When it comes to the music industry, there is no blueprint to success. You may become an overnight sensation, you may become a meme, or you may get your lucky break 10 years in the game. One thing we know is – the joy is in the journey. Rob Twizz was born in the mecca of hip hop – The Bronx, NY. He is a first-generation Albanian American rapper hailing from the city of Yonkers. Yonkers, better known as the lost borough of New York, is known to be the “black cloud” for recording artists. Although there have been many successful acts like DMX, Mary J Blige & The Lox, in a town full of pure talent there hasn’t been much mainstream shine in this past decade. Rob was raised on the southside of Yonkers to immigrant parents from former Yugoslavia. He has been working to break all barriers and use his talents to open the doors for the town and his peers around him. He started writing poetry at an early age which later turned into hip-hop, which was the beginning of his journey.
Myspace, the beginning of a larger social media era was the first taste of success for the rapper. Rob was releasing music weekly where he was garnishing up to 50,000 downloads a month. With his presence rising, he took advantage of the local scene, performing at high schools and local events to build a strong foundation in his hometown. He saw his first opportunity at nationwide placement by performing on MTV’s hit show My Super Sweet 16 aside major artist like Baby Bash & Paula Deanda. This helped catapult him into the mixtape scene where he successfully moved tens of thousands of downloads with his features on Datpiff.com. Rob moved on to collaborate with artist across major labels such as Bad Boy Records, Roc Nation, Konvict Muzik, Shady Records and so on. This was just the beginning of a long expedition for Rob Twizz, where he decided to keep his distribution in his own hands. Using his bachelor’s degree in business and self-taught engineering skills, he took his talents to Tunecore in whom he credited to help maintain an independent career. He soon landed a placement on MTV’s “Get In The Game” segment where he gained props from hip hop pioneer Sway Calloway and Maybach Music recording artist Gunplay. Since then, his music has been heard on major radio outlets such as Hot 97, Shade 45, and international stations across the globe. The famous “Halloween Cyphers” in collaboration with Worldstarhiphop have gained nearly 20 million views on Youtube alone. His music has been played on television for fighter walk outs and received co-signs from some of the biggest combat sports legends including Roy Jones Jr. and Jon Bones Jones. In 2019 Rob announced his partnership with innovative boxing company SparBar. He continues to act as ambassador and push out creative content, his most recent effort featuring legendary UFC announcer Bruce Buffer. Here is what he had to say about the indie grind and the state of music:
“The music world is kept alive by us indie/unsigned artist. Yeah, there are record labels with thousands of major artists who are making money, but there is an infinite number of indie musicians at this point, and we keep the mouths fed. Indie artist put food in the engineer’s pockets, the producer’s pockets, the video director, the promoters, the graphic designers, the blog writers, etc. and we are the last to see the money back. It’s an investment in exchange for a service, and locally there are more creators that are in pursuit of this dream versus those who are reaping the rewards. Right now, my only inspiration is watching other indie artist grind, I have no idols and I no longer follow anyone in the music industry. For an artist to invest so much in themselves at likely the least feasible times of their lives I respect that more than anything because they are chasing the dream and putting the art first. We are even at the point where your favorite “major” rapper is likely sliding in an indie artist DM’s trying to sell placement for their name. So really, as a union, we run this industry.”
Rob’s latest E.P “If Not Now Then When” independently debuted this year at #15 on the U.S Hip-Hop/Rap iTunes charts. He accounts all his success to preparation, pre-orders and word of mouth. The E.P featured 5 new records and a video for “Chef Curry” with Roc Nation artist Manolo Rose. The project shows his versatility catering to all different styles across a small assortment of records. His punchlines and unique concepts continue to preserve what hip-hop has always been about. We are always intrigued in the journey an artist takes, but as we know, In the famous words of Nipsey Hussle, it’s a Marathon not a sprint.
Check out the official video for “Adam Sandler” below.
