What Glendale News Press has to say about Pentagon

By Robert S. Hong

With a new mix-tape just released and more attention thanks to performances during genocide remembrance week in April, Glendale-based hip-hop group Pentagon is poised to do big things.

The Armenian trio stands out from other contemporary hip-hop music acts with socially conscious issues, unique subject matter and merging music styles, said rapper Armin Hariri, who performs as R-Mean.

"We have a wide range of music — from club songs to street songs," he said. "Unlike a lot of rappers, we were influenced by the old styles and merged it with the new."

Along with Hariri, back-up singer Teo "Ras Teo" Hartoonian and producer Karlous "Blind" Soltanzadeh, who works on a synthesizer board during performances, the trio plan to elevate their music to new heights as they get acknowledged by local radio stations and collaborate with big-name rap stars. They are also in talks with several record labels, said Tade Hartoonian, one of the group's managers and Teo Hartoonian's brother.

Hariri opened for Grammy-winning rappers Bone Thugs-N-Harmony during a Glendale performance.

The group has performed at Hoover High School and Glendale High School and have given many performances around the area.

When Hariri's first album, "Broken Water," released two years ago, the response was surprising, he said.

"In 2005, we released our first album and it really blew up, it really opened doors," he said. "After 'Broken Water,' everyone was like 'Hold on, maybe Armenians can rap.'"

He and other members of the group are helping to pave the way for other Armenian hip-hop artists, group members said.

"What I see — as far as our music — is that you come across a lot of people who just don't like hip-hop, and we kind of try to touch home so people can feel what were talking about," Soltanzadeh said. "We try to have a variety of [content] while other artists only talk about the usual cliché stuff."

Soltanzadeh — who was nicknamed Blind because he lost his sight after being hit in a drive-by shooting in 1992 — said music has become a way for him to stay focused and positive.

"I've been making beats for a while and I always liked music, but what really got me making music was frustration after I got shot," he said.

With three artists from very different backgrounds, Pentagon's style contains a unique world view, said Teo Hartoonian.

Each member of the group has spent time living outside the country and have brought those perspectives with them, he said.

"We've been together and going strong for eight years, but we are very different," Teo Hartoonian said

"We cover a lot of subjects and topics going on in the world right now — at the end of the day it's part of the music."

And they have already built a solid fan base in and around Glendale, group members say, with numbers growing as they continue to tour the area.

"I've deejay-ed for them a couple of times and when they're live it's just crazy," said Parshen Avanesian, 17.

"When you hear R-Mean on the mic, he's just a lyrical monster."

At the root of some of the group's experiences is the city of Glendale, where the trio really started to take off.

"We got very big exposure in Glendale and, as far as that, it's been really great," Teo Hartoonian said.

"Everything started from Glendale."

Teo Hartoonian plans to release his own solo album within the next year.

Tade Hartoonian said that Pentagon is ready to take off and is aiming to get its voice heard by a wider audience.

"Music is their way of getting their message across," he said.

"It's what they're about. What makes them unique is that they relay the day-to-day difficulties and conflicts they have had in all of their lives."

(c) ArmenianRap.Net