Starring in a major theatre production like Ola Bola has inspired hip-hopper Ahmad Abdul Rahman or Altimet to create his own “musical” for his Nov 27 farewell.
The “musical” is his final album, O, which denotes coming full circle in the entertainment industry.
It depicts his “affair” with music in 13 inter-connected songs.
“O is about a passionate young man who falls in love with music, personified as his beautiful lover.
“Each of the songs depicts different adventures they go through, and it ends with them saying farewell to each other,” Altimet told the New Straits Times yesterday.
He said the album was inspired by his two-decade musical journey, which began with hip-hop group Teh Tarik Crew.
He co-founded the group in 1999 with singer and fashion designer Mizz Nina and music producer DJ Fuzz.
“My producer and composer Navigator and I conceptualised O late last year, when I was busy rehearsing for Ola Bola.
“If I were to describe my swansong album in a sentence, it’s a hip-hop fairy tale,” said Altimet, who turns 40 on Nov 27, the day of the album’s launch.
O is one of two albums Altimet is releasing prior to retirement.
The other album, Air, is set for a March 28 release.
Its second single, Mambang, is getting good airplay.
Another single is KL Wangan, the theme song of Pekin Ibrahim’s action-packed film of the same name, which was released in cinemas late last year.
“I came up with the album’s name, which means ‘water’, and it is based on a saying by Bruce Lee that to be a good fighter, one must move like water,” said Altimet, adding that Air was produced by Omar K, Navigator and Emir Hermono.
“I do move like water in all six songs in Air. The producers created the music, while I penned the lyrics and adapted my vocals to their sounds.
“I decided to give them a free hand in sculpting each song for me to navigate with my musical experience.”
When asked about the lyrics of Mambang, Altimet denied it was an “attack” on any individual in the music industry.
“I’m not targeting anyone. I got the idea to create this song from a friend who told me that my musical journey had truly taken me places.
“The lyrics are about the old me and how different I have become now.
“It’s a dialogue between the successful Altimet today and the less confident guy I was when I first started.”
He said the good response to Mambang would not change his decision to retire.
“After two decades of performing, I’ve decided to move up to the next level, which will include producing, writing and composing for artistes.”
He said 40 was the right age to do something different, but still related to music.
“I want to become a mentor and compose music for new singers.
“I plan to produce videos and star in musicals.”