We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful GOZ. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with GOZ below.

GOZ, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The creation of The ‘LEGENDARY’ EP; a true testament to walking by faith not by sight and pushing on through the good and the bad! That’s how the blessing of this body of work came to be. I was just coming off the high of my song, Energy, being featured on The Game’s mixtape and I was asking myself “what was next?” after having found more motivation for my music and an elevated mindset of what could actually be possible for me. I was a little stressed as always, but I was determined. Then unfortunately, I actually fell into some life trouble that set me back mentally and financially tbh and that hindered the growth, ideas, motivation I was trying to capitalize on at the time. But God had a bigger plan and in the midst of all the turmoil in my life, he showed me a window of opportunity. Man I was so down at that time, I almost couldn’t even convince myself to take the risk after everything that had just happened to me.

But thankfully, I was able to connect the dots that an old boss had laid out for me and with the help of my best friend, I jumped! Shoutout to AD & Legion for the connection to the OGs, but I always wanted to show people how different and nostalgically significant my sound/bars were and with the way music’s been going the past 7 years, what better way to do that than to take it back to the basics! People are getting tired of non-substance music and I saw that old school was making a comeback slowly, but surely so I felt like it was perfect! Most artists can’t rap for real let alone embody the essence of how hip hop started like I felt like I could. I decided I could take it back to take it forward, showing just how versatile I can be on one side of the spectrum before I continue to show more of the other. My hooks and verses for the songs with Kururpt, Ras Kass, Planet Asia and Kxng Crooked came together slowly, but surely as I took time as an older man now to reflect on my life. But, I honestly didn’t feel like the EP was complete until I came up with the intro, Legendary, in a deep introspective moment where I feel like life was closing in on me and I just wanted to do/be ME. It was crazy, the full song came to me in like 1-2 days and I instantly knew I had something like I’ve never had before. I was proud of myself, the EP was now truly LEGENDARY. And I’ll be that much prouder when it finally drops on 6/24/22! Pre-save it now, but if this article isn’t out til after the 6/24, know that hip hop ain’t dead! Go stream my joint ASAP!

GOZ, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Reppin’ both We$t Coa$ts, GOZ is a Cali/Nigerian Artist, Creative Director, & Visionary currently based in LA! He’s been featured on Sway In The Morning’s LIVE, the LA, San Diego, & Houston Voyager, OnThaRize Magazine, Loading Magazine, 24HipHop, Underground Hip Hop Hop Blog, & The Game’s “Rules Of The Game” mixtape! Throughout 2021 as part of his  “Warm Up Series”, he’s released EVERYWHERE ft. The OG, Kurupt, HEY HEY ft. TreCinco, and IF (EGO), showcasing his incredible versatility within the West Coast sound alone! And now he’s just released The ‘LEGENDARY’ Ep featuring West Coast Legends: Kurupt, Ras Kass, Planet Asia, and Kxng Crooked! Man’s DANGEROUS!

Exponentially growing his network from 2013-2017, GOZ took the college, greek life, media, and music worlds by storm when he decided to step up his game and take his craft/potential more seriously in 2018. Known already for his personality and content creation skills, people started to take notice of these assets more as they were applied to his music debut. Early on, he accompanied his vocals with visuals which helped his audience understand his vision. He then dropped an EP in 2018 (Lead single: “Foreign”) to test the waters, followed by his 1st album in 2019 (Lead single: “No Talk”) which solidified undeniable acclaim from his peers and caught the attention of radio stations, creative/cultural social media outlets, etc.

From hip hop-rap to trap to afrobeats and back baby! Rooted in 2 Westside cultures, GOZ’s music is a fresh blend of old school and new school. Balancing the root of hip hop/rap with the new age, he’s able to produce hard hitting, substance bars, ( “IF (EGO)”, “No Talk” ) wavy melodies/melodic bars, ( “Trip”, “Hey Hey” ) and/or BOTH in one ( “Tomorrow”, “Everywhere” )! (Whether it’s a slower track or better yet something with a lil tempo/bounce, word to the Westside!) Furthermore, although he’s yet to release a full one of my afrobeats joints, he’s been able to keep things experimental, blending hip hop and afrobeats in upbeat tracks ( “Free Black” ) as well as darker/trap-like tracks ( “Energy” ). GOZ’s palette is truly versatile making his style great for features whether it be just a hook or a verse!

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Everybody has something they’re good at or at least well informed about. To you it may be/seem easy to understand because you know it, but from someone else’s perspective who doesn’t understand it, it could be the hardest thing in the world to comprehend. And vice versa! It’s all about perspective…Perspective produces originality. And originality is one of the most lacking things in today’s society. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in the collective “us” and “we”, however, due to programming, some of us spend so much time fitting in that we don’t/choose not to understand ourselves; to BE ourselves.

That being said, creating something original is hard. And then putting it out there to be scrutinized for what it’s not rather than appreciated for what it is is always the most difficult part. I understand how a bit of familiarity can pull an audience in more, but these days there are more copy cats out there than anything. And they’re being praised more than the OGs sometimes lol shit’s backwards. A majority of the time, the originator receives the least – no credit only to watch those motivated and inspired by them…But alas, a piece of culture was their creation and that…That Is Something.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Always keep an open mind! And appreciate things for what they are rather than what they’re not!

Stop blindly supporting celebs because of your societal programming!
Show the “same love” to your artist friends as you do Drake! Lol (or any other celeb)

Find out what you like and stand behind that regardless of what “everyone else” thinks!
Then be vocal about it to help grow the brand – Share share share! (It’s 100% free)

Remember that everyone starts from somewhere!
And that trajectory can be created so help them create it if you believe in it!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.streamlink.to/THISISGOZ
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justgoz_/
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/justGOZ_
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/VisionaryMedia
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nnagozieodeluga/
• Other: The ‘LEGENDARY’ Ep is OUT NOW: https://www.streamlink.to/LEGENDARY

Image Credits
@kgthedenahomie @by.alexiscastillo @about27tigers @visionarymedia__ @wesproductions