It’s not just words on paper.
Hip hop artist BizzyMind has eked out a living by speaking out about what’s inside his head.
The Vernon raised emcee, now based in Vancouver, demonstrates his prowess with words when he plays Vernon’s 2929 Nite Club Thursday.
“I moved from my hometown of Vernon to Vancouver about five years ago to pursue my career in alternative hip-hop,” said BizzyMind. “I’ve always had an obsession with reading and writing and I knew from a young age that my passion would be words – I just didn’t expect them to be in the form of hip-hop music.”
It was after seeing a DL Incognito show in Vernon that BizzyMind’s passion for hip hop was awakened.
“The show was a mix of beat-boxing, on-point politically charged hip hop verses, and humbling spoken word pieces to keep the elation grounded,” he said. “It was a combination of everything substantial I loved about writing with the ecstatic and communally visceral experience of music.”
After that show, BizzyMind began to write his music to instrumentals. Since then, he has written, recorded, mixed, and released nearly 100 tracks himself, and says he is starting to see the last five years worth of work pay off.
“My style is a mixture of spoken word, social commentary with tight polysyllabic structures, and a tonal presentation that isn’t too common in the hip-hop world. The result is a novel sound with as much punch as function,” he said.
BizzyMind’s latest release, Zero-Status, is a poignant social critique of elements in culture, which he says is his strongest work to date. (The album is available to download on http://sogz.bandcamp.com/album/zero-status.)
He’s also been working hard to establish himself as a well-rounded entrepreneur of the art, battling in competitions (his most recent victory was at Kelowna’s Battle of the Bars) and booking his own tours.
His latest, billed as The Nasty Tour, also features Kelowna acts Redd Casey and Day Shaw Voo (Keitz Beatz and Golden Child). The Vernon stop will feature local opening act Alfy’O.
“All of these emcees are powerhouses of talent and implicit proponents of local entertainment and networking, and we’re sure to provide a night full of kinetic energy and incredible music,” said BizzyMind.
Thursday’s 19-plus show at 2929 starts at 10 p.m. Cover is $5 at the door, which opens at 9 p.m.
