Words and photos by Lorcan Berg

I met Ghais Guevara, born Jaja Gha’is Robinson, in a quaint coffee shop in Brixton, a fitting setting for meeting someone like Ghais Guevara. I arrived early to prep and relisten to his debut studio album, Goyard Ibn Said, which is now out on all streaming platforms. I don’t know if this will be a universal experience, but listening to it, I felt like I got to know Guevara personally before I’d even shared a space with him. Upon his arrival, he introduced himself as a Philly-born rapper, producer, wizard or whatever I wanted to call it, this set the tone for the interview. 

He arrived bundled in a big coat and cussing out the excruciatingly cold weather. Having recently moved from Philadelphia, it was understandable that he was coming to terms with his frosty surroundings; I certainly still haven’t. We chatted briefly about our battle to accept the harshly grim conditions of London and the effects that can have on one’s mental health before we began. Guevara took a second to ponder as I asked him to describe his characteristics in five words before he settled on “inquisitive, anxious, careful but at the same time adventurous and I like to protect shit so defensive.” It’s funny; I feel like if you could bestow four perfect characteristics on someone who had just moved to London, they would be inquisitive, careful, adventurous and defensive. Getting anxious here is, unfortunately, unavoidable. I was interested to know how he felt about the differences between life in Philly and life in London, he explained “It’s kinda hard to tell, it’s winter time so I don’t go outside, it’s cold as hell, plus these are my first steps into adulthood so it’s just a different experience based on that.” Leaning on one of his characteristics, I was inquisitive to know more, and he went on to say, “First and foremost, it’s gloomier. It’s weird though, it’s gloomier weather-wise, but I don’t get that from the general mood. At least in the groups I’ve been in, people seem to have a more liberating sense of self than they do in America.”

I asked Guevara about what he was proud of in 2024, he told me that, “Getting the album done and being patient up until the release because when they told me January [for the release] it was March 2024. I was like “what am I supposed to do” but it was just learning to be patient.” That patience undoubtedly paid off; when you first listen to this album, you feel like you are fully immersed in the experience. It is as if you’ve been seated at the theatre and you’re ready to enjoy the show. Act 1 begins with a comedic skit before throwing you into a series of stank-face headbangers that’ll be sure to make the stiffest of people get a little loose. This begins with the unanimously and deservedly most popular track on the album ‘The Old Guard Is Dead’ and continues on a similar tempo before closing it out with ‘Camera Shy,’ which takes us in a slightly different direction but on the same path. If Act 1 felt like a party, Act 2 serves as a reminder that whilst life can be loud, fun and rambunctious, there is much imbalance and injustice that is simply swept under the carpet. This information is served to you on a platter of beautiful ballads as Guevara dives headfirst into a pool of songs that cover personal struggle and vulnerability, as well as shared experiences with masses on a daily basis. Guevara has never been shy to comment on social or racial injustices and was defined to be within the genre of “communist rap”, but this album defies all definitions and can only be described as pure, unfiltered expressions, thoughts and music from the mind of Jaja Gha’is Robinson. 

Guevara certainly had a lot to be proud of in 2024, and so this led to me inquiring about what he was grateful for this past year. His answer was quick and concise, “family”, and again the theme of patience comes up as he goes on to elaborate, “Realising how hard it is to be patient when you don’t have that safety net was tough, and that safety net is something that has been able to weave itself back together recently, thankfully.” This warms my heart because I agree on the importance of family, especially in the creative processes, and the safety net that it can provide. We can all get lost in life, whether you’ve strayed too far from the path or gone down the completely wrong one, and having a family there who’ll support and guide you back on track is an extreme privilege. Guevara went on to explain how he would’ve navigated the past year differently, “I definitely would have stepped out more and been more secure in telling myself that “you’re good at music, you’re good at things, you’re a personable person, take more chances, take more opportunities” but I don’t blame myself for that because it’s a scary world but I’m seeing people do things now and thinking, I could have done that but you know, you figure it out.” Self-doubt and comparisons with others are something more than most people struggle with, especially within creative fields. Due to the fact that there’s no linear timeline for progression or real metric to measure success, throughout my career, I have found myself looking around at what others of a similar age group are up to and doubting myself. This is an immensely toxic and detrimental habit that I have worked hard to limit, but sometimes, it’s inescapable. 

I enquired about what Guevara found himself comparing to most often, he replied that usually it’s unattainable things when watching sports, such as dropping 50 at the Wells Fargo Centre (Philadelphia 76ers stadium) or catching the game-winning touchdown for the Eagles. In most instances, however, Guevara has overcome the habit of comparison, “I have things, we have things, we both have two arms and two legs, we can speak, a lot of the time to me, its a technicality thing, like “Oh they can do that because they worked on it, they practiced it, I have the ability to work on it and practice it, so i’m not afraid of that jealousy cos I know that’s just something for me to take that step toward. I can’t be too hard on myself, knowing that I have all that I have. I can’t speak for people that have less obviously, but knowing that I have all that I have, I’m good.” This mentality to me is mightily impressive and something, along with his talent and wit, that will take him very far in his career. I was interested to know how he overcame self-doubt and comparisons, and very bluntly he said, “I win”, which was followed by a hearty laugh. He explained that achieving is the best way of eradicating the self-destructive yearning to compare oneself with others. This could be as simple as completing a menial task or as complicated as putting together an album with layered meaning and messages, but it’s important to pat yourself on the back upon completion of anything.  

I want to close this piece out with a quote, linked to the past couple of paragraphs, that stuck with me long after I left that little coffee shop in Brixton: “If I’m not chasing it then I must not want it like that. I think jealousy is a fleeting thing, if its really sticking then there must be something wrong.” I could not agree more, if you want it, chase it, and if you’re not motivated to chase it, then you must not want it. If you chase it and don’t succeed, dust yourself off and try a different angle. But before you do any of that, go listen to Ghais Guevara’s new album ‘Goyard Ibn Said’ out now on all streaming platforms, then go carpe your diem.