I am a rap artist (lyricist, composer & storyteller) and I was born in Africa a summer evening of June 25th 1986. I was raised for most of my life in west Africa but I never really struggled while growing up even if I was surrounded by pain, misery, grief & sorrow.

Now I'm living in the south of France where I went & graduated from college.

I took the name Iras from a video game that was talking about Egyptian mythology. Iras was the name of a Seth's priestess (Seth being the Egyptian god of chaos). Actually, it was a female name however the story really appealed to me so it didn't matter I guess.

I don't know if she really existed or not but I didn't really care back then. The first priestess who stood up to the status quo and rejected a lot of Seth's beliefs is a very interesting concept. Especially since she was among the few who refused to sacrifice people in the name of an hypothetical god in order to attract some divinatory tainted favors from that so-called deity !

Anyway, music came into my life around my twelfth birthday. I could have told you (like all the other fake ass artists) that it was when I was three years old but that would have been a lie and believe me I've been telling so many already. Nevertheless it wasn't around my twelfth that I fell in love with music, it was earlier than that.
However it was around that time I actually became involved with it intensively.

My mom bought me my first musical software : Hip Hop Ejay and that was when it all started.
That year (1998) everything changed for me.

Since then I've been making music and especially practicing hip hop in general (rapping, dancing, graffing...) and as one goes along I started to develop a style : my own.

There's a lot of people I admire in this game but if I had to pick only two it would be 2Pac & Nas.
On the other hand what I despise about it all is pretty simple : the entire ostentatious side.

Thus, all the "I have money" songs but also the ones about chicks, cars, partying, smoking weed, ego trips, etc. Even if there's a lot of songs I love that put an emphasis on those topics.

So instead of just talking about the street (for example), I'll create a character, his psyche and thence put him/her in motion so that the street becomes a part of his/her journey which will subsequently be translated into a song. This is how my first concept album "The Pilgrimage Of Samael Angel" came to life.

However that album is only the first step since I have a very distinct vision of my entire discography. I know where that vision is going to lead me & subsequently where I want the latter to lead you (the audience) ! Indeed, every single album I'll craft are going to be concepts albums and I plan on making only 7 of them throughout my career (the complete trilogy "The Pilgrimage Of Samael Angel" being the first).

I know it's peculiar for an artist to anticipate everything in advance like this but, as I've mentioned earlier I don't really know how long I have on this earth of ours due to
my genetic illness, which prompted me to devise this strategy !

On another note, you are never going to see my face because I simply can't see the pertinence of having to "sell" myself in order for my thoughts to be broadcast.
That is why the man behind the mask will put the latter on, every time he'd want to be Iras
(I apologize for talking about me in the third person but it's easier to dissociate myself in order for you to comprehend the situation).

The mask on my face symbolizes the fact that I'm keeping private my past, present and future life.
But it also means that :

I, as an individual, do not matter only my art does.

 

Therefore the mask embodies that statement which is also directed
toward all those putting themselves before their art.

Anyway, I hope I didn't bore you too much with these few details about myself because, to tell you the truth, it's not an exercise I'm good at. 

To conclude, if you are still reading this all I can say is thank you.
Thank you for coming into my world, listening to my music & reading my thoughts.