The Hype Magazine Interviews Chrizzy

“CHRIZZY is a charismatic individual with a moral compass that he believes is the greatest one to carry his conviction to his own true victory. That true victory references his philosophy; God made these bodies and my talents for a reason I just gotta use them with the right resources and a great amount of faith. His influences was Def jam (the first display from lyrics to the screen inside his head), 2 Pac (Storytelling), Biggie (Lyricism), Eminem (Ventilation of ones uncontrollable anger), Kyle (Attitude always smiling. always been that way he just kind of solidified it for me ), Gambino & Kendrick Lamar (Conspiracy theories), J Cole & Big Sean were a guide to realism and similarities due to faith, God, and different obstacles being in the way because of race, gender, and, or stance on approaches with LIFE whether it be spiritual or physical. These artists sparked a fire in me that no other person that I met face to face had, to do great things no matter what the average person says or does about the dream I have or had.”

Who is Chrizzy?

Chrizzy was an eleven-year-old nerdy boy in the suburb of Grandview. And how we got inspired, I’m talking about myself of course. It sounded like an alter ego, Slim Shady, but one of the biggest inspirations for creating was Eminem. I looked at him like myself because he always got bullied when he was a kid. But he fought through it, and he expressed all his anger through his rhymes instead of doing dumb like fighting all the time. So I started rapping and then I got inspired by my late brother, brother in law. This is my friend’s family but we consider him a big brother named Craig, Craig Marshall. He was really dope and he definitely was the biggest in the game, but he died of a brain aneurysm. So I stopped rapping for a little bit. In high school, we start rapping up again and then I started getting my craft of storytelling down and all that started to do better. College came around the corner, so I had to focus on my scholarship. After that say, freshman, sophomore year I met Stephen for a reason, he is another artist. We just started competing against each other. Eventually, we did our first show together and our first song was like on Turtle Beaches, it was at the Kansas City Art’s Bar. We had like half the school there. We stayed up to like three, four, or five in the morning, making flyers, printing them off. Putting it on cars, random dorms and houses around all of Parkville, and people came out. Everybody knew the song. It was amazing, so I mean after that we just kept going.

So you were telling me about how you have a double album coming out?

It’s not an album. I mean I guess I was thinking about calling it an LP but you have to know that actual definition LP. LP is more than 17 tracks. It’ll be two E.P.’s put together. So it’ll be “If This Was Me” and then the next one will be “But It Isn’t.” So it’s a full statement, telling you if this was me if I really did grow up in the streets, if I really did hustle: this is what I would sound like, this is who I would be. But I’m not. The reason why I’m not is explained in “But It Isn’t.” Because of my guys, because of my family, because of the loved ones around me and the support. It is a general message of positivity that I feel like I should display for my people. I don’t mean my people as my color, my people as everybody. I see this E.P. as my first official step into the game.

Who are some of your influences?

Nipsey Hussle. He did everything on his own. Literally like from scratch, producing the beats to engineering the songs, of course writing his own lyrics. He went out, he talked to different labels. He did it all physically on his own, he didn’t pay anybody to like do this, because it was all him. I started listening to Nipsey Hussle heavy in college like two-three years ago on the No Pressure album. And man that’s just the way he talks, “When you have seen so much death you start dealing with Christ.” That just hit me, so I started looking up his videos, his approach on life. You just can’t quit. People get into the game and they see all the sacrifices they got to make, and they quit. It was like right there. In that right there moment is the most important moment not to put it down, not to quit. Cause if you don’t, you’ll break breakthrough. He also gave everybody in his hood jobs. You know, he was cool with the Bloods, Crips and the police, all at the same time he was making scholarships for folks. That’s what I want to do.

In college, J Cole hit me hard. He’s really relatable. He explains his feelings towards a certain scenario, and it’s like damn yeah I thought of that too! Especially the song “Wet Dreams.” It was to the point where my father’s relationship and mine wasn’t the best. Well, I was listening to it and then I got out of the car and he was like “wait.” And I was like “what?” “What happens next?” Especially when I got back from basic training, Cole really helped me get back down to earth, everything had a realistic perspective. You know what saying, like in a positive view. You know whether or not it’s good or bad and then KOD came out my senior and we were really hoping on my junior year that Kendrick and him would come out with that album cause that would be bliss. His last album KOD I thought it was really tight. I like “Cut Them Off” specifically because my team left me.

So Big Sean and J. Cole are typically speaking in the same area of inspiration and motivation. First of all, they’re rappers with degrees and they both got a degree in communication. I have a degree in communication as well. So those it’s like Bro I got to be part of that trio. And man, you can tell like when they speak that they’re a little bit more intelligent than the average rapper. Big Sean’s stories definitely resonated with me because just like J. Cole he relates to what I think about, and how I should approach things that present itself as an obstacle in my life. I usually put them and God, like not in the same spectrum, but in like the Council of art.

Tell me about this movie you see in your head when you listen to music.

Ok. So, for example, the first movie I saw in my head of Def Jam Icon. It was basically like little kids acting up and Chucky would come and get him and mess ’em up you know and I imagine this gray sky, a little white girl in a pink dress and she was running from somebody in an abandoned spot like it’s all exposed. Then the rapper, he’s like above her, kind of like God, he’s narrating “Chucky’s coming to get ya”. Then as soon as the little kid starts talking, “Hey my name’s Chucky, you wanna plaaay?” I just imagine a huge chase, a whole bunch of messed up stuff, missiles blowing up, utensils in your brain. I literally imagined everything.

Do you rap for any other reasons?

Well, I guess the biggest reason is Craig Marshall. He definitely had like a whole basement studio and everything together. He was gonna something with it. He already had a nice little house, suit, had a nice little comfy job. You know, had wife and kid going, like this is something I want to be one day. But even better, you know. And he really inspired me to do that, and I see I’m on the right path. Another reason I guess I mean I just I don’t know, it’s just fun. It’s literally just fun. A beat comes on, a tap comes on, I start to rap, I start to freestyle, I make an idea, I see a whole movie in my head and I write it down on paper. I text it on my phone you know what saying. It’s an amazing feeling. It feels great.

Is there anything you want people to know about you or what you want to do?

I want people to know that the reason why I’m doing everything is back to the original concept. There’s a reason why God created everybody. There’s a reason why he gave me an athletic body. There’s a reason why he gave me an intellectual mind to work with, and there is a reason why I have some type of skill set towards rhythmic and poetry. Which is rap? The reason why he gave me that skill set is the reason why I want to do this so badly. I got like this subconscious drive, even when I’m not motivated, to get out the bed. And it’s like it’s still want to do it like I’m exhausted. You know, if I can, cottonmouth; I’m still rapping, muscle failure; I’m still doing push-ups and I’m still running.

To listen: https://open.spotify.com/artist/16SlQ3z8ZRAq3dPBg8Wvtw

/ / MOVING || GHOSTS / / is an ongoing project where I am collaborating with people to create portraits of them in locations important to them while wearing their favorite outfit. The catch is that they have to hide their face.

I ask people to wear their favorite outfit is because clothes show who a person is at the period in life, how they feel & have been feeling. They express who they want to be, gives people confidence. I am interested in sharing who people are and the connection that comes with that. I ask that people cover their face because in a way it kills the model/identity but allows for other parts of who they are to come out in the image.

Important locations come from the idea of boudoir. Boudoir comes from the french word bouder meaning: to sulk. Historically, sulking was seen as something one would do privately, and the term bouder came to encapsulate a room where one would go to withdraw and be quietly alone. A bouder was a place of intimacy and privacy, where one could express their true selves without fear of judgment or punishment.

-Jacob Buchanan / / Melting Giraffe / / @melting_giraffe

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