Q&A With Parisian-Belgian-American Hip Hop Artist LAZ

Whats Up LAZ! We really enjoyed your new mixtape “Just To Get By”, one of our main contributors BOOM is looking forward to reviewing this project!! How long have you been making music? What area code(s) do you rep!? And how did you get your emcee name?

Appreciate it ! I’ve been writing and malking rap music for almost three years. I was born in Berkeley, CA. My mother’s American and my father Belgian, but I have lived in Paris almost my whole life- until I moved to Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT two years ago. I guess I rep 75005, one of the wealthiest districts in Paris. People in Paris often make fun of that, because it’s like « repping » Tribeca, NY or something.

My first name is Laszlo, and my nickname has always been Laz. So it came pretty naturally, although I was first Lazy Laz for a year or so.

So we noticed you rap in French too! That is super fire right there! Rarely we come across dope underground french MC’s!! Please tell us about the french underground Hip Hop scene?! How does American Hip Hop influence the scene out there!?

French Hip Hop has always been huge. The first few artists I would listen to at first are NTM- literally meaning « fuck your mother », the first biggest parisian hip hop group- Sexion d’assaut- they got huge world-wide fast- and then Nekfeu. But there are countless others. More and more, Belgian Hip Hop has been catching up with French Hip Hop- artists of different varieties like Stromae, Damso, Roméo Elvis. In any event, rapping in French has always been part of my music, as I am bilingual.

Your sound does give off an original smooth, conscious yet effortless style for sure! Tell us how you were able to form your sound? Any french influences??

I’ve always been exposed to Hip Hop/Rap. My cousins introduced me to the foundation- the Message Grandmaster Flash- and it went on from there. All my life, the rapper that’s been the most influential and crazy to me is Busta Rhymes, from his visuals to his revolutionary flows. And then more recently, Good Kid, Maad City, To Pimp a Butterfly really got me to start writing. In terms of musical production and vibes, my favorite rapper right now is Isaiah Rashad. Cilvia Demo, The Sun’s Tirade… I mean, it’s so underrated in my opinion…Classics !

But a lot of my influences are not necessarily Hip Hop/Rap music. I’ve always listened to everything. My favorite artist at the moment is Frank Ocean. My favorite RnB artist is Erykah Badu. As a songwriter, Leonard Cohen has been huge for me. Johnny Cash’s voice. And of course reggae : Peter Tosh, Bob Marley. With Kendrick Lamar, they showed me that I could unite powerful messages- on conscious, political and spiritual levels- with the music I loved.

Let’s face it, social media since 2015 has grown tremendously, especially IG!!! Tell us how is your IG grind is looking, and how have you been able to keep up with the high demand on social media?

IG is very slow right now. I have yet to upload a photo… Waiting for the right one.

How do you go over the production you decide to record over?? Your beat selection is super crazy!!!

My friends at my University or from Paris get all the credit. I mean I couldn’t be more fortunate. They have it all.

Please breakdown the creative process to your latest mixtape “Just To Get By”?

It came from the song WES, the last song on the mixtape. Me and BONI- my main producer and best friend- were messing with a Wes Montgomery sample, then added the bass of an ATCQ song, and then the hook came naturally to me. Just to get by. Of course, a reference to Talib Kweli’s majestic record « Get by ». The rest came in the next year.

How often do you perform live?? Any indie DIY tours in the works?

I perform like 3 to 5 times each semester on Wesleyan’s campus.

How do you feel about the whole MUMBLE RAP XAN & LEAN trend these kids nowadays are on!!!..LOL??? Be honest, do you use some of that stuff??..LOL

I like a lot of it. But I also think it’s great we have artists like J Cole to challenge them on and ultimately pushes them to get more creative.

On this topic, I 100% agree with Joey Bada$$. There should be different lanes in Hip Hop at this point. Like that genre just encompasses too many different sub-genres at this point. The diversity of Hip Hop has to be recognized officially.

What you got cooking next? Any special for the New Year 2018!!??

Album with BONI. Animal metaphors for historical and political issues… There’s already a song about a jaguar I have, RADAMEL on soundcloud. Spotify account coming up soon. Stay tuned !!

Where do see yourself in 5yrs? (2023)?

No idea. Hopefully as a somewhat successful artist.

Where can fans find your music? Drop all links!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Wx8zOBwVw0