I don't know many 12-year-old rappers who can pack a super-sized punch like AMIRacle. Son of the great DJ Jazzy Jeff and originator of my new favorite slang, "swope," Amir—or as some people like to call him, AMIRacle—has been rapping since before you were eating sandwiches.But before making his mark as the next most thought-provoking rapper, AMIRacle pays homage to what came before, with a shimmering ode to the greatest rappers in his feel-good, back-to-the-basics banger "Think Back." After all, there’d be none of Snoop Dogg’s "Lodi Dodi" if it weren’t for Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh’s original ’85 version.AMIRacle took some time out of his Friday night to talk to me about rapping through puberty (!!!), “Ook maga do do” (???), and the likelihood of a collaboration with Jaden Smith (you know, Fresh Prince’s son). Take a ride with AMIRacle for a dose of hip-hop history and a sound bite of the next generation of dopeness.Noisey: Tell’em who you are…
Amir: My name is Amir, people called me AMIRacle, I’m from Philadelphia, and I was raised in Maryland, but I moved to Hollywood, California. I’ve been here for three years, so it’s basically my home now.And how old are you?
I’m 12 years old.Seriously?
Yeah, and I’m about to turn 13.When did you start spitting?
I’ve been rapping since birth. Ever since I could hold a mic, I’ve been rapping. I can remember at the age of two, like, being in the car with my mom just rapping, and before I could even speak basically, just having fun rapping and that kind of stuff. But basically, it was around the time I was five that I realized that’s what I was gonna do.Like…whoa.
Amir’s mom, Kim: I know I said I wasn’t gonna chime in, but from the footage we have of him, what we noticed is they weren’t even words. He would go, “Na na na na na,” and this rhythm was crazy, you know? And so, at that point, we kinda knew he had a love for it.You knew right away he had something special?
Yeah, we knew it.I would love to see 2-year-old AMIRacle rapping.
Amir: You know, it’s funny; my mom has every single footage basically of me rapping.Can we see the baby rap footage?
[Laughs] No, we’re just trying to focus on these next few more songs just to get them out there, and then we’re gonna start releasing a lot more stuff.Of course, of course.
Yeah.Speaking of growing up, I feel like most people start rapping more seriously in their mid to late teens. What was it like for you to go through puberty and experience your voice changing while developing your style and delivery as a rapper?
Well, it was a weird process. I was nervous—is this gonna make me sound better, is it gonna make me sound worse? But actually, I think it sounds more mature and it tells a story, as well."Think Back" is your debut video for a song that pays homage to the legends of hip-hop. Why is it important to know your know your history?
The history of hip-hop is knowledge, and I can’t do anything without my knowledge. And it’s my responsibility to know, ‘cause I don’t just wanna be a guy who made it. I wanna be a guy who had something to talk about.In the song you list a number of rap legends and contemporaries, living and dead. I know there’s only so much room in a track but if you had to think back—no pun intended—what other honorable mentions would you have included in the track?
Well, there’s definitely a whole lot of people who I would involve, but basically a few of them are Queen Latifah, The Roots, and probably Yasiin Bey—his name is Mos Def, but he goes by Yasiin Bey now.Some ode tracks that come to mind are the Beastie Boys’ "Open Letter to NYC" or Common’s "I Used To Love H.E.R." Do you have other hip-hop tracks that are also homages to something?
The funny thing is that I love the song by Common "I Use To Love H.E.R." but also, I’m a big fan of a song Common’s dad had called "All My Children" and I love listening to it. It’s actually on an Erykah Badu album.In “Think Back,” you say "Ook maga do do." Please tell me what the heck that means when you mention it in your song.
Kim: [Laughs] I’m sorry!What, did I mispronounce it?
No, you didn’t! I just wanna know, after he answers, if you already knew what it means.I seriously have no idea what it means and if this is common knowledge stuff, I’d love it if AMIRacle could teach me something.
Amir: That’s just such a common question. Well, “Ook maga do do”—there’s a movie with Adam Sandler called Jack and Jill, and they were twins, and they had their own language, and they said, “Ook maga do do,” which meant “I love you,” so I’m basically telling hip-hop that I love it.I just thought I didn’t know it because I was just really white or something.
Kim: [Laughs] We had someone else ask, “I just thought you took Amir to South Africa or something and that was Swahili for something.” But another older woman said, “I’ve just been walking around saying 'Ook maga do do' ‘cause he says it so cool!” And she said, “I just didn’t know what I was telling people.”
AMIRacle, does freestyle play a role in your rap development?
Amir: It does, because I develop all my skills from freestyling. Whenever I get a beat, I just listen to it, and I freestyle the whole way, and that sort of develops my concept.I personally think freestyling is important for being an amazing rapper.
Yeah, I do it all the time too, I do it in the car, walking, even sometimes, when I’m listening to music, I rap over their voices sometimes.Who made the beat for "Think Back?"
A: My dad, Jeff (DJ Jazzy Jeff). I know him as Jeff Townes.It’s such a beautiful, feel-good beat.
It’s sick! Personally—and it’s not just because he’s my dad—I think he’s probably one of the best producers there is.It probably goes without saying that you were surrounded with quality music at a very young age.
Well, my dad definitely played an important part, but both of my parents know music to the highest degree, and they don’t just know hip-hop, especially my dad. My mom is very well in that category, she knows hip-hop to classics to jazz to blues, all kinds of stuff.A few weeks ago, both you and Jaden Smith came out with music videos. Seems like an awesome coincidence. Have you had a chance to listen to his raps?
I have, and I love it. I love the freeness in the video—it’s so cool how he does it—and he has a sick flow. And the concept really got me, I really like it. We don’t really keep in touch; we’re cool, but we’re not that big on keeping in touch and that stuff. But I support him, going to premieres and that kind of stuff, but you know, that’s it.What about the sons of DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Princegetting together to collaborate on a track?
I mean, we’ll see in the future, it might come, you never know.During this whole conversation you haven’t made a peep about swag this or swag that. I respect that.
First of all, thank you. But also, "swag"—I have basically eliminated it. Me and my friend, his word was "swag" and mine was "dope," but we just created a word "swope," and it’s just been an awesome word to us, so we just go around saying the word "swope."So any plans for an album or touring?
Well, I’m always writing, and we’re trying to get stuff out. We’re working on an album, but we’re focused on the next two songs just to get me started. I hope to open up for a few people soon, because I don’t wanna just jump to “I want my own tour” and that sort of stuff, even though I’ve got a dream. I wanna start off by opening up for some people. And of course, I wanna keep collaborating with my dad, ‘cause I just love the feel of it. But we’ll see about all of that.That’s awesome. Okay, here’s my last question, if you could collaborate with any living producer and rapper, who would it be?
I would love to work with Dr. Dre. I’ve always admired his stuff, and he has been in the game for so long that I trust all his music and I love all his music. And I would love to collaborate rapping-wise with Eminem.YES!
Yeah, I would also like to collaborate with Teddy Riley, I’ve admired some of his stuff.I’m all out of questions. Thanks again AMIRacle. Pass by the VICE office next time you’re in NYC.
Yeah we’ll keep in touch, definitely. Don’t forget, “swope.”@xavierflavor
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Amir: My name is Amir, people called me AMIRacle, I’m from Philadelphia, and I was raised in Maryland, but I moved to Hollywood, California. I’ve been here for three years, so it’s basically my home now.And how old are you?
I’m 12 years old.Seriously?
Yeah, and I’m about to turn 13.When did you start spitting?
I’ve been rapping since birth. Ever since I could hold a mic, I’ve been rapping. I can remember at the age of two, like, being in the car with my mom just rapping, and before I could even speak basically, just having fun rapping and that kind of stuff. But basically, it was around the time I was five that I realized that’s what I was gonna do.Like…whoa.
Amir’s mom, Kim: I know I said I wasn’t gonna chime in, but from the footage we have of him, what we noticed is they weren’t even words. He would go, “Na na na na na,” and this rhythm was crazy, you know? And so, at that point, we kinda knew he had a love for it.You knew right away he had something special?
Yeah, we knew it.I would love to see 2-year-old AMIRacle rapping.
Amir: You know, it’s funny; my mom has every single footage basically of me rapping.
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[Laughs] No, we’re just trying to focus on these next few more songs just to get them out there, and then we’re gonna start releasing a lot more stuff.Of course, of course.
Yeah.Speaking of growing up, I feel like most people start rapping more seriously in their mid to late teens. What was it like for you to go through puberty and experience your voice changing while developing your style and delivery as a rapper?
Well, it was a weird process. I was nervous—is this gonna make me sound better, is it gonna make me sound worse? But actually, I think it sounds more mature and it tells a story, as well."Think Back" is your debut video for a song that pays homage to the legends of hip-hop. Why is it important to know your know your history?
The history of hip-hop is knowledge, and I can’t do anything without my knowledge. And it’s my responsibility to know, ‘cause I don’t just wanna be a guy who made it. I wanna be a guy who had something to talk about.In the song you list a number of rap legends and contemporaries, living and dead. I know there’s only so much room in a track but if you had to think back—no pun intended—what other honorable mentions would you have included in the track?
Well, there’s definitely a whole lot of people who I would involve, but basically a few of them are Queen Latifah, The Roots, and probably Yasiin Bey—his name is Mos Def, but he goes by Yasiin Bey now.
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The funny thing is that I love the song by Common "I Use To Love H.E.R." but also, I’m a big fan of a song Common’s dad had called "All My Children" and I love listening to it. It’s actually on an Erykah Badu album.In “Think Back,” you say "Ook maga do do." Please tell me what the heck that means when you mention it in your song.
Kim: [Laughs] I’m sorry!What, did I mispronounce it?
No, you didn’t! I just wanna know, after he answers, if you already knew what it means.I seriously have no idea what it means and if this is common knowledge stuff, I’d love it if AMIRacle could teach me something.
Amir: That’s just such a common question. Well, “Ook maga do do”—there’s a movie with Adam Sandler called Jack and Jill, and they were twins, and they had their own language, and they said, “Ook maga do do,” which meant “I love you,” so I’m basically telling hip-hop that I love it.I just thought I didn’t know it because I was just really white or something.
Kim: [Laughs] We had someone else ask, “I just thought you took Amir to South Africa or something and that was Swahili for something.” But another older woman said, “I’ve just been walking around saying 'Ook maga do do' ‘cause he says it so cool!” And she said, “I just didn’t know what I was telling people.”
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Amir: It does, because I develop all my skills from freestyling. Whenever I get a beat, I just listen to it, and I freestyle the whole way, and that sort of develops my concept.I personally think freestyling is important for being an amazing rapper.
Yeah, I do it all the time too, I do it in the car, walking, even sometimes, when I’m listening to music, I rap over their voices sometimes.Who made the beat for "Think Back?"
A: My dad, Jeff (DJ Jazzy Jeff). I know him as Jeff Townes.It’s such a beautiful, feel-good beat.
It’s sick! Personally—and it’s not just because he’s my dad—I think he’s probably one of the best producers there is.It probably goes without saying that you were surrounded with quality music at a very young age.
Well, my dad definitely played an important part, but both of my parents know music to the highest degree, and they don’t just know hip-hop, especially my dad. My mom is very well in that category, she knows hip-hop to classics to jazz to blues, all kinds of stuff.A few weeks ago, both you and Jaden Smith came out with music videos. Seems like an awesome coincidence. Have you had a chance to listen to his raps?
I have, and I love it. I love the freeness in the video—it’s so cool how he does it—and he has a sick flow. And the concept really got me, I really like it. We don’t really keep in touch; we’re cool, but we’re not that big on keeping in touch and that stuff. But I support him, going to premieres and that kind of stuff, but you know, that’s it.
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I mean, we’ll see in the future, it might come, you never know.During this whole conversation you haven’t made a peep about swag this or swag that. I respect that.
First of all, thank you. But also, "swag"—I have basically eliminated it. Me and my friend, his word was "swag" and mine was "dope," but we just created a word "swope," and it’s just been an awesome word to us, so we just go around saying the word "swope."So any plans for an album or touring?
Well, I’m always writing, and we’re trying to get stuff out. We’re working on an album, but we’re focused on the next two songs just to get me started. I hope to open up for a few people soon, because I don’t wanna just jump to “I want my own tour” and that sort of stuff, even though I’ve got a dream. I wanna start off by opening up for some people. And of course, I wanna keep collaborating with my dad, ‘cause I just love the feel of it. But we’ll see about all of that.That’s awesome. Okay, here’s my last question, if you could collaborate with any living producer and rapper, who would it be?
I would love to work with Dr. Dre. I’ve always admired his stuff, and he has been in the game for so long that I trust all his music and I love all his music. And I would love to collaborate rapping-wise with Eminem.YES!
Yeah, I would also like to collaborate with Teddy Riley, I’ve admired some of his stuff.I’m all out of questions. Thanks again AMIRacle. Pass by the VICE office next time you’re in NYC.
Yeah we’ll keep in touch, definitely. Don’t forget, “swope.”@xavierflavor