Baltimore has found a new voice in Black Zheep DZ
The buzz is building over the fresh face that’s steady representing Baltimore. Black Zheep DZ went from spitting bars at the lunch table in high school to opening up for TDE’s ScHoolboy Q in his hometown. Though he’s still climbing the ladder, he’s close enough to smell the success on his way to the top.
The young rapper already has a few projects under his belt like Genesis and Refugee. But the summer is just around the corner and this guy already has a few tricks up his sleeve. With his upcoming opening gig for ScHoolboy Q and more new music on the way, it was lucky that The Source got to sit down with him to discuss where his mind set is at for the future. He also breaks down he was dubbed with his unique AKA.
The Source: Where did you start your come-up?
Black Zheep DZ: I pretty much started towards my senior year of high school working on the music and pushing it towards the public around 09-10. Building from the ground up working with my crew, and from there on just kept pushing it.
What strides have you been through thus far when it comes to building up your career?
I mean, there has been a lot of struggles from not being able to get the buzz you want at the time to being where Iâm living now. Itâs pretty hard coming up out of here. This isnât a place that everyone knows thatâs really big for music. I just pretty much take the struggles and embrace them and take that energy and turn it into a positive. Put it all into my work.
Where did you get your name?
The last part DZ, I was part of DZ back in middle school. My friends all called me DZ. But Black Zheep. That origin came from, of course the feeling of being a black sheep but aside from my homeboy Buffalo who has a movement of his own called Black Sheep Refugee, I took the word âzeevâ meaning wolf in Hebrew and I mixed it with the American word âSheepâ, meaning to be the âsheep in wolfâs clothingâ instead of the wolf whoâs always the bad guy. Iâm just the good guy that can play the bad guy part too.
Baltimore isnât too known for Hip-Hop on a grand scale. How do you feel youâre going to put your city on the map?
Iâm just trying to open the door for my city as far as giving it a good name and good energy and being that guy, without really trying but you know showing everyone to be yourself and do you and embrace the struggle like I said before. It ainât even about doing it first; itâs about doing it the right way. You know you got other underground artists that has been doing their thing.
Your flow is unique to me. In a sense youâve got a touch of that 90âs hip-hop vibe. How would you compare your style?
I feel you that itâs kinda got that 90âs flow but itâs more basement rap. Itâs like that underground thing but thereâs good quality to it because itâs not trying to be so old school but itâs coming from the underground. Hoping itâs a sound that will be on top but it came from the bottom.
Who would you say influences you?
As far as artists, I would say Jay Z, Lil Wayne, Gucci Mane, Kendrick Lamar, Drake or DMX. I could go on but I can take a lot of different influences in not just artists. Just things period like life, things I come across and people I surround myself with. Everything I encounter, even this interview.
So you said basically consider yourself basement rap. Do you feel youâre going to take your sound to another level and evolved from that or keep it going and try and make that pop off?
Iâm definitely going to stick with it and make it pop off but evolve the sound. I donât want to put myself in a box. I want to create and define the sound and let the people hear it. Iâm not going to let it be like âOk this is what basement rap sounds likeâ or what it should sound like. Itâs more like you wonât know what to expect, but whatever it is, itâs going to sound like the last thing before it but better. Itâll be an evolving sound.
You opened up for ScHoolboy Q in your hometown. What was going through your mind when you first got that offer?
It was something big to me. It is something big. But I just took it like a humbling experience because like, not that I wanna just get it over it, but I just canât wait til the day of. Iâd rather put all that energy on stage into the performance. Itâs definitely an exciting thing. This will be another moment to look back on.
You got your previous projects that you recently dropped like Refugee and Genesis under your belt. Youâve dropped several other singles since then. So whatâs next with your music?
I got a few visuals and more singles coming up. Iâm working on another project, of course. Iâm always working. Be on the look out for a lot more Consistency is what Iâm basing that off of.
Tony Centeno (@_tonyMC)