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

Hi Izreal, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on so far has to probably be the Album I’m working on now due for release next year in 23.

Musically, it’s probably the most personal I’ve been in some of my songs, discussing my upbringing and really embracing who I am as a person.

As a rapper, I feel like it’s not really “cool” to be from a small city, and I’d been running away from that for a long time. On this album, I’ve accepted that I’m from Las Cruces, NM as well as deep personal trauma from my past.

It’s also the most experimental I’ve been. There’s some stuff that’s dance and rock oriented, just a lot of me stepping out my comfort zone musically and lyrically.

Izreal, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Ultimately, I feel I’m a creator to the core with a distinguished palette & curative mind.

I’ve experimented with many art forms in the past like painting, graffiti, pottery (I’d like to get back into these again later in life) but music was the thing that really stuck with me.

A combination of things inspired me to begin making music — like being a skater and hearing Lupe Fiasco’s “Kick, Push” as well as hearing my brother driving through to the crib in his girl’s car bumping his own rap cd that he recorded. That made it seem real to me.

Then, around this time Lupe Fiasco dropped Food and Liquor then The Cool, Kanye dropped Graduation then 808’s, NERD was releasing music as well, then the Glow in the Dark tour happened and they formed CRS and that’s honestly ingrained in the DNA of my music and style to this day.

I’m most proud of the fact that I’ve stayed persistent to myself and my sound, and that I haven’t jumped on a hot new trend.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I think in the Rap Industry in particular there’s a stigma that if you’re not signed to a Major Label or rich and famous, then you’re obviously not good at making art and you’re wasting your life by creating art that you love. You haven’t “made it”

Which is the furthest thing from the truth. I have an old friend named Rush who’s a painter, shout out to him, he gets to live his life lowkey, traveling overseas to study and improve his craft, and nobody tells him that he should stop because he’s not signed to somebody.

You know Van Gogh wasn’t even famous until after he passed? Imagine if he stopped doing what he loved, what helped him cope with his illness, because he would never get rich or famous off it in his lifetime. It’s ridiculous.

Did I want to sign to a Major label at one point in my life? Of course, everyone who’s seen 8 Mile wanted to make a demo and get signed before the movie ended! But I’ve learned over time that most of those deals are predatory. I’ve seen artists signed to artists that I dreamed to be signed to saying they signed a shit deal.

I haven’t and don’t need a label to feel like I’ve “made it.” Every day that I get to make dope shit with my team I’ve made it. Every day someone tells me they f*ck with a song of mine I’ve made it. Every time we make a new merch design I’ve made it.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Right before the pandemic, I was trying to get a music video done for a song on my last album and the price was pretty steep. Then it hit and the world kind of reset, (that’s how it felt in NY at least) and this video I planned and invested in was pretty much cancelled.

I used to pay $40-$50 to go to the studio every weekend, and eventually I realized that those funds added up and I could easily invest that into a home studio instead. Applying that same concept to making a music video, I decided I was going to invest in video production equipment, study film myself, and shoot MY OWN videos, with the help of my team of course.

Film is an amazing medium and being a director is no easy task, props to them (and me now), and I understand that video production comes with a very high price tag, even if it’s just for a 3 min video that’s only going to live on Youtube. I’m glad that I’ve decided to go this route, it’s only made me more confident in my ability to bring my own creative visions to life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.izreal.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisisizreal/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThisisIzreal/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/thisisizreal
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy8ss93hKPkrRtaX5pQVoZw
• Other: Merch: https://oozaru.com/

Image Credits
Edward Gonterman