'EAZ' ... The Grand River Hustler

Being from the Bronx has never been an automatic EZ PASS for any rapper. Just ask debut artist EAZ.

"No way, not at all. I actually had to battle a few people just to make it out my hood." He says while completing the photo shoot for his upcoming Mix Tape entitled Grand River.

After being privy to hanging out with a few Bronx rappers, I've come to some rather disturbing similarities amongst the chosen few. For one, most can recite rhymes from the legendary blastmaster  KRS ONE, they all speak highly of Big Pun and they usually have a friend who knows a friend who knows Fat Joe.
"Its a jungle out there....." said the old school tune. Nowadays, the business of rap can be an obstacle course in itself. Let alone the street credibility and other secondary mishaps that can make or break a rapper. Ask Mysonne. Ask Chi Ali. The list goes on and on. But somewhere within walking distance of Cedar Park (birthplace of Hip Hop) lies a young animal destined to conquer the terrain. Next up. Rapper EAZ. He searches amongst the ruins of "rap" for his prey, relying on his vast vocabulary, hypnotic beats and hard scrabble upbringing. Somehow, he manages to overcome all these obstacles to reach his release date for 'Grand River'. Hey, we all gotta eat. Never one to knock the Hustle, I recently caught up with EAZ.


What started out as an innocent interview, divulged into places I'd never thought possible. Who knew the rapper spent his formal years in Detroit? EAZ relates the experience as follows "When I first came to New York, people made fun of my little midwest accent....it was rough. I had to prove myself with my fists before I even spit a rhyme, my moms moved us to a pretty rough neighborhood."

EAZ first became interested in the lost art of Poetry in 5th grade which led to the discovery of Hip Hop. After some students hit a beat on the lunchroom table, it was ON ever since. He continues "After the poetry was sped up a little, I started to get good responses...I was like Uh Oh, I'm on to something." The journey took a few bumps and bruises. EAZ was a member of a multi member rap group before going solo on his own mission. Listening to the story, you kinda feel sorry for whoever that was, they missed out on a great talent. He left the subject right there without going in to details. So did I. Its about the Future, not the past. We got into some Post 9-11 Hip Hop hypocrisy song. The title is unimportant at this point because the bars were truly incredible. Now I see. The sharp vocab, intelligent flow, word cadence, blue collar work ethnic. For some strange reason EAZ reminds me of the Golden Child movie. Remember? The kid with the golden touch saves the earth from some bad guys. Yeah, you get my drift. The day went past us rather quickly. "Time to get back to the Lab" said EAZ. The photo shoot was over and It was time to part ways. Cool. I tucked my recorder away and headed home to catch the Sunday evening football game. But my work was not done. How can I write a article about True Hip Hop without hearing NO freestyle from EAZ? Just then, before I made my exit, I politely badgered EAZ to spit a couple of rhymes. No lie, his freestyle mentioned his business plans for the future. I GOT IT !!!
EAZ spits in third person. A true witness from the ghetto with bigger dreams and aspirations. 

CEO slash ARTISTS. Period. Point Blank. No deal signing with anybody. What else would we expect from a business major? Entering his senior year at Queens College,  EAZ may very well see  his hard work turn into a diploma AND record sales. Then what, I asked?  "Who knows" he says.
Regardless, any way you look at it... One thing is for certain: "Its a jungle out there....."
Watch out for the young Wolf on the prowl.  To be continued....