Mussah Ladd (born May 2, 1989), to the hiphop culture known as Jabs, is a Malawian emcee and recording artist from Lilongwe. Born the only child to a single mother, he was raised up by her until he was 14 before she passed away.
He fell in love with music at an early age in this childhood, inspired by his mom; he started rapping at the age of 10 with his friends who used to beatbox and freestyle. He wrote his first song at the age of 12 “back on the scene for the first time” and performed at a school event. Knowing his passion for music he nurtured his skill with his friends Nosh, Sage Poet, Verbal L and Ed G in freestyle cyphers around the age of 15.
Some of the hiphop artists that have inspired Jabs include2Pac, DMX, Nas, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Black Thought, Common Sense, Guru among others.
Jabs released his 1st single when he was 21 years old “Smile”. This minute accomplishment gained him enough credibility to get collaborations with more artists in his area such as Pleonazm, Genetix & Prototype, Bionix, Slim, and Zeze. He went on to work with One Lord Records’ DJ Kali on his Mixtape Vol. 2 with his song “One”.
A wise intelligent academical beast, Jabs also loves sports, Basketball as a pro baller for Cezobal’s Cougars and an Arsenal soccer fan.
He is inspired by God whom he believes has a purpose for him, by life, by his mother whom he believes lives through him, his Uncle; a doctor who is the breadwinner of their extended family and role model, his grandmother (the roots of their family, a strong woman whose veins flow with love and hope), his producer, his family, his friends and all the people that support him.
Jabs is back to express his emotions through music. The rises and falls, the happiness and the sorrow, the love and hate, the victories and failures, the pain, the anger, shame, heartbreaks and all he has undergone in the few years growing up. Using music as a weapon of expression, meditation, emancipation and destination.
His fruits as an recording artist are yet to be seen in the upcoming project “Foreplay (My journey thru time)” with songs like “Smile 4 Hip-Hop” expressing his love and joy for Hip-Hop, “Feels Good”(A wonderful feeling from being with a girl), “Alone” (a song depicting a state of mind when one feels abandoned/left out by his close ones) and “One for life” (a song dedicated to his mother expressing his sorrow and how much he misses her)”
In the Foreplay, Jabs displays his skills in wordplay, metaphors, lyrical content with remarkable style and delivery. His songs are the soundtracks to his life. He is featuring artists like Fundo, Bionix, Slim, Merlyn, Serious and many others. Keep your eyes and ears opened to cope it.
Listen to the song here