton State of Mind when I first started working with him. So to see where he is now is insane.

What will fans learn about you on this album that they didn't know before?

That's a good question. I talked a lot about personal stuff on this album. I talk about the death of my best friend, Furoche, all the way to love and having your heart broken all the way to my home being broken into. I've always been very honest. Because part of my brand as an artist is people being able to relate to me on a personal level and know that they're not alone and that a lot of people go through these rough times. You can't pick who your family is. All you do is take the wheels of your own life and drive it. Two years, I was a wreck. My friends were worried. It's been a long journey for me getting my life together because of everything I've gone through that I used to let define me as a man. But then I realized those things don't define me. That's really what I want people to realize: Hardships you've gone through don't define who you are as a person. You go through those things and become a stronger person because of it. - Billboard