Meet: DAMEZ & ZAY BLAZE

It’s been a long time since y’all have been introduced to dope new artists from around the globe. And you already know I couldn’t come back empty-handed. For those that are new, Welcome to "Pretty Unplugged," a music blog where thoughts roam free--minus the camera. "Don't Sleep on These Artists" is a series within Beats & Bandanas Podcast, where various artists are discussed and introduced to viewers of my YouTube channel.

So now that we’re back in this thing, allow me to introduce to you: Damez & Zay Blaze

damez

Damez is a rapper, singer, dancer, songwriter, and a rising voice in the hip-hop and [black] LGBT community. He was born in Jackson, Mississippi, where he says he discovered his love for music at an early age and began writing songs. At the age of six, he relocated to Atlanta with his family, where he dealt with the divorce of his parents and the devastating loss of his brother. Courtesy of Damez, you can Google “Justice for Ryan Henderson,” to become more knowledgeable on the movement created to honor Ryan’s life. Damez, on behalf of this podcast and its listeners, we give you our condolences, support and love.

Damez independently recorded music and performed live shows in college--which is a huge accomplishment. College students know you only have enough energy to warm up some ramen before studying for an exam. However, Damez's determination put him on a whole different level. And with this determination came the release of projects and singles globally. His debut EP, Midnight on Cloud Nine was released on SoundCloud in 2014, and he was most recently featured on Billboard.com as part of their ‘Billboard Pride’ playlist for his singles “Pull Up" & "Big Mood.”

Now that you have more of a background on Damez, let me share how I feel about him and his music. Whew chile lemme tell you, Damez is the definition of pure confidence, and he sets himself apart from others because of his work ethic. He speaks on hyping yourself up, whether it be about how you’re stuntin’ on people, speaking on your accomplishments, etc. Yet he does it in a way that’s very catchy. If you check out his earlier work you’ll notice a certain progression he’s made with particular aspects of his music.

Back in 2014 with songs like “On the East,” he opened up with the audience and got very personal about his life, things that happened with his family, his own progress, and how music proved to be the turning point for a lot of pent up feelings.

Personally, I feel that his albums truly defined himself as an artist and what he’s all about. It also forces you to confront issues and conversations many people might avoid. One lyric I loved from his album “The Art of Extravagance” was when he said, “sh*t gets real when the drugs can’t help you.” Even though that came out in 2017, it’s still very relevant today for anyone, but especially for those in music.

From his older to most recent projects Damez shows why he’s an artist to keep an eye out for. And in a recent interview he speaks on the growth he has made as an artist, as well as speaking on the importance of representation in hip-hop:

In a separate interview with Southside Dash Radio, He elaborates on how “Being black and LGBT in a world full of judgment has not always been easy:

Damez has a new album out called "D Money," which released on February 16, 2020. This project just continues to show his growth as an artist. It also gives you a peek into his accomplishments, personal moments from his past, the grind, and remaining true to himself through his come-up.

The production kept me vibing out throughout each song and I loved the clever uses of wordplay. His delivery and flow make you wanna make that "ugly face" we make when we start dancing and getting hype lmao.

What I loved most is how he didn’t shy away from the more melodic components with tracks like "Floss" and "Juice." I also noticed a deeper moment of vulnerability when he mentioned his internal battles, which so many of us go through on a daily basis. As a listener, I definitely appreciated him opening up.

I have a habit of hearing someone’s music and thinking “oh snap if such and such was on this track too, I would float to heaven right now,” and the same thing happened when I was listening to "D Money." There were certain tracks where I envisioned Meg Thee Stallion & 21 Savage rapping right alongside him.

Check out Damez's newest song "Ate That," and be sure to stream/share his music!

ZAY BLAZE

Zay Blaze is a singer, rapper, producer, and engineer from Atlanta. He recently finished school at Hampton University with a major in Audio Production. Congrats to you, Zay! He several projects recorded in his own studio, and his newest album "Do You Care?" features artists such as Prime, MoThoro, Kai Ca$h, Heather, Myiah Lynnae and Mo Woods.

Before I delve into my analysis on what I’ve come to learn/love about Zay as an artist, I want you guys to get to know him a little bit too.

Check out this dope sit-down he did recently, courtesy of @svn.studios and @randallcwilliams--where he sheds light on his music and more.

The first thing I can say about Zay is that you feel his songs. From different aspects with the production and especially the relatability with the lyrics--it feels like you’re there with him. Think of a spoken word poetry session, when you hear that one line that HITS. That’s what listening to Zay’s music feels like, but instead of it being one line, it’s the entire album. With the topic variation, everything he was saying spoke to me. It was as if he was saying a lot of my thoughts out loud.

Whether it was him talking about making moves and continuing to rise regardless of what’s going on, to spilling out his emotions pertaining to certain things like relationships or addressing the foul things happening in the world around us. On his album "WYD," you'll notice it as well. I really loved the phone calls at the end of certain songs because the dialogue there also tied into what the song was about in a very smooth way. On his second album “Flame:” you can notice his progression in his music as he makes more use with beat switch-ups like on his tracks “Look” and “MyZone” amongst other things. Lyrically he’s still impactful and relatable which is dope to hear. And the features killed it too.

If it’s one thing about Zay Blaze that you’ll learn, is that his grind doesn’t stop. With his most recent album dropped this year called, “Do You Care?” you’re instantly immersed into the project from the opening track “Awake,” with its dope uses of distortion. THE TRANSITIONS OFF OF HERE WERE INSANE. For example, and I don't wanna spoil it so I won’t, but just pay attention to the extreme sonic details within the outro of songs going into the intro of another. It was such a well-executed story. So with that being said, for the first listen DO NOT listen on shuffle. I’m not playing with yall lmao. Listening from start to finish had me like “yoooooo!” I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE MR.BLAZE. The lyrical relatability is still present with this album, which I was a huge fan of, of course. This entire album is a vibe and takes you through different sonic waves. This kinda feels like a grown-folks type of album when you listen to certain songs that are more of a sensual type of banger.

What I also noticed in this album is regards to the topics surrounding relationships, this man had a switch. And what I mean by this is, when he was speaking on how he was only here for the casual--he was a savage in the lyrics. I was like “okay my boy, I hear you loud and clear there’s no way I can get confused about what this is.” Then there were moments when he made it clear he wanted to be with the person and was willing to help them work through their problems. He’d be so compassionate and the emotion was pouring through the song. I was over here like “HELPPP, MY HEART. AYUDAME.” That’s your Duolingo for the day because “ayudame” means help in Spanish.

I would love to see Zay collaborate with 6lack, Arin Ray and/or Lucky Daye. Truthfully, I’d be drowning in my own tears.

Check out Zay's newest music video for his song “Invisible Ink”!

Hope you guys enjoyed this new addition and somewhat twist to the series. Y’all go show these people some love by streaming & sharing their songs.

Want to be Featured on the Next Episode?

If you’d like the chance to be featured or know someone that would hit me up on my social media: @kenya.parks on IG and @kenya_parks on Twitter. You can also shoot me an e-mail at beatsnbands@gmail.com