“Buzz’N” iNterview With @iEatatTartals

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Welcome back Buzzers for a brand new installment in our “Buzz’N” iNterview series. Join us as we travel over to the New England region to a town about 50 miles Southeast of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Welcome to Scottdale, where emcee/producer Izzy Strange calls home. His other home for much of 2013-2015 was behind the microphone in a bedroom closet piecing together what would evidently become his debut EP, “Dinner With My Enemies”. Wait, it doesn’t stop there though. Izzy also is a member of Middle Name Danger (along with Co-Founder of Beasley’s Corner Bodega Zeus) and Strangers With Candy (with his brother Chuurch). The powerhouse has also opened up for an impressive line of artists such as RITTZ, Cory Gunz, Kat Dahlia, Illogic & many others. GYBU is taking advantage of the opportunity to get to know more about Izzy, his musical crafts, “Dinner With My Enemies” and more in this edition of our “Buzz’N” iNterview series.

Greetings from GYBU Mr. Strange and congrats on the release of your debut solo project! Before we get into that though, I wanted to start off with speaking about your younger years. You’ve mentioned some of your influences as being 2pac, Snoop Dogg, Cypress Hill, Busta Rhymes and Master P but there’s one unlikely artist I wasn’t expecting to be listed and that’s Weird Al Yankovich. What was it about his particular musical approach and parodies that made you want to really take a liking to writing songs?

The first track I heard of Weird Al’s was “Amish Paradise”, so I think it was the Hip Hop beat and funny lyrics that drew me in. At the time, I had no interest in pursuing music whatsoever. So to try to write serious lyrics for me at the time would have been foolish. I met a kid in like 6th grade that wrote parodies of his own which intrigued me and I began to do the same myself, just for fun. Weird Al definitely was not in my listening rotation often but he did have influence in me beginning to write, which led to bigger things later in life.

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I can see a little of Weird Al in your writing. What got you involved in wanting to produce music Izzy? For all the aspiring producers out there, what type of tips can you provide in creating beats? Also, what are you weapons of choice when creating your audio arsenal?

I got in to producing mainly because of the lack of original beats to rap over. Zeus had started teaching himself how to produce and after watching him I decided to give it a shot myself.

As for creating, the best advice I can give is practice. Make beats day and night until you can get something you’re proud of. Try to find other people with like minds and interests to create with for bouncing ideas and getting constructive criticism.

As far as gear, I use FL Studio for sampling and have M-Audio Keystation for melodies and such.

As you grew older and into your teenage years, your music took on a more personal approach and you had your first encounter with Zeus. The two of you would later go on to form Beasley’s Corner Bodega (who does everything from producing, recording, videography, etc). What made the two of you click so well? Also, could you give our viewers more details behind BCB and what your mission is with the brand?

Well it kind of all started at once. I didn’t really get into any form of music until I was 18. I started writing a lot as a form of escape from life and then I decided to show a few people, one of which being Zeus. I didn’t really know him all that well then but after showing them, they all encouraged me to give recording a shot. I had heard Zeus freestyle before and knew he had an interest in producing, so we just naturally clicked in that way. For about the next 6 years we worked on perfecting our craft and at the beginning of 2014, we decided to take it more serious,and start to pursue a career in the game.

We decided to make the main focus Beasley’s Corner Bodega due to the fact we have so many side projects between the two of us, plus J.Mike & Chuurch in the mix. As of now, we’re a collective trying to spread the good word. Our mission is to build something of our own by creating the music that comes from our souls. In the long run, after more establishment, we would like to bring in more like minded artist/ producers/ musicians/ etc. to form more of a label base.

Our producers consist of myself, J.Mike and Zeus. I handle recording for the most part and Zeus mans the videography portion, as well as, graphic design/ Photography. He also conducts interviews that can be seen via Beasley’s website. The artists of BCB are myself, Zeus, and Chuurch.

Seeing as though we’ve brought up Zeus and yourself, the two of you also make up the musical duo of “Middle Name Danger”. Your latest album “It’s All In Your Head” is full of analog themed instrumentals, clever linguistics & lush, pad-like harmonies. Please talk a little about MND, this album and what we can we expect next from you two.

Middle Name Danger started as side project where Zeus would handle production and harmonies in hooks and I would do the majority of the story telling. When we started to pursue music more seriously, we decided to share equal time for emceeing.

Zeus and J.Mike handled the majority of the producing on that album. I crafted “Stop, Look, Listen” & co-produced “Probably Not” with Zeus. The album itself I would say is mainly about conquering the thoughts inside your head. We got the Canadian underground legend Moka Only on a track, that was dope!

M.N.D. is the main performing act in BCB. We’ve opened up for Rittz, Illogic, Cory Gunz, Soul Kahn, Ceschi Ramos, The Real Deal and Louis Logic. We’ve toured the East and West Coasts as well. Our last tour was in November where we spent a month on the “Perceptive Perspectives Tour” with our tour mates Double Dragon, Operation Sudden Death and Wisecrack the Scribe. We toured the West Coast from Cali to Canada and back down.

BCB seems very active both on the road & behind the scenes. So we know you produce, write, emcee and pull duties on Middle Name Danger. However, you’re also a part of another BCB duo, Strangers With Candy with Chuurch. Now is he your actual brother or are the two of you just really close? Although it seems all Beasley related material has a solid Hip Hop basis, SWC is more rooted in classic Hip Hip with a splash of pop appeal. Am I correct in saying this Izzy?

Ha.. Well, I consider Chuurch and Zeus both my brothers but yeah, Chuurch is my blood brother. BCB is kind of a family you could say but Chuurch and I are the only blood relatives.

S.W.C. was aimed to be more rooted to classic hip hop for sure. Splash of pop? Maybe. I think we’re just trying to find a way to blend the new and the old school together but remain more rooted to the throwback vibes. I’m not sure if that will be the same direction in future releases.

So while listening to this new album of yours, I stumbled across a previous release of yours I was unaware existed until now, “Tell Ur Mom, U Won’t B Home 4 Dinner”. Now I was confused slightly because I was under the impression “Dinner With My Enemies” was your debut album. Well after further examination, I realized this was a mixtape that was more so used to promote DWME. With all the titles you already carry and being busy putting together DWME, where did yo find the time to throw this together? LBVS!

Sheeit, I actually recorded that two nights before we went on tour in November! I felt like D.W.M.E. was taking over all my creativity, I just wanted to do something else really quick. Plus, I was able to pass out some burnt copies off it while on tour. Some verses are old stuff that either never got used or never got heard but the majority I wrote all in those two nights. Also recorded it in my bedroom, not really mixing much of it. Just something for the fans.

That’s crazy, all in two days huh? You’re nonstop with your output man. “Dinner With My Enemies” is a very interesting name for an album title. On top of that, there’s a deep story behind the making of this album. What started as beats and bedroom closet vocals lead you out to Los Angeles and also with working with Nate Fox, who happens to be a member of Chicago artist Chance The Rapper’s Social Experiment collective. Why did you decide to name the album this and could you offer some further insight behind the project’s coming about?

The cd started off as a nineteen track album detailing my life story. I made all the beats and recorded all the vocals in my bedroom. After about 6 or so months of working on it, I decided it need something more that I couldn’t bring to the table. So, I called on the homie Nate Fox for help. Nate’s from the same town as I am and we’ve made some jams in the past, dude’s a genius. I knew he would be able to help me get the project to where I wanted. So I hit him up, got some added production, instruments and a clean mix of the vocals. We also decided to trim the tracks down to 10 plus hidden track for a cleaner listen. We were aiming to create something you can just throw on and play without wanting to skip any tracks.

After visiting him in LA, I had to ride a bus back San Francisco and I listened to the mix Nate and I made over & over, and I still felt something was missing. So I called on my homies in The Lobetrotters Collective for further vocals, scratches, instrument and engineering work.

Speaking about that “hidden track”, you’ve released two videos from “Dinner With My Enemies” with a third coming (“Pay Our Bills” will be released June 3rd live on the Syndicated Mind Trip Show via Breal.TV). Of the two videos, “Robbery” really stuck out to me. Featuring labelmates Butch Cassidy & Church, the video really helps bring the record to life. The song touches on how we rob ourselves of morality on a daily basis. A song that the Hip Hop community can really use these days. Do you feel substance is missing from music these days, Hip Hop especially?

Most definitely, at least in the mainstream light. I think there is hope though with artists like Kendrick, Chance, Mac and tons of other new artists on the rise.

For all the Buzzers and new fans out there wanting to stay in touch with you and the BCB, where can we find you on the world wide web?

We have the BCB main website: http://www.beasleyscornerbodega.com that has info on our brand, members and our Bandcamp/ Soundcloud links. Then we have Beasley’s Corner Bodega Facebook Page www.facebook.com/BeasleysCornerBodega & my own: www.facebook.com/izzystrangeThen of course, our Twitter pages: @iEatAtTartals & @beasleyscorner;

It’s been a blast having you with us today Izzy but before we draw the curtain closed, is there anyone you’d like to shout out, give thanks to or is there anything you like to add in or let the people know about?

I’d just like to thank everyone who supports me in anything I do. Shout outs to Zeus, Chuurch, J.Mike, Nate Fox, Skeptik, Danny G, Mike Incite, Wisecrack the Scribe, Rachel Belnick and the rest of the L.T.C.

Producer, emcee, songwriter, multi-group member and label owner- what doesn’t Izzy Strange do?! With only a handful of projects and videos released, this Pennsylvania resident has his head to the clouds with his feet well planted on the sidewalk, ambitiously chasing after dreams of success. With his current work output and with the help of Beasley’s Corner Bodega, those dreams are becoming more of a reality as each day passes on. We’d like to once again thank Strange for joining us for this edition of our “Buzz’N” iNterview series. Make sure to head over to the BCB Bandcamp site and grab a copy of “Dinner With My Enemies” today.

Izzy Strange- “Dinner With My Enemies” Purchase Link

Interviewed By: @blitzb_60505

About Blitz

President, E.I.C. & Content Manager for Get Your Buzz Up - Digital Media Specialist For Independent Artists

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