“I thought I was on to me, that I had it all figured out. Things fell apart anyway. Either I fall alongside the floor collapsing underneath my feet, or I leap.”
Rav
Born in the USSR a few weeks before it was dissolved, Rav ended up spending many of his formative years in the post-Soviet Union slums, raised by a single, young mother. Since that corner of the world was suddenly no longer shielded from the outside world of arts and entertainment, Rav’s exposure to media consisted of a lot of mostly weird Soviet cartoons, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Sailor Moon.
Rav experienced his first dose of Hip-Hop in his pre-teens, falling in love with Midnight Marauders by A Tribe Called Quest. “My whole world changed the moment I heard ‘Electric Relaxation’ - I no longer wanted to be a comic book character, or Donatello from the TMNT, I wanted to be Q-Tip, and so I started rapping.”
LEAP marks the latest – and most personal - release from the prolific Rav. Created while traveling the world, Rav recorded LEAP during the most arduous time of his life. With his path awash with loss and regret, Rav has spent much of the past year trying to find his footing.
LEAP is about hurting, being vulnerable, and most importantly – persevering.
“I’m me, just enough”
