RIZ INTERVIEW

“I have discipline. I have a good work ethics. I am not a person that will go to a studio for 20 hours and make one record”

“RIZ is a talented songwriter and visionary with concepts and flow. His songs have a vast array of style that will provide him longevity in the industry” Lenny S. Senior A&R, Def Jam. It is not often that I start off an article with quote but I wanted you to understand how serious this Harlem artist is. We now INTROduce to you RIZ.

INTRO: I know that you have been in the industry for a minute and you have been working on a new project. Can you elaborate more on that?

RIZ: I haven’t been on the scene for about a year or so. I took a break from it because I was being pulled in different way creatively. There were a lot of different people involved with the project. I really wasn’t able to make the records that I felt good about because I wasn’t putting up the money. When you get in situations like that its really a rough situation. So I just stepped away for a minute to just redeem my own artistic views. I am just approaching it different now.

INTRO: How would you describe yourself as an artist?

RIZ: I am well rounded artist because I understand that the music business of today is nothing like in the business of yester year or the B-boy days. It’s a different structure. It took me a lot of years to really understand the business. I have identified a sound that I was comfortable with. You have to have a u certain so people can identify you. When you hat hear 50 Cent you know its 50. When you hear Drake you know its Drake. When you hear Lil Wayne you know its Lil Wayne. They have that niche. Years ago it was hard to find that niche. I found that out working with so many producers that and being pulled by so many people. In that nature I could not find a consistency so now I am able to create an identifiable voice. I have discipline. I have a good work ethics. I am not a person that will go to a studio for 20 hours and make one record. I am not going to blow a budget just sitting in the studio. I am going to make sure it sounds good before I leave the house. I don’t roll with an entourage. I used to that and try to put people on (trying to do positive stuff). You can’t control other people’s actions because what they do that stigma falls on you. I just really had been moving light. I feel like I am full circle and more prepared.

INTRO: How did you hook up with Sha MoneyXl?

RIZ: I hooked up with Sha Money through David the Jeweler. I had been doing records with David for about three or four years before meeting Sha Money. Dave has all these music industry types that he makes jewelry for so he wood take me around me around video shoots. I went to 50’s video shoot and Lloyd Banks video shoot. They would see me around but they just didn’t know what I was doing. So at the time Dave was it was James Cruz from Violator Management that came to Dave and was talking about some jewelry and Dave jumped on it and played some of my music so we started a venture with Violator. Then right after that we linked up with She Money cause he was mixing Young Buck’s album at the time while he was still with G-Unit. Dave went into the studio and played some of my music. Sha was blown away and he said to Dave “When I hear that kid he giving me that feeling like when I first used to hear Fif out with that hunger” so that attracted him so we started working on some records. We around to a few labels but things didn’t pop off they way we wanted them to pop off.

INTRO: So you are still independent? Self Made.

RIZ: You got it. Self Made is a company that I started in 2005. I was doing other things. I had caught a case and the case slowed me down and like changed my life. I wanted to do things different in my life after that so I wrote all down all my experiences. The music is really a form of expression for me because I really don’t talk much. I am sort of like a loner because people will mess your whole world up. People are so negative and I am really trying to stay away from negative people. When I got to the studio its like therapy I get to say whatever I want and talk over these beats cause the beat don’t talk back. I put a tape together and put it out in my neighborhood and people were feeling it and they said I should stick with it and that’s what I did and I haven’t stopped since. We are still basically are in a process of building a following. I have had a meeting with Jay-Z and I have met with Atlantic records, Fifty and all the top people in this industry people. The research in the industry has changed in the industry so now we are in the progress of developing a new following with the new way that I am making my music as compared to a year ago. I am starting over ago again and building a new awareness.

INTRO: What artist have you worked with that you haven’t worked with yet?

RIZ: I am at the point in my career that I don’t want to work with anyone that doesn’t want to work with me. I am not the type of person that picks and chooses who I work with. If it makes a good record, it makes a good record. I don’t intend to make albums with other artists to boost my own morale. Some artist will do an album with another artist because that artist is relevant to other people. That’s not how I function. People tend to see that I did the video with Ray and tend to think that I tried to attach myself with something hot and that is not why I did it. I did a favor for him way back so I went to shoot the video with him. I did it to show him love cause he asked me to come through so I did it. In the end it was like a return. I prefer to work with people that are keen to working. I tried to work with Bun B and he was like $16,000. He wanted $1,000 a bar. It kind of threw me because here I am an up and coming artist and here it is this guy is trying to make money off of me. He deserves to make his money but for me to pay $16,000? I would rather take that money invest it into another song and make a couple videos. That’s why I don’t do songs with a lot of rappers cause they are thinking about making that quick bread. I am not really trying to do a feature with nobody if I don’t have to.

INTRO: Where do you see yourself in the next 5yrs?

RIZ: Retired. I come from a community where people feel like its nothing left for them to do besides drink, smoke, and be violent. I want to make a shift in that. If I make it then I will be in a position to give back. I want to start an organization like a basketball AU team but it also has a nutritionist and personal trainers to show them how to work out. They would also have the schooling because you can have all the knowledge in the world but if you can’t pass that SAT then you will be back in the streets. I see myself doing some really ground breaking things once I get this foundation set.

INTRO: Do you have any shows coming up?

RIZ: I used to do showcases where I was the featured artist but I stopped that because it was a scam. I really don’t do many shows now because I am focused on rebuilding my awareness. I am working hard on the Internet because it is extremely hard to get the radio. It’s hard to get the radio because it’s controlled. The only people that you hear on the radio is the artists that labels have paid to the stations because those artists have to make it than the average artist off the street because they are not benefiting from it because they are in the business of making money.

INTRO: Do you think that Djs are important when it comes to breaking a record?

RIZ: I say no and yes. The DJ has to feel a connection with the artist that he is breaking the record for because there are so many people in the business that. What one Dj think is hot 10 other Djs may not. What I am starting to see is that some people only want to attach themselves to certain people because it only makes themselves look better. If I come to the club tonight and see me with some jewelry and I am popping bottles the Dj is going to give a shot out cause it looks good. If I come to the club and I don’t have any jewelry and I only have a cup the Dj is not trying to rush to play my record. It’s a ruff business. Its crazy that I say that and I am trying to get in the business. It’s a million people out here waiting to get your money because you are uninformed about the business.

FOR MORE INFO:
@RizSelfMade

JUNE/JULY 2010