Biggie Babylon is making serious moves in the global hip-hop scene, and we had the pleasure of catching up with him on Spinex Music for an exclusive interview. The San Diego-based rapper, songwriter, and entrepreneur, born Alvin Shamoun, opened up about his creative process, recent releases, and the journey that has shaped his artistry.
Known for blending West Coast energy with international appeal, Biggie Babylon has been steadily gaining recognition. His 2018 album #HipHopNdance earned a nomination for Best Hip Hop Album at the San Diego Music Awards, marking a major milestone in his career.
His latest single “ALL IN” is already making waves, and he’s currently gearing up for the official video release. Having toured across multiple countries, Biggie brings a worldly perspective to his music, connecting with fans far beyond the U.S.
As his momentum builds, one thing is clear: Biggie Babylon isn’t just chasing success; he’s built for it. With sharp lyrics, global stage experience, and a clear vision, he’s an artist you’ll want to keep on your radar. Check out the interview, and be sure to stream “ALL IN” beneath.
Briefly Introduce yourself and tell us what or who motivated you to go into music?
I am a Chaldean recording artist and entrepreneur from San Diego, California. I fell in love with music at a very young age although I never saw myself as amusician. I first got into the music business as a manager for an up and coming hip hop artist and helped develop him into an internationally known
artist. Just as things were going great, he was offered a full scholarship to law school and he took it knowing that his days as an artist were done. But for me, the music industry had me hooked. I loved the whole process of creating and promoting music so I decided to look for another artist to manage. I made a checklist of what I was looking for in an artist and soon realized that even though I had never recorded any music myself, I checked off all the other boxes on the list. I hired one of the best producers from my city to make arecord for me and after I heard myself professionally recorded for the first time, I knew that I could do it! I figured, if those people I’m seeing on TV can do it, why can’t I? Plus, my people are from Babylon where music was created so I felt it was my duty to remind the world that we are still here.
Your album “HipHopNdance,” was nominated for Best Hip Hop Album at San Diego Music Awards. What was your reaction when you got nominated for this award?
In a city with over four million people in which there are thousands and thousands of talented musicians, I was completely thrilled to be nominated. My manager called me and told me to turn on the local TV news and I saw myself as a nominee for Best Hip Hop Album in 2018. It really gave me encouragement to keep going as an artist because the nomination meant that people were really listening and loving my music. The bar was set and I strived to get even better. My next album, “The Greenprint,” was also nominated in 2020 for Best Hip Hop Album so I have been honored to be a
multiple nominee of the San Diego Music Awards. There’s nothing like getting the respect from your hometown but my goals are set even higher. I want that Grammy Award!
You have performed in places like Dubai and Paris etc. How was the experience like performing in these places?
One thing that I love more than anything is to travel and see new places so the fact that I get paid to travel the world and to perform in places like Dubai and Paris still blows my mind. I love immersing myself in the culture, meeting the people, eating the local food, and vibing out with the fans. In Dubai I met up with an old friend who attended college in the USA. He had never told me that he was part of the royal family out there! He took me and my manager on a private tour of the city which I can say is easily one of the best days of my life. Paris was amazing as well but it also taught me to be more cautious when on the road because my cell phone was stolen.
You are gearing up to release the music video for your recent single ‘all in’.What should your fans expect from this video?
I hired one of the best and most sought after music video directors in Los Angeles, Damien Sandoval, to make the “All In” music video but he ended up making it into a little four minute movie! It’s based in an underground VIP casino setting with the fly people, strippers, models, and even guest stars a villian! I don’t want to give too much of the video away but it is definitely something that I can’t wait to share with everyone and promote worldwide. I have plans to get the video translated into over 10 languages and then promote it internationally. It will be the first time a lot of new fans throughout the world will be introduced to Biggie Babylon and I’m sure they will never forget me after seeing the video!
You run multiple business ventures. How do you balance your music and business life together?
Music was always my number two priority because I was raised and groomed to be a businessman by my father. I had my own small business by the time I was twenty one and have been a business owner since. As an independent artist, it is on you to fund your career so I always had to focus on making an
income to support my dream. Over the years, I was able to put a team in place that helps me run the music business side of things so I can focus on my real income producing businesses. One thing that was hard for me to learn and accept was that you can’t always do this on your own.
What’s the rationale behind your ‘DJ Loud Pack’ and how has it impacted your career?
As a brand ambassador for Babylon’s Garden, I wanted to see how I can combine the music and cannabis industries and create something unforgettable. That’s when I invented the ‘DJ Loud Pack” as a way to promote my music. Babylon’s Garden has a small can similar to a cat food or tuna can that they use to package cannabis. I know that a lot of DJ’s use cannabis so I took one of the Babylon’s Garden cans and filled it with two pre rolled joints, one gram of premium cannabis, one piece of an edible, a promo wristband, and a flash drive with the music I was promoting. The can was sealed and the outside had my picture and all the song information and my links. I took a few hundred of the cans to a national DJ conference and passed them out. By the end of the weekend, the cans were being talked about all over the country by countless DJ’s and prominent members of the music industry. One senior executive at Interscope records said, “this is the most brilliant marketing I have ever seen an independent artist do, congratulations.” I knew I had something special and I still make the cans anytime I have something new to release.
What would you be doing right now, if it wasn’t for your music career?
I would probably be stuck working in my fathers liquor store like he has been for over fifty years! I think about it sometimes but I can’t picture myself not being involved in music one way or another.
Who are your role models in the music industry and who amongst them would you like to collaborate with if given the opportunity
My role models are people like Jay Z and Dr. Dre who took their music and leveraged that into creating billion dollar brands. As far as collaborating on music, I want to work with producers like DA Got That Dope, Pharell, and Mike & Keys.
A lot have happened with the emergence of Covid-19. How has this global pandemic impacted your career and business in general?
Right before the pandemic hit I was traveling all across the United States doing media promo and interviews. The music was doing great and I was getting booked to perform all over the place. But then out of nowhere the whole world shut down and I was forced to hit the brakes. The first 3-4 months of Covid, I really lost my motivation to continue to make music. I didn’t even like listening to music for a little while. I was concerned about the well being of my family and how we would survive the pandemic. After getting Covid myself back in July and surviving, I vowed that I would not give up and I got back in the studio and recorded “All In” which is about giving it everything you got!
10.What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced as an artiste?
The biggest challenge is getting people to actually give you and your music a chance. These days the market is saturated with people who make music. It’s easy to record something and post it online so there is an abundance of bad music out there. Sometimes it’s hard to find the quality projects amongst those that will never make it. I’ve learned that music consumers do not necessarily need your music but if you put in the work and consistently release high quality content, you can capture an audience that will support you forever.
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