We recently connected with GOZ and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, GOZ thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

When I was growing up, I quickly learned that I had a vast imagination. And the foundation of discipline set by my parents along with my creativity is what stirred my true love and pursuit of a career in music/media. Before the media though, music was my 1st love. I played the drums for 7 years, between the school band and private drum set lessons as a kid/pre-teen. This background definitely built my ear for music, along with my Mom’s singing in the church choir.

My love of music was always the root of my creativity because it inspired and brought life to my videos. Before I really even knew it, I was truly studying the game. I used to listen to new music religiously, sometimes spending hours just collecting my favorite artists’ tracks through Limewire. Hours and hours and hours of just listening to a variety of music; I immersed myself into the culture and became a connoisseur of good music and somewhat of a hip hip scholar in my own respect.

I started testing my rap abilities between 14-18 years old; most of which came through freestyles with the homies before actual songwriting. We were faithful watchers of Sway’s Universe on Youtube during that era so we’d always watch the new freestyles on there along with new music videos and then we’d try to channel that energy into some bars of our own. Sometimes I would just feel the beat in my soul during our sessions and start spazzing out, and it was in those moments that I knew I had something before my homies really saw it as well. I always felt like music called to me in a way, but I didn’t always listen to it at the level I do now. I told myself and my homies that if I was ever going to really pursue music, I would only speak my/the truth and that I’d probably wait till I was 21-22 when I was “ready”.

All of this led up to that real moment of “knowing” that came in 2016; I was 20 years old. My brother had just passed the year before and my life/mental state was still in disarray to say the least. As my own form of therapy, I decided to write my 1st real song about him. Yes, I had written things here and there before, but I’d never had such a deep reason. I was hurting and I needed to express myself. I finished the song and in an effort to force myself back into the light as well as share my pain with my people so they’d understand what I was going through, I signed up to perform the song. This was also my 1st time performing my music on a real level in general. I was nervous, but when I took to the stage there was a sense of peace that hit me. I felt connected to myself and the people watching in a way I’d never felt before and as I performed, I could feel and see that the crowd was really resonating with me. Once I finished, it was like an incredible weight had been lifted from my shoulders; it was spiritual. And it was that moment that let me know how much I truly wanted to pursue being an artist.

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?

Bridging the gap between old and new school while repping 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; a nostalgic project honoring hip hop’s golden era!

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.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Watching people consume and thoroughly enjoy my work is honestly the most regarding part.

I described it best in the intro of my 1st EP, Too Fluid (Pre-SZN) – “I take my time with my projects(/work in general) so just know if something’s coming from me, it’s going to be dope, you know what I mean? I’m not even trying to gas myself, but I put the work in to make it lit..to make you watch(/listen) to it and think about it and catch all these different things – Oh look at that! Check that out! Wow, it’s cool how he did that! – I make it an experience. So just know you’ll get an experience.”

So when you couple that feeling/knowing that you’ve created something unique with that matched feeling from a viewer/listener who feels the same way but from their own perspective…*double shot of euphoria straight to the soul*

I love that I can make people feel something in general as well as a range of real emotions through my work. I feel like it further connects Us in a world that’s clearly so similar yet so different at the exact same time. It’s spiritual.

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!

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

Assess “the love” you show to the celebs you don’t know against the artists that you do.

Be vocal about that love to help grow the brand – Share share share! (It’s 100% free)

Contact Info:

• GOZ’s Complete Catalog: www.streamlink.to/THISISGOZ
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/justgoz_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/justGOZ
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nnagozieodeluga/
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/justgoz_
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/VisionaryMedia
• Latest release: My ‘LEGENDARY’ EP ft. Kxng Crooked, Ras Kass, Planet Asia, and Kurupt is OUT NOW! www.streamlink.to/LEGENDARY

Image Credits
@kgthedenahomie @roachi @visionarymedia__