Let's start by asking you your full name.
-Armin Hariri

Which year did you start realizing about your rapping talent ?
-I started rapping just for fun when I was like 17 - by the time I was 18 I realized I’m not that bad.....

How was growing up in the Netherlands different from the other Armenians, do you think it would've
been different if you grew up in Armenia?
-Of course it woulda been different, I mean each country's gon be different and each will have its pros and cons - In Holland the Armenians were real cool cuz there were so few of us so everyone would be real cool w/ each other - it was just mad love and we would be real happy just to see another Armenian. That’s as far as it would go, aint nobody judgin no one for no reason or talkin mad shit - it was a real tight community. Here in LA it’s a whole different story unfortunately. We're too divided here. Everyone's worried about what kind of Armenian u are instead of uniting. Since we're a diaspora nation we've been all over the world for so any years that everyone grows up in different places and everyone has a different experience of being Armenian. How would it have been if I had grown up in Armenia? I don’t know. No idea. I been to Armenia but just to visit. It was an incredible experience but I grew up very differently.....

How did you get up with Bone Thugs ~N~ Harmony, and a lot of other celebrities ?
-I mean I been doing this for a while now. My name's been out in our community for a couple years now but I been doing this for a lot longer and my primary purpose was never to get big in the Armenian community only. I was tryna get in the GAME. I mean the real rap game, not the Armenian rap game. That's why I got certain
connects, I know a few people here and there. When we found out Bone was performing in Glendale it was just a matter of contacting the promoter. This is my city. I got fan base here so its easy to get on that show and impress both the promoter and Bone's manager. After that they started asking me to perform with them cuz they were so impressed from the first show. Besides that my music has just spoken for itself. I been getting down w/ radio b/c ppl like Felli and Goodfellas heard my drops and went nuts. Now Goodfellas hookin me up w/ not only radio play but for example shows w/ Nas, Tyrese, etc. Same thing w/ Game. He heard my Broken Water album and called me back in like 40min like "yo, u comin to the studio w/ me tonight!" - lol. So basically its just a matter of getting the music in the right hands cuz the music is there..... there's no doubt about that.



Who influenced you ? Who got you IN THE GAME ?
I been into REAL Hip Hop pretty much my whole life. Artists like Gangstarr, Nas, Wu-Tang, etc. They influenced me. As far as rapping I created a very versatile style where I can talk about real shit and then switch it up and talk about parties and bitches and still sound like me. Still be me. That’s cuz I was influenced by a wide range of Hip Hop artists. As far as who got me in the game..... pretty much no one lol. We did it ourselves. Me and my crewmembers were like yo, we just gonna make an album, print like 1000 of em and see what happens. Next thing u know it spread crazy. All word of mouth, it just blew up. We didn’t have no money for promotion, we didn’t have no big groups of ppl ready to help us out, we didnt have none of that. No flyers, no stickers, no posters, no none of that. The music marketed itself. It was crazy. No one helped us.

Your rapping style sounds somewhat like EMINEM's, which is a good thing, is there a connection or did you listen to him a lot from the begining ?
-He’s definitely been an influence as far as flowing goes but I think almost every emcee that came out after Eminem has been influenced by him one way or another. With me I think the main reason people see somewhat of a similarity is because I also have a certain intensity when I spit. And I poor my heart out too. Most rappers are calmer, feel me? But if people pay attention as to what we really talk about and what kinda vocab we using and stuff they would see more differences than similarities. Thanx for the compliment though.


Any shows you're planning to make soon ?
-Yeah man I got mad shows lined up for April. I’m mostly trying to hit up schools now, high schools and colleges. They seem to be the best crowds. I’m going all over California all the way to San Francisco and then hopefully we’ll expand even further soon. Shows are always listed on www.myspace.com/pentagon


What are your thoughts about Armenia and the whole Armenian Genocide by the Turks ?
-What are my thoughts? This could take a minute lol. I mean I think it’s obvious what my thoughts are, or what OUR thoughts are. The world does not want to recognize it and it’s ridiculous. It’s a violation of humanitarian laws. I just recently saw a video from C-SPAN where our secretary of state Condoliza Rice (I hope I spelled that dumb bitch’s name right) is in a heavy argument defending the Turkish government and arguing that it is up to Armenians and Turks to get their facts right and work it out and that Armenians should let go of the past and all of that. It’s crazy. What historians OUTSIDE OF TURKEY still think the genocide never happened? None. So why not just recognize the truth? Anyway, just listen to my track “Open Wounds”. That’s how I feel about it.

What do you think of the A.Y.F. (Armenian Youth Federation) and the A.R.F. (Armenian Revolutionary Federation) in general ?
-I was raised in a family that supported the AYF and ARF. I’ve gone to their demonstrations and performed at AYF events as well. I personally do not belong to any political parties but I support the Armenian cause overall and I believe in the unity of all diaspora Armenians so we can stand strong together.

What is your typical April 24 each year ? and is there something special you'll do this year ?
-Since I was a kid living in Europe typically my mom would take us to some type of protest somewhere in Holland or Germany. I was raised to be involved. Later when I studied Armenian history more thoroughly and learned more myself I learned to appreciate the importance of it all even more. Now typically a lotta places ask me to perform during the month of April. Different schools and federations and stuff. Even when I wasn’t performing I would always attend at least a few of these. On the day of April 24th itself I’m always at the march in Hollywood in the morning and then protesting by the Turkish embassy in the later afternoon. I know there must be a way to make a difference in a better way but I don’t really know what else we can do.


Where were you born and when ?
-Glendale baby. May 29 1980

How did you meet Teo and Blind, how was the connection of the first song with them made ?
-Me and Blind met in 1999. I knew his cousin. He heard one of my tapes and gave it to Blind. Blind called me and we met up. At the time we were both beginners and both of us didn’t really have too many people to work with. I didn’t really know nobody and he only worked w/ a few gangsta rappers from his neighborhood but it wasn’t nothing serious like that. When we got together the first day he already had the idea of starting a crew called Pentagon. First song we did right there at his crib. He played me some beats and I wrote it right there – it was called “Do U Know?”. It was real hot, best thing either one of us had done up to date. We felt the chemistry so after that it was a wrap. I met Teo 2 years later during summer school at Glendale College. We already knew each other by face and he knew I rapped but we never really talked like that. That summer we saw each other almost every day so we started talking. He wasn’t really singing back then. He was more of a manager. He was more of a behind the scenes person. I spit for him and he went crazy and just the way he was talking w/ such a passion I knew right away I needed this guy on my team. I introduced him to Blind and first thing he did was pay for some equipment for Blind to show he ain’t fuckin around. After that we became a team. Thru out the years Teo developed more and more into an artist and songwriter and less and less a behind the scenes person.

// What was the name of the song of you with The Game ?
-He just played me a beat and asked me to spit 2 verses on it – don’t know but it was on some west coast shit


What do these words get to your mind as you read them:
Glendale:- Home
Yerevan:- Wish it was Home
Middle East:- nothing really…
Europe:- my childhood
Music:- my life
Fame:- fuck fame
1915:- never again


Any last words that you would like to say and express your self at HayemYes.com ?
-Just thanx for having me. Appreciate all the love. And for those that wanna check me out and stay up to date w/ everything we do hit us up at www.myspace.com/pentagon