We get to know South London music artist INFAMOUSIZAK and why he believes it's so important to just be yourself!

Creating any form of art in 2019 must be extremely daunting. Scrutiny is most definitely expected and comparison amongst your peers is rife. We currently exist in a commercially driven world, a world that is sadly cultivating a generation obsessed with hype, numbers and a lack of authenticity. When something works once in the music industry, it’s simply rinsed and repeated. A conveyor belt type process of ready to sell music acts, pushed into the market place and expected to perform. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes this system works but in all honesty, there’s no real longevity with instantaneous results.

Whilst the hype does its thing over there, we took the time to get to know INFAMOUSIZAK. It’s music acts like him, who truly excite me and remind me why I love music, real music anyway. Although very much an emerging artist going through the depths of growth and development, INFAMOUSIZAK is already an incredible talent. He’s spent the past few years really honing his craft as a rapper, vocalist and a producer. Artistically self taught, he’s miles ahead of his time so if you ask me, his future is very bright. His new project ‘DEEP THE NIGHT’ is quite honestly a musical breath of fresh air, released just this August and probably one of my favourite projects of 2019.

Believe it or not this was actually INFAMOUSIZAK’s first official photo shoot. “First proper shoot I’ve done, like proper with a stylist and all that sort of stuff,” admits INFAMOUSIZAK. I was actually shocked by this, in a good way of course. The styling across his visuals have been pretty impressive so I assumed there was likely to be a creative team on board, helping him to craft his musical image. Turns out it’s very much just him, alongside his manager Will Beach who is also a photographer and director. Together, the pair has managed to build a solid foundation for INFAMOUSIZAK’s visual direction.

Intrigued by his name INFAMOUSIZAK, I ask him to explain what that’s all about. He tells me Izak is quite simply his surname so initially, he chose to adopt IZAK as his artist name. He released his debut EP ‘Juvenile Hill,’ a few tracks and videos under this alias, including a re-fix of Xavier Wulf and Skepta’s track ‘Check It Out (remix),’ which INFAMOUSIZAK titled ‘EAT In.’ “Before I even heard the song I heard the intro/the build and I liked it a lot,” explains INFAMOUSIZAK. “I basically ripped the song off YouTube and made my own version, just off the intro. Added my base and stuff, then did what I wanted to do to it.” I can’t even lie for a YouTube rip, he did a pretty good job with it. “It was just literally supposed to be a freestyle,” he continues. “Just trying to do little things to get my name out there. Something different as well, so I put my own twist on it with the singing, the vocal and then rapping/verses. It wasn’t planed out to be anything special but I felt like I was happy with the result. I remember when I made it I was gassed just listening to it in my room.”

Four months later in October 2018, IZAK now goes by the name of INFAMOUSIZAK with the release of his first official single ‘AWKS.’ “The INFAMOUS comes from my childhood. I liked games, comics and stuff like that,” shares INFAMOUSIZAK. I asked for more detail and he tells me, “Batman and just anything to do with Spiderman.” “OK so you’re into superheroes,” I suggest. “Exactly superheroes, that sort of thing. I guess subliminally I was inspired by that but also, INFAMOUS is I guess, like a villain so that’s why I’m INFAMOUSIZAK,” he states confidently but with a shy smirk. “I wanted something that’s going to stand out a little bit more. INFAMOUSIZAK made me feel good when I said it and it did the music justice.”

Jumper by Weekday and Trousers by Kitsune

I found getting to know the young man behind INFAMOUSIZAK very interesting. A South London native from West Norwood, 25 years of age and he’s only been pursuing his music career for the last 4 years. Before that, his life was heavily immersed in basketball. I wondered how he fell into playing basketball when in the UK, football is almost an obsession, “before (basketball) I was playing football. In my school there was an older group of boys that used to play and I wasn’t paying too much attention to them but the older I got, the more it looked kinda cool,” he explains. “I remember the games started coming on in the UK, Channel 4, early mornings so I used to watch it a little bit. I always kinda liked American culture anyway, cause I used to watch 106&Park and all that in the mornings before I went to school. It was always an interest so when I had the opportunity to try it out and play, it was cool and then all of my friends got involved as well so that even made it easier.” By the time he reached 17/18 he was one of the best basketball players in his borough, he was well on his way to becoming a professional player and so attended the University of Worcester to play and train professionally, whilst studying Sports Science. The idea of playing basketball professionally at one of the UK’s most profound basketball establishments was very different to the reality. “I saw how some of the top players were living and their situations weren’t what I thought it was,” shares INFAMOUSIZAK. “Being there and seeing it for myself, it wasn’t as good as I had hoped.” He quickly realised that basketball wasn’t going to be a sustainable career and he couldn’t see himself working within the fields of Sports Science long term neither. “I was thinking about what could I do, that’s gonna make me happy for the rest of my life. What can I do that’s gonna get me up every day and feel good about myself,” he shared. “I kinda started from zero, figuring out my passions and what I love doing. Music luckily came my way and that was it.”

Blazer by Kitsune, Jacket by Sergio Tacchini and Scarf by Arela

INFAMOUSIZAK tells me his decision to pursue music over basketball wasn’t the easiest choice to make but it’s very clear, it was most definitely his calling. He always loved music but it was never something he actually thought about making a career out of, “music has always been there for me,” he states. “I didn’t want to pursue it but it’s just always been a part of my life. My parents are very into music, my Dad’s into reggae, my mum’s into R&B so it’s always in the house. Everything we do, there’s music. In the car when driving, it’s always loud. It’s always been a part of me.” Music being a part of his life whilst at University was also the catapult to his new journey. A friend of INFAMOUSIZAK was producing beats in their room and INFAMOUSIZAK was encouraged to come along and get involved by another friend, who was exploring rapping at the time. So he too started to figure out his pen game, “I feel like when I started experimenting with it, a lot of it came naturally to me especially because I was a big fan of Kendrick Lamar,” he explains. “So word play and stuff like that, I always had the mind to try and incorporate it from the beginning.”

As the rapping skills developed, INFAMOUSIZAK’s desire to have an input in how the overall music was sounding became apparent too, “my boy was producing but he’s a strong minded individual so when I wanted to get involved, in terms of influencing the sound, he would kind of brush my opinion to the side,” he shares. “So I was like you know what, let me just get the software and try it for myself. That’s how the development of me producing, writing lyrics and recording myself started.” Having watched his friend engineer using Ableton Live, he took to YouTube tutorials and a lot of trial and error to master the craft of music production, “it was me just replicating what I heard on the radio, try and make it my own, try and incorporate my own style into it,” he explains. “Just trying things out, it might not sound good. You think it did at the time and then you listen back to it and it’s not so good,” he chuckles.

Hoody by Polari, Boilersuit by DB Berdan and Necklace by Feather Pendant

It was amazing to hear how prominent young black role models within the UK music industry, gave INFAMOUSIZAK the inspiration to believe that a music career was actually possible. “I remember Stormzy was popping off, Skepta was doing his thing and that really inspired me,” shares INFAMOUSIZAK. “I was thinking things are happening for UK artists and there’s opportunities.” This is such an important factor, especially for the Black British community. Seeing someone who looks like you make it, send’s a strong message that yes, you can do this too. With hard work and determination, anything is achievable. This didn’t feel like work for INFAMOUSIZAK however, he was truly enjoying the process, “I was doing it because I had a passion for it and I liked just being able to create something by myself,” he admits. “It was just like when you find a new toy init, you explore it and I just kept working on it.”

Taking the time to work and develop his art is the very reason why INFAMOUSIZAK will go far in this industry, “there are different levels to finding yourself, musically as well,” he explains. “You’ve got to figure it out. Figure out what you’re about and be confident with what you are doing as well.” He goes on to explain that his single ‘AWKS,’ was actually recorded the year before it’s release however, he wanted to make sure he dropped it at the right time. “I tried to shoot the video the winter before and it didn’t happen, it just didn’t work out,” shares INFAMOUSIZAK. “I was waiting to release it and I just wanted to make sure I didn’t waste it or nothing like that. I just wanted to make sure the situation was right.” He also went on to explain that during the time he was holding onto ‘AWKS,’ his engineering was massively improving so he ended up producing a better mix of the song. “‘AWKS’ is one of my favourite songs, just cause of the beat,” he shares. “I remember making it and just being happy, gassed. It’s just one of them tunes man, I couldn’t wait to play it live as well.” He’s right it’s most definitely one of those tunes, with its eerie violin loop, laced over the dirtiest of bass lines complimented with INFAMOUSIZAK’s tongue and cheek bars.

It wasn’t until March 2019 that the visual for ‘AWKS’ was released alongside the release of ‘Homeowner,’ the debut single from INFAMOUSIZAK’s project ‘DEEP THE NIGHT.’ This was actually the first song and visual I saw from him and I was immediately excited to hear and watch more. A melodic offering with INFAMOUSIZAK riding the track with vocals opposed to bars, “me talking about being a homeowner is just something that I wanna be one day,” he shares. “I know especially in London for a lot of people, it’s mad to think about the house prices. But that’s what I’m aspiring to do with this music, be me, tell my stories and offer that. Create something for myself and my family.” If you ask me, storytellers make the best music artists, the ability to share ones story in song is what makes music truly beautiful. “I want to keep developing the ability to talk about personal stuff but I want beats where you could be in the club,” INFAMOUSIZAK tells me. “So it’s relatable music but it’s fun at the same time. It doesn’t have to be depressing or nothing like that, it could just be fun stuff to listen to but you can feel a message in there as well.” It’s not the easiest balance to master neither but INFAMOUSIZAK has definitely crafted the ability to do it, “I guess it’s just a natural conversation with myself, I just speak about what I’m going through at the time,” he explains. “Someone is going to relate to it somewhere, that’s how I feel.”

Although sonically very different, I would categorise INFAMOUSIZAK with other UK rappers such as Che Lingo and Knucks. Storytelling is what they all have in common and their music is a lot more positively led, “I just wanna be myself, I wanna be different and I can only speak my truth,” shares INFAMOUSIZAK as I ask him about the lyrical direction of his storytelling. “Just be honest with yourself and the thing is, if that’s not you people can see that anyway. Whatever environment you are from, you don’t have to be a certain type of way. You can just be whatever you are into and do whatever you want to do. You go wherever you want to go.” I then ask him to tell me more about his project ‘DEEP THE NIGHT’ and I truly loved his explanation on the concept, “it’s a combination of emotions that I capture during the night time. Whether you are gassed, going out with your friends or you are in love with somebody,” he details. “I feel like emotions are heightened in the night time.” He goes on to explain that during the day we are in work mode, robots almost forced to act out professionally, “during the night time you can kinda relax. You can go out with your friends or just chill, you’re the truest form of yourself. So that’s what ‘Deep The Night’ is about, the emotions you capture when you are being yourself.”

Jumper by Weekday, Vest by Nicce, Trousers by DB Berdan, Footwear by K Swiss and Jewellery by Feather Pendants

So this is very much the message INFAMOUSIZAK is keen to share, “I feel like it’s just important to let people know it’s ok to be them selves.” I completely agree with him. As a new and emerging artist, within a scene that’s not only saturated but also orchestrated to some degree, I ask INFAMOUSIZAK to explain how he feels watching the hype as he’s steadily growing but at a much slower speed, “for me I just focus on myself to be honest, I know my time will come init,” he states with confidence. “You just have to focus on you because if you look at other people, it will just throw you off your own situation. Literally just focus on yourself and continue to work on your craft and believe your time will come. That’s how I feel.” I asked him if he ever feels things are not working (whilst also reassuring him that it 100% is) and he said, “there are always ups and downs. I don’t feel like it’s not working, sometimes I get frustrated with the speed of stuff, I wish it would happen now, like I wanna blow next week,” he laughs. “But it’s life init, you just gotta get through it and do what you gotta do, keep working cause it’s the only way it’s gonna happen really.”

I’m very excited for INFAMOUSIZAK! He’s driven, focused and it’s very evident he is completely giving this moment his all. This coming Thursday 10 October, will see him perform at the Boiler Room Festival and he will also be supporting his good friend, R&B artist Santino Le Saint on Tuesday 26 November at XOYO. We can also expect to see the visuals for ‘PUBLIC ENEMY,’ which features on the ‘DEEP THE NIGHT’ project, which you all need to go away and press play on right now!

Follow INFAMOUSIZAK on Instagram to ensure he stays on your radar. Don’t sleep!

CREDITS

Photographer - Aynrand Cosette Ariel

Photographer Assistant - Sophie Randle

Stylist - Jeff Maranon

Stylist Assistant - Nkemdilim Ezenekwe

Grooming - Tahiyah Ali

Special thanks to Smith Town Studios