Los Angeles by-way-of New Delhi artist ZZ is bringing the sounds of two international hip-hop scenes collectively – one well-established, one other nonetheless rising – all whereas aiming to ensure a strong spherical of stress-free enjoyable for his listeners.

Stream: “did i hit it alright?” – ZZ

I’ve simply all the time liked hip-hop. It’s all the time been my go-to. It’s by no means been anything.

Anybody with that direct a ardour is actually off to the appropriate begin. For Zefaan Kanwar, initially from New Delhi and now based mostly in Los Angeles, his lifelong love for rap music has impressed a budding profession as an emcee, all whereas making room for a few of his different favourite genres, together with dancehall, Afrobeats and EDM.

“On the subject of what I wish to create, that’s the factor that involves me naturally,” Kanwar—who performs beneath the alias of ZZ— says of rap music. “I all the time wish to experiment with completely different sounds and completely different genres. I’m all the time open… However my go-to is hip-hop, simply because it comes naturally to me.”

All of that’s to be anticipated from a man who grew up devouring hip-hop information — he cites Nothing Was The Similar, 808s & Heartbreak, 2014 Forest Hills Drive, and To Pimp a Butterfly as amongst his favourite previous albums that proceed to affect him immediately. All of the whereas, he observed a sure cultural change going down between India and the U.S. by way of hip-hop — the style was turning into more and more common in his dwelling nation, and American producers like Timbaland have been incorporating Indian types into hits such because the bhangra-heavy “Get Ur Freak On.”

Seeing that development satisfied ZZ that there was a path ahead for him as an aspiring rapper from New Delhi, and he determined to have a go at it within the music biz. Up to now, that dedication has resulted in three albums — DEGENERATES and SUPERVILLAINZ in 2020, and GHOST in 2022 — and a collection of latest singles all through 2023.

“A whole lot of these [first three] albums is simply me fucking round, discovering my sound, whereas nonetheless making dope shit, collaborating with individuals who I simply completely love, and taking part in with themes,” ZZ says. A few of these beloved people embrace Thorii, his South African buddy and singer; and Lil Littlez, his cousin and member of ZZ’s unbiased label, The 6am Collective.

“SUPERVILLAINZ was largely simply darkish, moody entice shit with my boy Lil Littlez,” ZZ particulars his discography. “And DEGENERATES was extra an Afrobeats, dancehall pop-influenced type of album that I did with Lil Littlez and Thorii…. [Meanwhile,] GHOSTZ was extra of an accumulation of the whole lot I’ve realized up to now, you already know what I imply. [The goal was to] simply put these vibes in a cohesive, good undertaking.”

The top consequence, ZZ hopes, will in the end come all the way down to only a grand previous time for everybody who tunes in.

“I simply need individuals to only have enjoyable,” he says. “To me, making this album was like me letting go of some introspective shit and doing a little enjoyable, let-go type of shit. I don’t wish to assume. I simply wish to have enjoyable.”

The follow-up materials he’s launched all through 2023 has largely been conceived in that very same spirit, together with his musical response to the “Barbie” film and the only “did i hit it alright?”, a laid-back collaboration along with his mates and musical allies, Yacker and TIANA. Over some chill guitars and entice drums, ZZ might be heard flirting along with his girl buddy (“That tan that you just obtained is so beautiful. You 10 out of 10“) and alluring her to come back for a journey with him (“Child, my attain is the celebrities. We will go far.“)

“I produced that in actually half-hour,” ZZ says of the track. “They have been at my crib and we recorded that actually fast, I’m not gonna lie. We made that in perhaps lower than three hours. It was extra about getting reassurance, however in an attractive type of means. We’re nonetheless being saucy with it. This suits the vibe of my subsequent album, which is popping out this summer time.”

The track’s music video displays that feel-free-to-try-this-at-home method, provided that it’s comprised of camcorder footage from a current romantic retreat within the Indian Ocean.

“I used to be occurring a visit to Maldives with my girlfriend,” ZZ explains. “And I used to be like, ‘Shit, what if I simply took a camcorder and did a video?’ So, we did– why not, you already know? I all the time appreciated the aesthetic of a camcorder. It’s very uncooked and simply feels timeless [when] in comparison with different types of cinematography.”

ZZ’s twin passions for movie and music are certain to be manifested in a collection of imminent releases.

Because the rapper continues to construct his artistic profile, he hopes that the hip-hop scene as a complete again in his native India will achieve extra widespread consideration within the course of.

“Folks must shed some mild on them as a result of they’re making some dope shit that folks around the globe aren’t listening to however must be heard,” ZZ says of his fellow Indian hip-hop artists. “There’s a lot music in India.”

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