Producer Zay Blaze Chooses The Best of Both Worlds
Zay Blaze, a multi-hyphenated creative and R&B/rap artist, has something for everyone. Blaze digs deep for the best of both worlds that R&B and rap have given the culture. He gives the gift of a genre cocktail that blurs two musical worlds into one. Blaze’s songs include ‘Invisible Ink’ and ‘Waste Time’ from his latest album Do You Care?
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, and now temporarily residing in the DMV, Zay Blaze has had a love of music that has always felt fundamental to his life. His earliest memories of falling in love with music are car rides with his mom, when she would pop in a cassette of what was then known as the ‘Rain Song’, later clarified as “Summer Rain” by Carl Thomson.
As the years went by, various R&B and hip-hop artists started to influence Zay to take music more seriously. His influences include Chris Brown, Joey Badass, PartyNextDoor, and, his number one, Drake–who showed him that you could rap hard and still sing about girl problems. He loved the flavors these artists harnessed and that created a merging in his own producing.
When it comes to the duality of being both producer and artist, Zay says, “It’s bittersweet because as the producer... you really start to pick things apart way more than if you were just the artist. It really makes you look at things. I would say it helps and hinders.”
After years in Atlanta, Zay came up here to attend Hampton University. He feels moving to the DMV and attending Hampton was crucial in shaping the artist and producer he is today. “Hampton itself has drastically sculpted who I am today... I will say the DMV has done that favor for me. I would have never even known about half the people I know or work with now.”
Growth describes Zay’s musical journey, from the visuals to the beats, to the collabs. After someone pointed out to him during an EP listening party the lack of female artists on his albums, Blaze’s albums are now filled with the amazing female features throughout his tracklist. “Women inspire a lot about me. Y’all inspire. Women... Black women.” He displayed that through his visuals as well, such as ‘Invisible Ink’ directed by a Black woman, Tyla Barnes. The aesthetic of the video is very animated, vibrant, and filled with different versions of Black women.
“Music has always been the basis of my whole life. Music has literally driven me this far. People are like you should do accounting in college and I was like I don’t want to. I love music,” Zay tells NUNAR. When it comes to artists who are afraid to start, he gives this advice: “The best thing you can do is put your best foot forward with anything. Just try it.”
