(V.I.G. Productions) -- On his fiery and autobiographical debut CD, TIMZ—aka Tommy Hanna, an American born rapper of Caldean and Iraqi descent--gets right up in our faces, mixing explosive, Middle Eastern tinged beats with incendiary rhymes in an effort to shatter those ugly stereotypes that have plagued people who look like him since 9/11 and the start of the Iraq war.
Make no mistake, the title of his powerful, outspoken and heavy grooving 14- track collection—a nominee for Best Hip-Hop Album at the 2006 San Diego Annual Music Awards—says it all: the San Diego born and bred artist is Open For Business.
Propelled by gripping imagery and heavy grooves as his mouthpiece, TIMZ is on an intense mission to help Americans understand that Caldeans, who are Catholic by faith, were the true native people of Iraq dating back to Babylonian times, before Arabs and Muslims became the dominant people of the region. "A lot of people don't know the difference between Iraqi and Iranian," he says.
"They lump us into one big group of Bin Ladens and Saddam Husseins walking around. After 9/11, a few people came into my dad's liquor store and gave him a hard time. But we're hard working people who love our country. A lot of people hear my lyrics and hear the anti-Bush antiwar sentiment and assume I'm a terrorist or I hate the U.S. But that's not the case. I was born here but my parents were born in Baghdad."
While TIMZ—a recent business administration graduate of San Diego University-- has been the pride of his hometown's 20,000 strong Caldean community (San Diego boasts the second largest flock of them in America after Detroit) for years, the extraordinary reaction to "Iraq" across the country is giving him some well deserved cred as a national artist.
Earlier in 2006, he and his manager Alvin Sharmoun, who are principals in TIMZ's independent label V.I.G. Productions, sent out CDs to 300 college stations across the country; within days, over 280 of those were putting the song into regular rotation. "Iraq" was #4 Most Added on the CMJ College Pop Radio Stations Chart, and hit #1 on 11 reporting stations everywhere from Pennsylvania, to California, from Chicago to New York and Florida.
"Iraq" is destined to be a true rallying cry during these difficult political times. "Dear Mr. George Bush," TIMZ raps. "Why do you insist to make a fool of us? For over 200 years… we stood for what's good, now we despised by our peers; And what do you...but add fuel to the fire and send in more troops. Oh the troops God save the troops; it wasn't their war their lies their fault. America the beautiful what did they do to you, they used you its so indisputable!"
More than simply a brilliant rapper, composer and studio talent, Timz is a dynamic live performer who lives for the moments when hundreds of fans "are throwing their hands up and having a great time." He's hosted numerous parties where he's performed for anywhere from 250-600 fans, and lately has been headlining at San Diego hotspots like the River Walk Club; he also recently hosted a record release party for Open For Business in Detroit, the city where his parents first settled when they came to America.
"For obvious reasons, 'Iraq' is the track that's getting the most attention, but the concept of Open For Business is a day in the life," TIMZ says. "We called it that because that's what I am, open for business all the time. I am at work and if I wasn't at work I was at school and if I wasn't at school I was in the studio rapping. The title track sets the mood and tells really what I do on a daily basis, which is running my dad's liquor store. It's not 9 to 5, more like morning to night, 365 days a year with no holidays. I'm here, I turn on the light and get the register going.
"Other songs are about different aspects of my life," he adds. "I have legendary West Coast rapper Spice I on 'Public Enemy No. 1,' a song about the reaction from people to me as I ride around, turn the music up and enjoy my fun California lifestyle. 'How Can We' is a fun party song, 'Ride With Me' is a spirited, high energy track and 'Put It On The Pole,' which I did with TQ, one of my all-time favorite rappers, is a song about hanging out at a strip club. On the whole, Open For Business, incorporates a little of everything in my life, my political views, my love life and my party life. I love the balance."
TIMZ has also been all the rage on talk radio in San Diego for a variety of provocative reasons, the first for hosting a party and performance that was broken up by the police, allegedly by a noise complaint. The talk show hosts and their listeners were interested in the idea of an Iraqi American rapper, and wondered if it was just the noise that upset people. On the lighter side, TIMZ also did a fun hip-hop remake last year of "Super Chargers," the San Diego Chargers theme song, that was first performed in the 70s. This year, TIMZ and his buddies have been hanging outside Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley before every home game, passing out CDs to fans—anything to spread the word that he's truly, yep, Open For Business.
"Another big thing about my music is that it has a lot of Middle Eastern influences," he says. "That's been a big trend in hip-hop for some time, but I think it's more authentic when an Iraqi American like me brings it to the table. I'm not shy about being proud of who I am, and it's great to educate people about my culture by rapping about things that other artists can't. But beyond the message, my goal is the same as any other artist trying to break through and touch as many people as possible. I want to give the audience the best performance I can and keep the energy level high. I want my fans to go home after one of my shows and say that concert is something they'll always remember."
