After a chance click on ZillaNoise.com, I found the awesomeness that is UK’s BLVK BLVD. “SPEVKERS” was an intense introduction to the collective and “Fall In Love” was a great follow up that instantly made me chomp at the bit for more music from the crew. As with any new introduction to a group, though, I had no idea who the individuals were within it and what they each brought to the table. A quick twitter search brought @WizeTheProducer to my attention and, in my ignorance, I assumed he was simply limited to production/engineering for BLVK BLVD (he has verses on the aforementioned tracks, but I didn’t know who was who at the time). Then, this happened:
Instantly I hit Wize with “I didn’t know you rhymed too?!”. Well, never judge a book by a…failure to read a bio. “Producer/Rapper” was right in his Twitter description for the world to see. Consider myself humbled. Now that I’d taken the unnecessarily lengthy path to understanding, I began to explore his backlog as an artist and a producer. Simply put, Wize is dope and he deserves for you to be made aware of his existence. I was recently honored with the chance to ask him a few questions, so I jumped at the shot to not end up with my foot in my mouth again. Check out the interview down below.
[Character Selected!!]
So who came first? Wize the Producer or Wize the Emcee?
Wize: Wize the Emcee was born first, around the age of 12. I’m 21 now. My producing counterpart came a few years later after constantly being dissed by producers. Who’s laughing now?
What is BLVK BLVD?
Wize: Other than the best rap group in the galaxy, we’re a team of rappers from North London. BLVKBLVD is an abbreviation for “Black Boulevard” and it consists of myself, Remus, Gearrz and Dusty.
You just released #OTB (Over The Bridge) and I see that it was a demo that was turned down. You introduced us to another face of Wize (the Singer). Does being turned down make you want to scrap that facet of your music?
Wize: Nah not at all, to me I think that’s just another reason for me to do better next time. It was never a major project for me it was just an idea that I had put together in the midst of all of the other music I was working on. No biggie at all!
No disrespect intended, but consider me well ignorant on the state of UK Hip Hop. How would you describe it today?
Wize: UK Hip-Hop is in an interesting state at the moment. The most talented artists are never the most popular in any region (In my opinion), but the UK takes that to another level. Being respected on the streets is more important than actual talent and graft to the fans of UK Hip-hop. The masses of this genre seem to find it necessary to mirror the moves of the US rappers and it works out terribly. BLVKBLVD plans to shift this paradigm immediately.
No apologies for arriving late to the party on your EP that dropped in April, The Roadtrip EP. It’s been a great listen now that I’ve caught on. Any insight on what you’re working on next?
Wize: #DAMTRAP is my next project. I like to think of Damtrap as my own genre. It combines the melodic influence of world music with the urban kick of trap music. Songs such as “Possession” and “Space Cakes” on my soundcloud portray this best in my opinion. But yeah, I’d definitely encourage anyone interested in something different to pay attention to this project, it should create a stir!
We’ve chat a bit about gaming on Twitter and I know you play PC predominantly, Tera being your current favorite. What other titles (upcoming or existing) are you interested in?
Wize: I’m a HUGE fan of the Phantasy Star series and have been waiting for the EU version of Phantasy Star Online 2 to be released. Also, the Elder Scrolls Online title has caught my attention and the trailers for it look amazing. In terms of other titles I actually play, there are a couple fan-made Pokemon MMORPG’s I occasionally dabble with such as Pokemon World Online and PokeMMO, both pretty sick.
Give us your 3 classic Hip Hop albums.
Wize: 1.) Kanye West – Late Registration
2.) Jay-Z – Reasonable Doubt
3.) Kanye West – College Dropout
(Yes, I’m a huge Kanye West fan, pre-insane Kardashian Kanye of course)
What fictional characters of any medium would you want to see in a rap battle?
Wize: Would absolutely love to see Light Yagami (Death Note) in a rap battle with L/Ryuzaki (Death Note) as their psychological battle would be amazing portrayed in rap format.
If those unfamiliar with you had to listen to ONE SONG as an introduction to your work, which song would you suggest?
Wize: The best song I’d say to listen to would probably be “California Cheese Steak”. It seemed to be really popular when I released it both in the UK and in the US and I think it depicts my character as a rapper best. But if you’re trying to gather a sense of my musical ability, I’d say just take a listen to The Road Trip EP in entirety.
Now you have no excuse for being unaware of Wize. The emcee is on a mission to incite a resurgence in UK Hip Hop’s stature along with the rest of BLVK BLVD and this is just the beginning. Check out The Road Trip EP down below (California Cheese Steak is on that project) and prepare for #DAMTRAP coming soon.
Follow Wize on Twitter
Check out his Soundcloud
