Yas is one of the pioneers of Persian rap music, as well as an icon in the revolution of modern Persian music. What sets him apart from other rappers is that he speaks up about social issues and expresses a message of hope. His interest in the rap game began as a teenager when his father would bring him the latest hip hop CDs from business trips in Europe. At the age of 18, his father suddenly passed away and Yas was encountered with the enormous responsibility of being the primary ...

Yas is one of the pioneers of Persian rap music, as well as an icon in the revolution of modern Persian music. What sets him apart from other rappers is that he speaks up about social issues and expresses a message of hope. His interest in the rap game began as a teenager when his father would bring him the latest hip hop CDs from business trips in Europe. At the age of 18, his father suddenly passed away and Yas was encountered with the enormous responsibility of being the primary caretaker of the household. Due to the substantial amount of his father's debts and barely being able to survive, he was forced to give up his college dreams and go to work in order to support his mother, younger brother and triplet sisters. It was at this moment in his young life when he took up writing poetry which then transformed into rap lyrics of his songs. Writing and rapping was his way of expressing his feelings of a tough childhood, as well as keeping the memory of his father alive. "Hoviate Man" is Yas' debut album, filled with 14 tracks that express a message in the form of Persian hip hop. From personal tragedy to a natural disaster to national pride, this album has got a wide variety of tracks that truly make the listener listen to the music, rather than hear it.

Some of the hit tracks in this album are “Be Omide Iran”, “Bayad Betoonim”, “Che Roozhaye Sakhti”, “CD ro Beshkan”, “Bam” and “Hoviate Man”

“Be Omide Iran” is a song that Yas uses to very honestly and bluntly discuss some of the major issues that are going on within modern day Iran. The background music adds a lot to this track as traditional Persian instruments are utilized and collaborated with a hip hop beat. The end of this track he says something incredibly true in that all of us Persians are proud of our rich history and heritage, but that’s all in the past, what about the future? We have to unite, move forward and make a positive future for our nation.

“Bayad Betoonim” is an incredibly deep song with exceptional lyrics that provides both an uplifting and positive message. This track expresses the fact that life goes on and even when things aren’t going well, then we all must move forward and appreciate what we have, because there are people in the world who have it much worst than we do. In addition, he says one of the great quotes: “Badtarin sharayete mano to arezooeh yeki digeh hast”. This is an absolutely beautiful song and a personal favorite of this writer.

“Che Roozhaye Sakhti” is definitely the most personal track on this album, which revolves around the personal tragedy that Yas had to endure as a teenager. This song tells an in depth story about how the passing of his father was only the beginning of his problems. The hard beat, chorus and the emotion in his voice make the listener feel the pain and the tough times he has endured.

“CD ro Beshkan”: In 2006 Yas was motivated to write this song due the sex scandal video involving Iranian actress Zahra Ebrahimi. She was an up and coming actress; however, this sex tape that was circulated throughout Iran basically ended her career and made her life a living hell. In this track, Yas is extremely critical of people who had a hand in cutting this poor girl’s career far too short; in addition he urges people to get rid of this video footage and ‘break the CD’. This song resonated with many people as it was downloaded by millions within Iran, many of which personally wrote to Yas and said they literally broke the CD.

“Bam” is the very first song Yas wrote and what really encouraged him to reach out to people through his music. In December 2003, the city of Bam was hit by a horrifying earthquake that killed approximately 50,000 people. The devastation that Yas felt after interacting with victims who lost their families, as well as seeing first hand the destruction this disaster caused motivated him write this song. This track is monumental because it officially marked the beginning of his rapping career.

“Hoviate Man” is Yas’ mega hit, which has in some ways almost become a modern national anthem amongst the young generation of Iranians all over the world. This song is in response to the movie “300”, but rather than insulting the movie,Yas aims to teach the world about the about the incredibly rich Persian history, heritage and pride. It is an absolute beautiful song in which Yas does a phenomenal job summing up 2,500 years of tradition rich history. It’s not only the words, but the passion and emotion in his voice that makes this song extraordinary.

Yas has set an entirely new standard for Persian rap and has become an inspiration for young up and coming rappers in the industry. Rap is a genre of music that was not very well accepted in Iran but Yas has been one of the monumental figures that have made Persian rap music widely acceptable and incredibly popular in Iran. It used to be that rap songs were meaningless songs about violence or sex, but Yas does not curse in his song, nor does he talk about violence or sex. In essence, he has changed the rap culture by expressing life stories, social situations and extremely meaningful, as well as deep lyrics. Yas is the Persian 2Pac.