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| shqzu |
From Sudan, through Riyadh to the world... REMEMBER THIS NAME VERY WELL !!
Quick Q&A with the man himself:
RE-VOLT: How did it all start with you? and what's behind the name shqzu?
SHQZU: It was 2009, we’d kick it me and a group of friends some of us were still in High School but at that time I had graduated. We’d pick an instrumental off YouTube write to it and record using one of those Headsets that came with a microphone, back then used for Skype Calls I used to go by ShaQ and that’s after my father’s name Shakir (NOT SHAQUILLE O'NEAL), I was thinking of how I needed to standout and it was quite frustrating living the shadow of a great NBA player haha I was inspired by an article I read about the Zulu tribe and their leader at a certain point in time SHAKA ZULU, so it was metaphorically beautiful and inspired a lot, that’s where it first originated “Shaqazulu” then I just had to like come up with an abbreviation because it was quite long so I finally settled on SHQZU, sounded dope.
RE-VOLT: You Sudanese, based in Riyadh. When did you move there?
SHQZU: I came to Saudi Arabia in December 2018, like literally 48hrs before the Sudan revolted. I was in Khobar then after that moved to Riyadh in June 2019, I liked it here more to be honest.
You have a chilling vibe, love the wordplay, what inspires you in rap at the moment?
SHQZU:Appreciate it bro, umm well I kind of get inspired by many different things, it inspires me seeing fellow artists unlocking their potentials and setting milestones, I love collaborating.
Like when two or more artists come together and there’s chemistry and each present their own ideas, their own touch and be able to just capture that vibe and deliver it.....man I don’t know what to tell you, that’s just beautiful!
- Who are your top MC's in Sudan?
SHQZU: Well this is a tough pick... We have so much great talents back in Sudan bro, some of them not as popular as others, but there are countless dope talents and I’m just talking about the ones I had come across or met, I’m pretty sure there is a lot more, anyways I’ll name a few of my personal favourites, not in order of course... - Naj - AhmediHussein - O’D - Ace - The Circle - A7md - Flippter - YoungJustus - Oddisee ...You see I just had to stop myself because I could seriously keep going for days haha -
Who are your top MC's ever? give me a top 5?
SHQZU: Well the first Hip hop track I ever heard when I was a kid was a Tupac track, so yeah I’ll play it safe and in no order - Tupac - Biggie - Jay Z - Nas - Method Man But to make it clear, you can ask me this same question on a different day and get a different answer, I guess today is this kind of day -
Your production is mad dope! What's the process of your production, who is a producer that inspires you?
SHQZU: Much love much love fam I really appreciate it... Well first of all I love beats, (I mean like who doesn’t...) but I love sampled beats! Especially those with vocal samples and soulful vibes, man I live for that.
The process is umm I listen to music often, usually not Hip hop when I’m in the mood to make music though, so I’m usually playing the music while doing other stuff and I would usually come across a certain sound or vibe that steals my attention and qualifies for a “sound I would go for” in the music I’m making.
At that point its either I’d start beat making right away or I’d just label it for later, depends. Producers there is also a lot that I love and aspire to be like for example there’s J Dilla, No ID, 9th Wonder, DJ Premier and back in the day Kanye
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| J Dilla |
SHQZU: Actually I’ve been told a lot the “Why don’t you rap in Arabic your mother tongue etc. etc.”, therefore I actually did work on a couple tracks where I spit in Arabic, Sudanese dialect to be precise. So the answer is Yes, I did
Tell us about the "111" EP. I LOVE IT!!! How long did it take you to put it out there?
SHQZU: 111 is the story of how I silenced my negative thoughts and second guessing and pushed through to get back to making music, In numerology 111 signifies the manifestation of your thoughts, it’s said one should be mindful of what they constantly think about as these thoughts good or bad come into reality.
So 111 to me is an audio representation of how I gradually stepped out of a “negative thought loop” into a more brighter or a positive perspective, it’s a fresh start and a new beginning. I’m constantly making beats some of them I end up using some of them I don’t, but I put aside a certain set of beats and started writing and recording to sometime around mid-Sept 2019, the project release was on the 11th of Jan 2020.
Is there a story behind "homeboiii"? :)
SHQZU: Initially I was going to name it “Overthink”, like you know, how most of us do! But as I mentioned I was trying to overcome the negativity and have a positive approach in presenting this project therefore I had created this, my alter ego aka Homeboiii. This was an introduction and I’m going to dive into that persona more and more in the near future insha’Allah just stay tuned!
In the EP "111" which track is the most personal to you? (i know all of them are but if you given a shot to give a track out of ur EP to Sway, to play it, Which one would you send and why?"
SHQZU: Well you already know that it’s really hard to pick out just one because they’re practically like a story building up haha but umm I can say this...the most personal track “although it changes with time” and the track I would give to Sway if I were to, are not the same haha If I was to get a record to spin on the radio I’d probably say “Been There” because it kind of summarizes the whole theme of this project and has a sort of an uplifting good vibe, nice to bump while cruising or during traffic and stuff “the whole project is actually, I recommend you check it out this link”
RE-VOLT: Any shout outs you would like give...
SHQZU: I definitely have to shout out every single soul that made it possible for this project to come about and those that inspired me to make a “comeback” in the first place...I’m going to drop their Instagram accounts if you don’t mind...
- The man behind the cover art of the project who is also a really talented rapper and a visual artist Ace @iam.vce
- Visual arts by my very good friend the talented Muhammad Mahboub @kayboxthefirst
- The painting, that covered almost 70% of the cover art, which was actually created around the same time this project was being made and was quite an inspiration for the direction of this project, both the art and the artist.
Made by this amazing talent Aya Atif @_aaa_ya
- And of course shout out @bahrainibruh and each and every one that supported me throughout and all my friends my family even if I don’t mention names know you’re always in mind and heart, one love!
RE-VOLT:You & KAFV... Collabo Soon?
SHQZU: KAFV is good friend of mine and we’ve known each other for a long time, so yes definitely you could expect some *fire emojis* real soon haha
RE-VOLT: Tell Re-Volt Something not a lot of people know about you
SHQZU: I’m a 27yr old, born and raised in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Studied in Malaysia then moved to Sudan and now in Saudi Arabia. Most of my friends are really dope artists I used to think it was a coincidence but yeah. I’m a Scorpio and I think the language of love is somewhere between food and music....PEACE!
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