One of the hottest hip-hop acts to grace our speakers is back and better than ever; George Khouri returns to enlighten us on hip-hop's future with his latest banger, "GHOST."
Heavily inspired by the likes of Tupac and Wiz Khalifa, George Khouri incorporated the vibes and approaches of these artists into his early introspective tracks that saw vast rotation from radio stations in the DMV. Khouri's dedication to his craft is limitless; he has a hard drive packed with over 300 songs and has even shared the stage with powerhouse acts like Immortal Technique.
Now releasing his conceptual and groovy bop, "GHOST," the track even features a lively introduction from none other than Busta Rhymes, who clearly couldn't be more thrilled to introduce such a sought-after act like George Khouri. He also released a music video for the track, which follows Khouri around eerie alleys with shots of Ouija boards and incredible editing to help get his message across.
Listening to the single, "GHOST," the track opens with Busta Rhymes giving big ups to his boy George Khouri and making room for his attention-commanding performance. As Khouri steps in alongside the haunting and heavy hip-hop beat, he jumps into his rhythmic and conceptual bars surrounding how hip-hop isn't dead; it just went "GHOST."
There's something about Khouri's performance and vocal tone that leave us at the edge of our seats; his low and mysterious delivery is nothing but alluring. To round it out, the punchy and powerful sonics offer a similarly eerie and intense feel to up the song's vibe and let us focus on Khouri's powerhouse performance.
Do yourself a favor and introduce yourself to George Khouri's latest hit, "GHOST," now available on YouTube and all digital streaming platforms.
A warm welcome back to BuzzMusic, George. We love the intensity and power of your latest conceptual single, "GHOST." What inspired you to write a track about how hip-hop isn't dead, but instead, it went ghost?
Thanks for the warm welcome back! It’s always a pleasure to speak with BuzzMusic! Hip Hop was my first love. One of my lines in GHOST is, “Never been in love before but Hip Hop lives in my heart.” Many people say that Hip Hop is dead; but my take on it is that it isn’t dead, it’s just evolved! Just like you can’t kill a GHOST, you can’t kill Hip Hop! It will live forever. My initial idea for the song came from a poster I had hanging on my wall when I was a kid. It was a drawing of all the best rappers combined together. GHOST is my musical interpretation of that poster! As they say, art inspires art!
How did you manage to get Busta Rhymes to give you a solid introduction for your single "GHOST?” How did that process go about?
I shouted out Busta in the pre-hook of my song: “Bustin’ a Rhyme, Flippin’ the Mode!” So I hit him up about it and he showed me, love, by blessing me with an intro and an outro. Fans have told me that they love the tone he sets for the song. Busta is undeniably a GOAT Emcee and one of the best performers to ever do it.
Did you create the punchy and intense production for "GHOST?” Or did you work with any other producers to help navigate the vibe and atmosphere of the sonics?
Big props to Drey Skonie! He composed the instrumental for GHOST. The second I heard the beat, I knew it was the perfect fit for my concept. Not only does it have a golden era Hip Hop sound to it, but it also has a haunting vibe that’s perfect for a ghost-themed song. Just in time for Halloween!
How does your music video for "GHOST" emphasize the message you rap about? How do the video's scenes add to the story?
The music video emphasizes my message in GHOST by showing visuals of the great Emcees I’m rapping about as I’m “summoning them” on my Ouija Board. There is a projector screen behind me as I am delivering my lines. My favorite part is of course when the image of Busta Rhymes pops up on the screen towards the end of the video.
What did you want the listener to take away from your bars in "GHOST?” What did you want to make them think and feel?
The number one thing I want the listener to take away from my bars in GHOST is that we all need to pay homage to the Hip Hop legends and all they’ve done. Their contributions to the game cannot be forgotten. Without them, we wouldn’t have the incredible genre that we all enjoy today. That’s why I’ve become such a huge fan of VERZUZ.
What's next for you?
I have an unreleased album that I created about six months ago, but I keep pushing the release date back so I can work on it more. I feel like I can relate to Ye! Don’t know exactly when it will drop, but that’s what’s next for me. The bars are set high because my last album, Lucky 7, debuted at number 20 on the Top 100 iTunes Pop Charts.