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Zeke The Zombie Slayur explores a contradictory existence, dissecting themes of jealousy & admiration in his new album “I’m glad I made this”

To say Zeke is a Musical Savant would be an oversimplification of his artistic prowess. I want to paint a clear portrait of his physical and sonic identity for you to understand how he fits into the current landscape of music and culture as a whole. A young man of many talents, when I say he does it all I mean literally -from the beats to the raps. He’s even credited with making all the artwork and mixing/mastering the entire album himself. That’s some real behind the scenes shit! A jaded young skater from Sunset Park Brooklyn, Isaiah Nathaniel Benjamin plugged into the scene at a young age; He knew what he wanted to become from 12 years old. That dream eventually led to him meeting one of his biggest inspirations -Tyler Okonma. Now this put a battery into his soul like no other. Isaiah went on to befriend superstars that worked and skated for Supreme and developed himself as a New York City creative through and through! Now, at the ripe age of 23 He owns a label (Open Casket llc.) and a production company (Sushi Palace @sushipalass) focused on producing tantalizing art that really makes you feel SOMETHING. If that doesn’t scream friendly neighborhood spider-man turned Billionaire Bachelor Bruce Wayne then I don’t know what does. Nigga. When he’s not flying across country to model for GolfWang he can be found skating around the lower east side of manhattan, making beats on his laptop or enjoying the sub-tropic climate. We asked him what he does in his down time and he said that creation is his downtime. Sometimes composing music, sometimes designing graphics, sometimes storyboarding for his next music video or sometimes just sitting around picking his nose…Does the nigga even sleep? 

“What can I say? we are all slaves to something… I decided to make my master the pursuit for artistic independence “ -Zeke ❤️

On a nerdier note, I would call him “The pioneer of the romantic period” in his specific niche.  He describes his sound as the frequency of love and not the typical modern love perverted by the today’s modern perspective, but the kind of love that accepts you for who you are and holds your hand regardless. 

There is a story as old as time where the student eventually learns how to lead their own lives. I like to make comparisons between contemporary art and previous periods. Some might see a defiant spirit reminiscent of Basquiat,  however I like to go further back to a time called the “High Renaissance period”. I see Zeke as a student to the current hip hop / music atmosphere as the artist Rafael was to Michelangelo; Painting his “hero” in his /School of Athens/. Zeke’s upcoming album /Im Glad I Made This/ is a nod to his biggest inspirations, but also a very quiet commentary on his predecessor’s shortcomings. Zeke brings a type of perspective that you haven’t heard before in songs like “Pretty2Myself” where he says “No they don’t care, It’s not funny. I stick to my carrots like I'm Easter Bunny. So I stay pretty 2 myself. pretty 2 myself. pretty 2 myself. pretty 2 myself…”. A message that many a child, adult or rabbit could relate to. Listening to a zeke song is like unscrambling a beautiful Rubix Cube of tones where the listening experience can be passive and enjoyable, but also very engaging if you’re into wordplay and comedic commentary. He invites you to solve his riddles and as a result, brings you deeper into his bizarre world. A young word smith, Zeke is very gifted at saying multiple different things at once, and using words at their most basic form to paint a picture similar to great artists like Lil Wayne (Another one of his many influences). 

I want to be very forthright when I say this, the production of Zeke’s music is extraordinary. So much so that along with the 26 tracks he felt it necessary to release another album just with the instrumental versions. It’s hard to pick a favorite instrumental but if I had to it would be i’dluv2. The crispy guitar tones on top of an atmospheric beach texture gives a feeling that’s hard to describe but easy to understand. The amount of dedication put into everything he does is immeasurable and it may take some time for people to catch on but I know when they do they are gonna wish it would have been earlier. Nonetheless Zeke continues to strive for greater excellence and shows no signs of slowing down. He has a vision for the future and it is 20/25

Plans for album release and shows-

Starting the year off strong, Zeke organized a gallery show for his Production Company (www.sushipalass.com) where he performed songs off of his newly released EP titled Sushi Palace (2024). With that release he hand-made 25 physical copies (CD’s) to give to his friends and supporters. And he didn’t stop there, this past summer was just as eventful with his Nomadic show “A Mid Summer Night’s Dream”. Zeke brought together a cast of high achieving young artists to make an experience that many would consider to have been the best night of all time…

With the upcoming release of his album I’m Glad I Made This Zeke plans on releasing memorabilia (shirts, stickers, physical copies of the album, and artwork) Music Videos and short films all produced by himself and company. He also plans on doing a pseudo tour with his nomadic show around the city of New York.

If you are interested in connecting or seeing what he has done in the past here are the links to his socials 

Website: www.sushipalass.com

Instagram: @zeketehzombieslayur

@sushipalass

Email: [email protected] 

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written by eresmud