Canada’s Kazzer is winning over the skeptics
Who: Kazzer
What: DKNY Jeans Outdoor Concert Series
Where: WSSF
When: Friday, April 11
Despite the glossy music video and the pin-up boy good looks, hip hop n’ rock artist, Kazzer, is actually quite authentic. The 25-year-old, who’s been breaking since his teens, can indeed rap. He can also rock and he sure can bust a move.
On his debut album, Go For Broke , Kazzer wrote most of the lyrics and melodies. On stage he b-boys with the best of them. When making the video for his first single , Pedal To The Metal, he had a huge hand in location and design (filming it in his hometown of Hamilton, Ontario). When it came to the album cover and the Web site, he drew heavily on his degree in graphic design.
In his short touring schedule, he’s opened for the kings of conscious hip hop, the Roots, taken on Scandinavia and Europe as an acoustic act and now is gearing up for WSSF. From our chat on the phone last week, it’s also extremely obvious that even though he’s signed to Epic, a U.S. record label, Kazzer is 100 per cent committed to remaining Canadian.
The road to success and acceptance in the music industry is a rocky one and this new entry is a seasoned fighter all the way. Maybe being an ex-national judo champion has something to do with his survivor spirit but something tells me Kazzer’s passion and enthusiasm for his chosen career will see him through this game’s peaks and troughs more than the martial arts training. He likes to draw on the Judo days however, when analyzing his new direction.
"It’s weird putting a record out," he said. "I mean, as a national athlete you might be really good at what you do and then lose a big tournament but nobody seems to care. Then you put out a record and because the exposure is 10 times greater, people are so much more judgmental. They either love you or hate you. I’ve heard people say ‘that song sucks’ and others go ‘man, that song’s great’, which is strange to deal with. But then again, it’s nice to know they at least they have an opinion on me so it doesn’t really bother me. Music is so subjective anyway."
Kazzer’s realistic philosophy on the disposable music industry around him is refreshing and remarkably mature. He does not appear to have an ego but what he does exude is the confidence in his ability to make it work.
"All along I’ve just concentrated on doing my own thing. I’m not relying on the record label to do stuff for me. I’m steadily pushing the music slowly but surely and putting in the hours to get there, keeping credibility in tact is number one.
"Even with a big label it’s pretty much all me coming at you. I think the exciting thing about being (with Epic) is that they have really started to believe in what I can do and they see how hard I work. That then encourages them to work harder for me. The only downfall I see with it all is that I feel I don’t fit a particular format, which is tough when it comes to radio. You really need radio behind you to sell records and when you’re sort of hip hop but rock, but not rock enough, or not urban enough, it’s hard. But I’m not going to sell out. I am who I am. The music I do is what it is.
"Personally I think it’s honest music but also commercially viable, yet without a format to tie it to, how do you market it? I think in the long run it’ll be good for me being hard to categorize but in the meantime it’s a slow, uphill battle and I’m happy to do it cos it’s what I want to do."
The live show’s is where it’s at I say, and Kazzer is quick to agree.
"When it comes down to the live element, that’s when you convince people you’re the real deal. That’s when people make an informed choice about you. If you can pull everything off note for note live and have it sound great and tight, that’s when you get them in," he said.
On the Go For Broke album, Kazzer said there’s no samples, it’s all instruments, belying his heavy hip hop influence. To prove it, he’s bringing the full live band with him to the WSSF show.
"I can’t wait. We’re going to go hard. We’ll be breakdancing as well – you gotta come down."
His energy is infectious and extremely evident in his song words. Spitting valiant lyrics like: "Gotta focus when it’s hopeless and block out all the critics," he makes you a convert.
For someone who’s going to be sharing the WSSF stage with some of the biggest names in the business, from the Swollen Members on the hip hop side to I.M.E on the rock side, isn’t he just a slightly bit nervous?
"Not at all. I thrive on the challenge. Siding yourselves with the big names is a big step to proving your worth. When I played for the Roots, I had a huge crowd staring up at me who were there to see the true professionals of this game so if I was just up there screaming and not making sense they were going to snap me in half, but they got it. I mean there’s so much room to grow but I’ll definitely put my live act up against the best in the world, no problem.
"Same with big sporting events and concerts where most of them are not even there to see you. As a judo guy I would stare down guys who wanted to kill me about 10 times a day in tournaments, so standing in front of people who just want to hear music, I’m not intimidated at all. They’re there to be entertained and I think of myself as an entertainer. My show is very high energy and vocal and physical and that’s my time to shine," Kazeer said with steadfast conviction.
