Q. Good day, HZI! We appreciate you taking the time to speak with us. The first thing we want to know is how would you describe your sound to someone who’s never heard your music before?
A. Right now, I would describe my sound to someone who’s never heard my music before as underground-ish, with a twist that makes it unique. If you hear my songs, you’re not going to be able to put me in a box right off the bat.
Q. Is there a specific song in your catalog that you feel defines who you are as an artist? Why that one?
A. A specific song in my catalog that I feel defines who I am as an artist is almost every song I’ve created. Each one has represented how I’ve felt in that moment as my life plays out, so I haven’t made a song that I feel specifically defines me yet. I have, however, created songs that define specific moments in my life.
Q. If you could collaborate with any artist, living or dead, who would it be and why?
A. I think this is a cliché answer, but if I could collaborate with any artist, living or dead, it would be Michael Jackson. He created an impactful and influential legacy, doing what he wanted to do and making the world love it as he did it. Many people aren’t that bold.
Q. What's the biggest risk you've taken in your career so far, and what did you learn from it?
A. The biggest risk I’ve made so far in my career is creating and posting rap music. When I first started out, I was writing music for other genres, leaning more toward becoming a songwriter, until a hater thought telling me to “write a rap” would undermine me. A few days later, I dropped my first rap song, “Crybaby”. The hater’s friends told me they liked it, as did people on TikTok, and that’s when I realized I could really do something big if I wrote for myself instead of others. This last year has been chaotic in both positive and negative ways, but I’ve learned to trust myself more, let loose a little, and know I’ll eventually have the life and career I envision for myself. I don’t need anybody to see it but me.
