EXCLUSIVE: Meet The Grunge Rap King Jez Dior

If unfamiliar, Jez Dior is artist who calls his style of hip hop “Grunge Rap” (citing everybody from Kurt Cobain to Kanye as major influences) and first made waves with his Scarlett Sage mixtape followed by independent releases The Funeral EP and Youthanasia EP last year. Gearing up for his debut studio album in 2018, he’s toured with the likes of Chance The Rapper and has shared the stage with folks like J. Cole, Kanye West, G-Eazy and more. He also has a deep story he hopes to tell in his music, as somebody who is in recovery and has dealt with addiction and its effects on health, family, relations, etc – which is all over this new project. He also runs his own imprint, Funeral Crew, which is also a group of like-minded friends who have all been through similar experiences and hardships growing up (a lot of them have experienced deaths of close ones, etc). You can watch him talk about that here.

Hypefresh was able to catch up with the buzzing hip hop star about his creative process, new music and what’s next! Check it out below!

Q: What was the specific moment when you knew you were destined to pursue a career in music?

A:It was pretty early on actually. I’m not very good at anything other than music and soccer. I pretty much refused to go to school, so I essentially gave myself no other choice other than to make one of those two things work out for myself.

Q: Can you name a particular time or moment in your life that may have prepared you for a career in music?

A: My dad had a career in music / so being around him definitely helped. It made a lot of things familiar to me that would be foreign to most people early on.

Q: If you could name the single most influential artist who has impacted you creatively, who would it be?

A: Eminem. He just opened my eyes to a whole new world and helped me through everything I was going through in my youth.

Q: You have been releasing a series of singles over the past couple of months. Can you tell us a bit about the songs? Are they a part of an upcoming project?

A: These are all songs I’ve made over the last six months or so. I really just felt like I wanted to switch things up a bit and make some records with a different vibe compared to my previous releases. These are songs that I love, but don’t quite fit on my upcoming album, so I just wanted to get them out there for people to hear.

Q: How has your sound changed from your previous releases?

A: My sound is ever changing as I grow as an artist, but what is important is that I feel like I’ve found a way to keep that underlying vibe that made my fans love my music in the first place.

Q:When it comes to the creative sonic concepts, especially for your new music, are you more controlling or receptive to the creative process?

A: It really just depends on who I am working with. I keep a pretty small creative circle around me, so if it is with someone within that, there is a lot of trust there.

Q:What is your perspective on the state of Hip Hop?

A: Hip hop is rock n roll. The genre is striving like never before and whether you love or hate a certain artist, there is an abundance of hip-hop artists to choose from, and I think it’s great. there is no roof on hip-hop at the moment. I don’t see it slowing down anytime soon.

Q: What has music taught you about yourself? Has it ever challenged you as a person, not the artist?

A:A career in music is all about perseverance. There were a million times where I wanted to quit, but it has taught me to keep believing in myself and to always push for my dreams.

Q: If you could give any advice to other aspiring artists on navigating the industry, what would it be?

A: To be honest: write songs that mean something to you. People can tell if what you’re saying is true and that is the best way to have your music resonate with a fan.

Q: What else can we expect from you in the near future?

A: TONS of music!

For more updates and new music for Jez Dior, visit here.