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ABRZY - ABRZY Newsletter Interview

01 Jun 2018 // An interview by ShelleySketch


ABRZY was hit with the struggle from day one. Growing up on the rough streets of Bangladesh as a young kid, ABRZY was exposed to a lifestyle that would one day spawn his creative muse and allow him to channel visions for a better future.

New Zealand soon became his new home where a young Breezy was able to test out his flow, discover his sound and pave his lyrical pathway.

ABRZY spoke to Shelley and here's what he had to say:

Kia Ora ABRZY!

Hey! Nice to meet you!

Where did the name ‘ABRZY’ come from? How do you pronounce that? I read it as ‘a-breezy’.

Yeah, it’s just “aye-breezy” or “a-breezy”. So, my really name’s Abid and it just to rolled off the tongue. It rhymes with easy and I’m from Wellington right and it’s like the windiest city in the world. So BRZY is just every day, this is me. Yeah there’s no crazy story behind it or anything. Just a combination of all these things.

How would you describe your music?

I’d just describe my music as authentic because it’s literally just based on me, my life. I don’t fabricate any stories or speak about anything fantasy or gun, drugs etc. I don’t put on an image or anything, everything you hear in the music is me. I’d just describe it as me, authentic ABRZY.

How do you come up with your lyrics? Is there anything, other than life, that inspires you when writing your lyrics?

Nah not really. I just hear the beat and depending on how it sounds or how I feel I’ll immediately know what direction of the song I want to go in or what I’m going to talk about. Yeah, I just feel like if your life is interesting you’ll never run out of things to write about. And even if it’s not you can always find a way to stretch things. Yeah, it’s just me, my experiences. That’s why I always try to go out. If you’re out there you’ll have things to write about.

What/who are your influences, if any?

Definitely Lil' Wayne from 2006 – 2010. In terms of his career is probably one of my biggest influences. Yeah like I’d go home after school and just rap to his beats and listen to him all day. Drake is definitely one of my biggest influences. Just his style and his vibe. Kanye West. Yeah, I could go one. I just listen to so much rap music I think every artist I listen to, I’m inspired by. I take something from each person.

You’ve just released your new single Top Down. How did it feel to release it?

It was incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever put in as much work into a song in terms of like promotion. It’s just cool. I’m a firm believer in you get out what you put in. So, the fact you put in so much work and you’re actually seeing tangible results from it, that was an incredible feeling. It’s definitely like my most well-received song. I’ve always wanted to make a song you could just dance & smile too. The fact that I’ve accomplished that, because I’ve tried so many times. So many songs that I’ve never released. But I got there in the end, that’s a great feeling.

Following on from the success of your single Crew Love, how has the reception been for Top Down?

It was good, real good., I just checked and I’m on like 59,000 streams for it. When I finished my exams at the end of last year I told myself I wanted to get 100,000 streams this year. That’s the goal. I’ve released two songs so far and Top Down is at 59,000 so hopefully I can get that 100,000. But the way it was received and all the messages from people and stuff, that’s been such a surreal feeling. That’s what makes it worth all those nights that you’re working towards all that.

You went on hiatus to finish your studies, what did you study?

So, I studied commerce, majoring in accounting and commercial law at Vic in Wellington.

NZ helped you get your rap going and your friends gave you confidence in your work. When did you realize it was time to put it out there and get social media going?

I think it was when it was a Uni holiday. I recorded my first mixtape at the end of my first year at uni. I’ve been rapping before all that, but I got to Uni and obviously with life your passions and hobbies take a bit of a backseat. But it’s still there. When it was Uni holidays there was nothing to stop me and I was like I’ve got all this free time and I love this more than anything. Let’s just give it a go and actually put it out there. Step away from freestyles with your friends and take it to the next level. When I had that chunk of free time that way like the catalyst for me to put stuff out there.

You’ve opened for some big names such as Tinie Tempah and Kid Ink. How did it feel sharing the same stage and playing to those crowds?

It was surreal. That’s definitely one of the highlights of the many years I’ve been doing music. That’s definitely one of the craziest things that has ever happened to me and I’m so grateful to the promoter for giving me that chance. In front of the stage there’s a crowd of like 1100 people there and that’s like the biggest crowd I’ve ever played for. It was crazy. Even just meeting those artists. You read about them, read articles etc and to just see them in person was crazy. It’s one thing to see it through a computer but it’s another thing to be arm's length away from them. Looking at them, it was like this is the physical manifestation of my dreams. I can touch this train. This is a glimpse of what I want to do.

Do you have any plans to tour outside Wellington?

I’m just focusing on getting my streams up and creating a mad buzz. The thing with the internet, you don’t really need to be in a very musical city to make things happen. You look at someone like Lorde or other NZ artists who have made it happen, that’s because of the internet. I love this city to death, so I just want to stay here and put out as much great music as I can. And then if the people are calling for it and the buzz is there then I’ll try and make that jump. But for now, I’m pretty comfortable grinding in the winter.

What is your favourite track/album at the moment?

I can’t even tell you that. I’m not even listening to music. I’m literally just listening to beats for my new EP, that’s all I do all day. I’m just listening to a lot of instrumentals and beats to figure out what direction I’m going in and what I want to do. I think the last song I heard was most likely a Drake song.

Are you going to keep releasing singles for now or is the EP/Album coming up next?

So, I’m just going to release like a two-track EP very soon. Hopefully next month. One track is just going to be like very Daft Punk, upbeat and makes you want to dance. Then the other one is going to be heavy raps. I love spitting bars, that’s what I do. So, it’s just going to be two very contrasting songs, so you get the best of both. Whatever type of song you like from me you’ll get it. It’s called Nightfall.

Do you find you get quite focused on the visuals as well or is it just about the music?

Just the music. It’s a mission to create visuals with all the editing and stuff. But I’m definitely keen to create more visuals but with everything around me like my work and my studies, it’s just finding the time. I just really want to have a great discography of songs and then once I have that, if a song takes off I’ll do visuals for it. But I do think visuals are important, so I try to stay active on social media and all that.

Anything exciting coming up? Or anything else to add?

Nightfall is coming out and it’s going to change the game. I want to join the handy club really bad and I’m looking forward to just smashing it with my new EP. I’m just going to see how the EP does and go from there. I’m focused on that at the moment and I don’t want to burn myself out with too many long-term visions. But we’ll see how it goes. I’m just going to try my best.

Thank you for doing this interview with me. Thanks so much for agreeing to do this with me I appreciate it, I appreciate your time.

 

About ABRZY

ABRZY was hit with the struggle from day one. Growing up on the rough streets of Bangladesh as a young kid, ABRZY was exposed to a lifestyle that would one day spawn his creative muse and allow him to channel visions for a better future.

New Zealand soon became his new home where a young Breezy was able to test out his flow, discover his sound and pave his lyrical pathway.

2016-17 were breakout years for ABRZY, where he released a slew of exciting singles, videos, and took his live performances to the next level, allowing him to open for international artists such as Kid Ink, Tinie Tempah, Lil Yachty, Bliss n Eso with more on the way.

Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for ABRZY

Releases

80 Different Ways II
Year: 2022
Type: Album
Night Fall
Year: 2018
Type: EP

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