KAFANI: FAAST like a NASCAR

A few months back, I wrote an article entitled, the NASCARIZATION OF A NATION. In that article I looked at how the sport of car racing was gaining momentum. I also described the impact of the sport on a fan base that is reportedly around 75 million strong with $2 billion in spending power. NASCAR fans are reportedly more loyal than any other sport fan.... so,sponsors take note.

Within NASCAR, there is the Drive for Diversity which aims to recruit from various demographics in order to make the sport more global in acceptance. It is no wonder Rapper Nelly has a team, Michael Jordan recently served as Grand Marshal for the Nextel Challenge Race and KOCH Records' new artist KAFANI is "blazing tracks" with his hit single "FASST Like A NASCAR" featuring Keak Da Sneak.

ABOUT KAFANI:

According to a Koch Records press release, after building a name for himself in the streets and with the music industry heavyweights in the Bay Area, Kafani was looking for a way to break through on a major level. The Oakland rapper thought he was onto something when he realized he had some choice slang at his disposal. "'Faasst' was slang in the streets, but everybody didn't know about it," he says. "But it was the slang in East Oakland. Me and my partners were always saying it, so I was like, 'I'm going to do a song about that."

By the time he was 10, Kafani (which means "destined to rule" in Swahili) had a paper route in an attempt to make money. The experience seemingly instilled in him a work ethic and desire to rise above his environment which was laced with negative underground influences. About his work experiences and environment, Kafani says that "it taught me how to hustle and be a grinder." "I'm not the type of person that likes to ask anybody for anything. I like my own. I've always been a self-motivated person."

With the success of "Faast (Like A Nascar)," Kafani's national debut album Money's My Motivation is headed for stores in August. "We're working, hustling, trying to get money and get what we want to get. I'm trying to provide for my family and my friends. The way to do that is money and money is power." He has hooked up with Crime Mob's Diamond for "Move Fast with It," which is being described as a "rare strip club anthem from the West Coast" while "Money" features Kafani breaking down all the different names of currency around the world. He then gets confrontational on the anti-hater "What You Want To Do" and flexes a Southern-styled presentation on "Money Is My Motivation" and "Show Your Wrist Band."

Teaming up with friend and partner-in-rhyme Kashmere "Kash," Kafani started the Babyface Assassins clique and started building a buzz throughout Northern California. Most notably, he networked with Bay Area DJs and became known as "The Ice King" because of the memorable jewelry he wore while promoting himself at clubs and concerts.

Kafani is definitely entrepreneurial in his thinking and if he can rally around the millions of NASCAR fans with his hit "FAAST," take it to the next level with his upcoming album , and capitalize on his street credibility, we predict that he will surely be in the "Money."