GOLDEN BOY PRESS Interview #152
Diving into the creative mind of the rapper, LNZ, we discover her creative flow and her thoughts on multiple facets of the music industry. We unveil where her passion started, and where she wants to be in the future. We also discuss the huge question of what it’s like being female in the music industry, when things such as “gender-roles” have their stigma. LNZ puts life and meaning into her work, even though some might find it shocking, it’s necessary, and expressionism at its best. With new projects always in the works, we have much to look forward to with this eccentric and quirky artist.
Could you introduce yourself?
My name is LNZ (in all its digital glory). I write rhymes, make jams with my three super talented beat-brothers, and create videos. Welcome to my corner of the internet…why don’t you stay a while.
What does LNZ stand for? What’s the story behind the name?
I’ve always understood LNZ as a symbol, and thus it represents/suggests a myriad of ideas and images. The use of a “z” definitely pays homage to the increased, mildly subversive, and playful usage of the letter “z” within past rap culture. But really, some girl spelled my name like that on a napkin at her gymnastic’s birthday party and it just kinda always stuck with me to use at a later date.
How did you become interested in music? Where did it all begin?
Rap? Once upon a time in 1995. My brother and I were on our family computer and cruising around the Mircrosoft Encarta 95 CD-ROM. He found the main entry on rap music and played a 30 second audio clip of Grandmaster Flash’s “The Message”. It blew my little mind. Those synths, that beat, that funky bass line, and that voice! We played that clip so much that I learned all the lyrics by heart. “My brothers doing fast on my mothers TV- says he’s watching too much it’s just not healthy”. That verse was one of those moments of serious human connection. I’m not kidding. That line shook my miniature world. I kept thinking, “Woah, this guy knows what’s up! My mom also says watching a lot of TV isn’t healthy. I get it man! Me too! My mom says that too!” As a kid, my parents played a lot of Vivaldi, Beethoven, Raffi, Beatles, and Queen — and that’s all wonderful, incredible, and amazing music…but in the first 3 seconds of this 30 second audio clip, this guy starts talking about something that I totally understood and could lyrically relate to with my 5 years of life experience. This guy understood me, and I understood him, and that made me really happy and excited. I don’t know if I would have had such an intense/shared connection if I had heard the actual first verse of that song: “broken glass everywhere/ people pissing on the stairs you know they just don’t care”. but yeah, my white-washed 30 second Encarta 95 CD-ROM audio-clip version of that song was brilliant. Also those synths in that song made my tendons and ligaments twitch.
Could you tell us your thoughts and motivations behind your track, “Origins”?
I wanted something that sounded a little like Olmec from Legends of the Hidden Temple mixed with a swirling creationist myth vibe via my early teenage memory cesspool. It might be the closest you’ll ever get to actually hearing LNZ’s DNA read in sequence. Especially since I’m a bigger fan of RNA over DNA.
What’s your life philosophy? How do you try to apply that to your work?
Woah! Giant question! How about: I’m just waiting for internet Oprah to come to power and tell me what to think and believe. Lavish me internet Oprah! Just kidding…
Do you think there’s a stigma against experimental artists in the music industry today?
Sure? As of now, not many people are actually paying for my product, so I can’t really say I’m part of any industry yet. What I do know is that the music industry is trying to sell a product, and a product needs a consumer base. A tried and trued consumer base that shows up and pays out. The familiar has a larger audience, and usually a larger potential for profit. The experimental is not familiar. Any artist practicing outside the familiar in any capacity is automatically performing to a smaller and smaller group of people (enter now internet!). But that’s where the shiny and interesting ideas exist. Currently, I would rather be fighting with the art warriors in the hinterland of ideas than traipsing around the industry castle in ornate robes and sipping sweet aged to perfection wine. Honestly, I’m not that experimental compared to my heroes. I would say my stuff is more of an uncommon combination than experimental. I would like to push my auditory/visual elements a lot further, but I’m still working on getting all my “normal” jams operational and gelled into killer elvis pompadour.
Would you consider your work as shock art? Why or why not?
Hahahahah, okay so there are certain elements within my videos that I guess some people would or could say are shocking, but I personally don’t consider those elements “shocking” or shock art. I would say there may be points of “unpleasant incongruencies”. Shock art has a short shelf-life. It’s not too hard to find current societal norms, boundaries, or rules and then to break them to get people to look. It generates quick attention in an oversaturated media landscape, but simply shocking people doesn’t seed a fertile ground to engage them in a conversation or to question those rules/norms/boundaries/laws or taboos. I hope to raise questions rather than shock. I believe in taking a critical second-look at your surroundings whenever you can muster the energy. It’s the quickest way for feeling like an alien.
How would you describe your music?
You have such a distinct image that you combine with your sound in your music videos, how do you come up with the stories in the visuals? Do you have a visual story in mind when writing the song, or is it purely on a whim when filming starts?
When I first listen to the beat (which my super talented beat-brothers make)—images and words are pretty immediately associated. The visual is as important to me as the audio. Every song I write on has a visual element always. The narrative is then pulled out as I continue to work with it.
As a female rapper, what are your thoughts on the “gender roles” placed on female musicians?
Visual or Auditory?!! Both matter, but I’m going to go with the visual side real quick. I’ve been on a butt kick recently so hold onto your pants folks! Yes, there are definitely different expectations for behavior (within rap music) based on gender: Especially within the visual/video/image element of rappers and their gender. Rap on the internet is super visual. Really (in my opinion) anything on the internet is one part visual and one part whatever else you’re fucking with. There is a recurring tendency to visually sexualize the females (as objects), *how shocking* in comparison to the male rappers. Omg or maybe the issue is that males just cannot be visually objectified no matter how hard they try ?? Gender conspiracy! jk, JT is always bringing sexy back. Anyways, this one time, a while back, I was working on a video with some other friends (who I don’t shoot the main LNZ videos with) and they kept suggesting I turn around and basically shake my delicious butternut squash butt for a shot. And these people are people that get it, but were just comfortably and unconsciously falling into older rap (video-ho) grammar for shooting some b-roll. Look y’all, I’ve been on both sides of the camera. I shoot people and people shoot me. I know when and what it feels like when that relationship or power structure between the viewer and the performer is overly one-sided. Now realize, I’m not saying I don’t want to see butts. If we shot butts with a different visual grammar than the current popular and traditional ways we see in all the videos, then I could probably get into that (even though I’m more into knobby-knees). But until that happens, I’m not trying to make my butt the message while I have your fleeting attention. Then again, maybe peoples attention on my work is fleeting because there aren’t enough butts. I’m pretty sure the original question you asked me was how many butts do I have and which butt do I have on now? I think I really need to make a butt video. Did I even answer the question?
p.s. Angel Haze and K-Flay are no butts! They’re the real deal.
Are there any projects you’d like to tell our readers about for the future?
Ohyoyes!!!! I’m currently in the middle of working on the new album and its subsequent extended narrative music video. It’s still a couple months out until it’s fully ready for your ears, eyes, tongue, butt, and brain to experience, but I can’t wait to release it on the internet (and have roughly 30-80 people see it??). I guess everyone tries to get a million views on their video. Who wants to be a millionaire?! Not me. Just 80 please.
“The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
You really should check out my new stuff when it drops. It’s even better than my old stuff! <3LNZ
