INTERVIEW | RHYME ASSASSIN — BRIDGING GAPS AND ELEVATING HIP-HOP

By Rishma • On Interviews

From the streets of Zim­b­ab­we to the UK, Rhyme Assas­sin has been carving out a leg­acy in hip-hop with his con­scious lyr­i­cism, battle-tested flow, and undeni­able pas­sion for the cul­ture. As he pre­pares for the release of his debut album, *Ded­ic­ated to Self*, fea­tur­ing a power­house lineup of legendary MCs, we caught up with him to dis­cuss his jour­ney, inspir­a­tions, and the future of his craft.

Born and raised in Zim­b­ab­we, Rhyme Assassin’s upbring­ing has played a sig­ni­fic­ant role in shap­ing his music. His homeland’s rich cul­tur­al her­it­age and val­ues of respect and empathy are deeply embed­ded in his lyr­ic­al content.

“I am greatly influ­enced by the cul­tur­al dis­pos­i­tion Zim­b­ab­we has. It’s a people who have respect for them­selves and oth­ers, and this has helped me foster empathy in my lyr­ics,” he explains. “The sound back home is some­thing I would love to explore and fuse with hip-hop mov­ing forward.”

Rhyme Assassin’s roots in battle rap have giv­en him an edge when it comes to craft­ing razor-sharp verses.

“Hip-hop is a com­pet­it­ive sport, and battle rap was a way to face my fears and improve my abil­it­ies extens­ively,” he shares. “It made me more astute and assert­ive as an artist.”

That hun­ger and drive are evid­ent in his music, where his intric­ate word­play and com­mand­ing deliv­ery set him apart.

His latest single, Run Em Up, fea­tur­ing hip-hop heavy­weights M.O.P and Ruste Juxx, has been mak­ing waves for its explos­ive energy and hard-hit­ting production.

“It was an amaz­ing exper­i­ence col­lab­or­at­ing with M.O.P and Ruste Juxx because we are all con­nec­ted by our love for the cul­ture and pro­gres­sion,” he says. “I got the beat from @Architype, and I could hear an M.O.P hook on it from the onset. I reached out to them, and voila! They were down. Ruste Juxx and I were already plan­ning on work­ing togeth­er, so this was just anoth­er one in the bag.”

Rhyme Assassin’s impact has not gone unnoticed. He was recently honored with ‘The Best Dia­spora 2024’ award at the Zim­b­ab­we Hip Hop Awards, a mile­stone that holds deep sig­ni­fic­ance for him.

“That award is very dear to me,” he says. “It rep­res­ents the love I receive back home, even as I’m out to con­quer the glob­al stage. Know­ing that those at home treas­ure my efforts and the strides I’m mak­ing as an ambas­sad­or for Zim­b­ab­wean hip-hop means the world to me.”

His upcom­ing debut album, *Ded­ic­ated to Self*, boasts an impress­ive roster of col­lab­or­at­ors, includ­ing M.O.P, Sai­gon, Ras Kass, and Canibus. His vis­ion for the pro­ject is crys­tal clear.

“I want to bring pol­ished artist­ic ele­ments syn­onym­ous with the Golden Era and put raw hip-hop energy back into the spot­light,” he explains. “As for the col­lab­or­a­tions, it’s about like-minded people find­ing com­mon ground to breathe life into a cul­ture we all cherish.”

Hav­ing worked with some of the most respec­ted names in the game, Rhyme Assas­sin has had no short­age of legendary col­lab­or­a­tions. How­ever, one stands out above the rest.

“The Rhyme Apostles record has been the most mem­or­able,” he reveals. “It fea­tures 11 oth­er legendary MCs — some of whom I grew up look­ing up to. All of them are top-tier crafts­men that I deeply respect.”

With Ded­ic­ated to Self on the way and a col­lab­or­at­ive album with Craig G in the works, fans have plenty to look for­ward to. But Rhyme Assas­sin isn’t stop­ping there.

“With @RhymeAssassin, you can always expect anoth­er sur­prise exe­cu­tion at any time,” he teases. “Stay on the edge of your seats and tapped into all my socials to keep your­self updated on the latest.”

One thing is cer­tain — Rhyme Assas­sin is on a mis­sion to leave an indelible mark on hip-hop, and the best is yet to come.

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Rishma

Edit­or / PR Con­sult­ant at No Bounds
Rishma Dhali­w­al has extens­ive exper­i­ence study­ing and work­ing in the music and media industry. Hav­ing writ­ten a thes­is on how Hip Hop acts as a social move­ment, she has spent years research­ing and con­nect­ing with artists who use the art form as a tool for bring­ing a voice to the voiceless.

About Rishma

Rishma Dhaliwal has extensive experience studying and working in the music and media industry. Having written a thesis on how Hip Hop acts as a social movement, she has spent years researching and connecting with artists who use the art form as a tool for bringing a voice to the voiceless.