[Ahelghanai] (Ah!) (1996-present) is a Libyan-American rapper, singer, and record producer. Early in his career, he released several projects purely as a producer, featuring other artists as the vocalists. In 2019, he transitioned to recording his own songs, releasing his solo debut HeartBreak's A Beach. A Deluxe version followed, and a heavier, psychedelic-trap album Psychosis came in 2020, with Ahelghanai once again handling vocal and production duties. A pair of EPs (Frozen In Time, Frozen In Time Pt. 2), followed, which served as prequels to the concept album Frozen In Time the Album. He published a short story to accompany the album, which served to expand on the biographical narrative of the track list. Three songs from the album (Maverick, Slide, Falling for You/The Anthem) became minor hits, and his highest performing songs at the time. Following the Album, Ahelghanai released several singles, including his highest performing song to date, Outside, a trap-pop ballad inspired by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2020, Ahelghanai released HeartBreak's A Beach 2, the sequel to his debut album. The 16 track project, his largest project to date, included a feature from notable Los Angeles duo WAV3POP on the track Runaway, a remix of one of the singles released prior to the album. In addition to his traditional melodic trap sound, HeartBreak's a Beach 2 saw Ahelghanai experiment with different sounds, particularly alternative rock. Ahelghanai's first project of 2021 would display a departure from his traditional melodic-rap roots, to full Alternative Rock. He released his first alternative project, Quicksand, on February 1st, along with a music video for the project's single Dremamine.
Biography
Ahelghanai (Ah!) Born Sanad Elghanai, in Seattle Washington on the day July 7th of the year 1996.
Born to immigrant parents, he split his youth between Seattle and Benghazi, Libya, and was present during the start of the Libyan Crisis (2011). Upon graduating high school in the Seattle area, he attended Edmonds Community College on a soccer scholarship. After completing his Associate studies, He transferred to Northwest Christian University in Eugene, Oregon in 2016 to continue his athletic and academic career, and around the same time he started to take an interest in music. Originally making beats as a way to pass time on the long bus rides during the soccer season and when he had down time from studying, as he neared graduation he began to take more interest in pursuing a career in music. After a brief stint of playing semi professional soccer in the Premier Development League (now USL2), he came to realization that his passion for music had surpassed his love for soccer, and chose to pursue music full time.
While initially graduating with a Bachelors Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in 2019, Elghanai opted to return to school in order to pursue a Masters Degree in business so that he is better equipped to manage his own business ventures on his own. While being an artist full time. He graduated from Bushnell University (Formerly Northwest Christian) with a Masters in Business in March 2021.
The oldest of four, Ah! is just one creative mind in his family. While he currently resides in Eugene, two of his younger brothers are entrepreneurs in L.A. who are business owners and branding specialists. The three brothers keep in close contact with each other and regularly collaborate, working in tandem to promote each others projects to their audiences.
Career
Initially only seeing himself as a beat maker and producer for other artists, 2019 proved to be a breakout year for Ah!. He released his first solo project, HeartBreak's A Beach, a deluxe version soon after, and began performing live at local concerts in the Eugene and Portland area, which even lead to Ah! Performing with Gorilla Zoe. This new exposure allowed him to make contacts with a broader network of artists in the area, which gained him a larger list of clients to produce for and exchange artist features with.
Later that year, his second solo album, Psychosis was released, with Ah! on both vocal and production duties, aided by a slew of features from artists he'd come in contact with over the course of the year.
Following Psychosis, Elghanai dropped a single, Agony, originally intended to be the first single for his next album We Were Bad Before We Were Born. While the single was well received, he eventually decided to shelf the project and push his boundaries as an artist, recording on other producer's beats for the first time and putting an increased focus on lyricism and storytelling.
Frozen in Time the Album, his first major project of 2020, was an experimental album for Ah!. It was his first project in which he primarily rapped and sang over other producer's beats rather than his own, as well as his first attempt at creating a concept album. Originally a pair of EPs, Ah! chose to combine the two together, rearrange the track-list, and add several brand new songs to create an album with a definitive narrative from start to finish. Following the release of the album, he published a short story (Frozen in Time the Book) to accompany the album, to expand on the narrative and tell the story in long form. Several of the songs from the album (Slide, Maverick, Falling for You/The Anthem) became the most streamed songs of his career at the time.
While recording his next project, Ah! dropped several singles over throughout the summer of 2020: Rage, a trap influenced, bass-heavy track; Outside; a trap-pop balled inspired by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic; Runaway, a demo track which would eventually make the track list of his next album following a remix and feature from the L.A. based duo WAV3POP; and First Class, a joint single released by him and Yemeni-American rapper Theonlywass as the first single off their upcoming project Middle East Tape. Outside would go on to be Ahelghanai's most popular song to date, and captured the attention of listeners with it's unique blend of pop and experimental trap elements, as well as the optimistic take on current events surrounding the pandemic found in the lyrics.
Later that year, Ah! released HeartBreak's A Beach 2, a continuation of his debut project. This album was his longest project to date at 16 tracks, and blended a mix of more traditional sounding hip hop and trap soul tracks with a few that showed him dip into the genre of alternative rock. A music video for the Album's second song, Goin' Crazy was released soon after.
Elghanai closed 2020 by releasing the single I Don't, a brooding but mellow track, as he took time away to experiment with new sounds and determine the direction for his next project.
The 6 track EP Quicksand was the result. A sharp deviation from his traditional sound, 5 of the 6 tracks were purely rock influenced, particularly alternative, grunge, and nu metal. A music video for for Dremamine, the EP's single, accompanied the release of the project, followed by music videos for You and A Foreign and Survival of the Fittest.
Although he has received several offers from record labels, AH! has opted to maintain his status as an independent artist, stating that he prefers the freedom of being independent, and is confident he can grow his own brand through the knowledge acquired from his business degree, as well as an expanding network of contacts he has made over his career. Primarily in L.A
