Rapfornication Affiliate CJ’s Unconventional Interview w/ Maestro Zen.
The original plan was, him & I meet up, at a neutral spot where I could pick his brain on the spot because he's a thinking man whom I admire for both his rapping skills and as an overall artist who's actually pushing the envelope of creativity. But that didn't work out as well as what I'd planed because priorities and things I need not get into right now so I opted to mail the man and conduct a virtual interview that way, both the questions & answers were well thought out, thus you getting to know the man & artist a whole lot better.
There’s a lot to love about Maestro Zen (government name being: Bulelani Katikati). Dude’s an incredible writer & musician. He has both character & natural talent. Women I've fucked & cared to share his music with repeatedly tell me how devilishly handsome the dude is. He’s currently engineering the sound rappers might gravitate towards to no sooner than later. The hater in you is curious but for all for the wrong reasons. Why dude? What’s he done that's of significance? Well, with him having dropped two pure unadulterated lava as singles (link below) the music tends to speak for itself, so let's dive into this interview.
Indie Wave - https://m.soundcloud.com/strozen_wave/indiewave-interlude-prod-b
Right Things - https://soundcloud.com/strozen_wave/maestro-zen-right-things
CJ: my understanding of 'Zen' is that it’s a school of Mahayana Buddhism emphasizing the value of meditation and intuition rather than ritual worship or study of scriptures, who & what does 'Zen' represent? What’s it significance to your rap moniker?
Maestro Zen: Thanks once again for the slot, really have enjoyed reading the reviews and analysis posted on artists and music in general on your blog because I legit feel you take the time to listen artists instead of just skimming through content.
The Zen moniker really represented a shift in mentality firstly as a young adult. As a juvenile you always feel that to sometimes make decisions you always need to put others ideas ahead of yours to make that decision an informed one. So the transition between the phases made me realize that the most important voice you can listen to is yours. So that's spilled over through my music, indecisions I use to have about trying certain things were buried during that transition. Zen centers everything, the inner voice that pulls yourself towards yourself amongst the chaos. So through self-reflection & focusing on that lingering voice I feel like I'm chipping away at self-imposed barriers by the day, Zen is like that barcode that no one else can ever duplicate in terms of my narratives & overall sound that I'm trying to perfect as it's a package that can only be attributed to me. Zen is like that O.G that tells me “do your thing” and stay true to your own formula. So that's why I added the Zen to Maestro. There's nothing written in stone that says there is only one way to view or express yourself as an individual or as an artist. So that's what the Zen represents in its totality for me in all aspects.
CJ: before Maestro Zen, there was just Maestro (also a man who made up a 1/3 of the collective Q.M.M) looking back on your work done in your adolescence, it being less refined & a lot more juvenile to say the least, how has it contributed to Maestro Zen ?
Maestro Zen: Definitely I look back at that phase and it's humbling. As far as I still feel I need to go and improve on certain aspects, I realize that I've really improved sonically and I've really forged a unique identity for myself. Maestro allowed me to take all those juvenile trials & tribulations that I couldn't package in an eloquent way back then and fused it with Zen who is now telling that story. So Maestro is still the one that's drawn to vapid things , still the one doing dumb thoughtless things and Zen is just that O.G telling the overall story with that youthfulness of an adolescent who found his moral compass. So it's kinda like a ying - yang dynamic, young vs older, impulsive vs strategic etc. So I felt through my narratives I always kinda wanna play with that duality that I couldn't back then as just Maestro. It's also interchangeable, in some aspects Maestro can live without Zen and vice versa but they both supplement each other where the other one can't as a single entity. Maestro Zen now to me represents a complete identity that has different facets in terms of my music.
CJ: Tell us about "Indiewaves", how'd that come about with you & Redmonk (producers)?
Maestro Zen: The original beat Monk made in early 2014 as an intended posse cut. It was kinda slept on to be honest, then Guru moved to JHB at the end of 2014 which made it even more complex to get it as a posse cut with his whole settling in period in a new city. So Monk was like “Yo, I trust you with this. Gimme bars, I'll refine it and add new elements and we can make it an official Red -Zen cut”. So I wrote a verse , a straight up verse as Monk wanted it to be a barrage of just bars nothing “ fancy ” he said. So I stuck to that memo, added a few things that I felt moving forward I'd wanna make a staple of my future sounds just to not make it too direct. Monk introduced me to Nafty, an engineer, in mid-2015 who brought it all to life with the recording and overall sound that is “ Indiewave ”. Conceptually with the narrative I really wanted to embody the term Indie Wave because the whole D.I.Y process fused with the actual lyrical content I feel introduces people to what I really mean with the term Indiewave. A brief sound bite that kicked off the idea of Finding Zen as a full project. We just wanted to make it something that anyone can listen to, whether you're a die-hard head or you're someone who only occasionally listens to rap /hip-hop.
CJ: Has it been a struggle of yours finding a sound that would be appealing to the masses & the crowd you were trying to draw in without the unnecessary scrutiny or has it all purely been fun & experimental?
Maestro Zen: I wouldn't really say a struggle. At times it’s been tedious I'd say but overall the journey as an artist you take when it comes to finding your sound is really a fun process. I've got some music that I'll never put out, where I've experimented and just played back to myself and just reflect on whether this is what I personally wanna be known for. It's about knowing where your music will be appreciated, certain sounds and narratives will be appreciated by one section and rejected by another which is perfectly ok. For example, my intro and outro for Finding Zen is something I wouldn't necessarily perform at a club venue because the focus is not really on your narrative but in a more intimate setting definitely because people are listening to the overall sound & the narrative. Vice versa a joint titled “Wannit” on my tape which wouldn't be appreciated at a more intimate vibe but would be something that would fit seamlessly at a club venue. As an artist I feel the best way to appeal without losing yourself in the quest to appeal is to keep one common thread that you became synonymous with. No matter how detached one song might seem compared to another that you've created but I try as best to have one recurring thread that ties all my music together. So even if you listen to “Auburn Falls” on my tape and then you bump Indiewave you'll find a recurring thread that gives you the insight into my makeup as an artist. I feel that's the best way to appeal, let people get accustomed to your roots to an extent that even when you branch out eventually you would have given them the core base. The worst way is to do it vice versa because that can get you pigeon holed real quick. The best way to appeal is not make it an obsession by asking “Should I make music like this so I can appeal?”. The Internet, the generation that is now dictating what's cool are really looking for something different outside of the conventional because like my mans Guru said once “Different is the new cool”. The kids love knowing that they knew something that's largely unknown first, keeping your sound like water is the best way to appeal in this climate. You can't grab water and cup it in your hands but you appreciate the way it seeps into your skin. What trickles through one cupped hand will find its way into another and eventually everyone will have felt what it's like to have water seep into their skin.
CJ: I'm a big believer of the idea that artists have got to be adamant about the integrity & handling of their craft, especially when putting it, & ideas, in the hands of others, so with that, who are your go-to producers & do you currently trust the team you have around you?
Maestro Zen: For now, it's mostly in house as Finding For example: Redmonk as provided 6 sound bites already. The Aggressively Progressiv team have provided me the artwork that will accompany the tape. Yes, I will reach out to some producers I've already shared some ideas with in terms of input on the second half of Finding Zen but the team I have around me has built a great synergy. We understand each other's contribution, Redmonk & A.P understand what Maestro Zen is about and vice versa. When you have people like that around you, you always feel confident because any idea no matter how miniscule it might initially seem will end up developing into something concrete that inspires and influences your way of creating. On the production front, I feel like Red Monk really understands conceptually what I'm about. That's a relationship that grew though time and getting better at our respective crafts, at first I didn't get it. I didn't get his production, but mutually as we both got better (and continually work on getting better) we understand the sound we wanna pioneer. We wanna eventually reach a level where we can become a genre within a genre.
CJ: I love how the approach to your work is very organic, being that you're relatively unknown in certain spaces, it'd be easier to ride the wave of our artists who don't want to create, but instead repackage an entire concept which is just mad lazy. On Indiewaves you rap "I find peace of mind in these new ideas that are simply redefined" then go on to proclaim that you'll "redefine the way these rappers & artists are thinking about making their music" could you expand on that further for us?
Maestro Zen: Going against the grain basically. That line really was me saying, look I respect what everyone is doing but I have my own path to travel with my music. As a rapper, there's always that pressure to try and be the coolest sounding cat out. That's cool, it's natural in a genre like rap but that's not the only narrative people want to hear. In 2016 I feel like we have so much freedom as rappers to create something more innovative than” Oh hey I'm fucking your bitch because I rap”, “Oh hey look how cool my new threads look ” that's mad corny AF. Especially as a CT artist where I feel we have an advantage because our influences are not solely based around the hustle and bustle that would make you inclined to only be able to create music solely centered on “Oh hey, look how much cooler I am than you”.
The music that I'm crafting is not designed for just December hype bruh, I'm more interested in creating music that people can understand is designed for longevity. That's why people feel the pressure to drop a truck load of music solely for number purposes. For me it's more about creating shit that even if you discover my music 6 months down the line, it hasn't reached an expiration date because the content is still relevant even in that moment. Not even to sound super preachy widdit, just the artists that I surround myself with on a personal basis are on that vibe and understand so that line was also more than just me personally talking about Zen shit solely.
CJ: How long did it take to make the EP & what was the creative process like?
Maestro Zen: I had the idea back in 2014 December, I had a mad psychedelic trip way deep in Simon' s Town that inspired me to start writing more consistently and shit that has meaning . Then as production became steadily available and access to studio as well, work really began in October 2015 with Indiewave. The process has been a rollercoaster, it's stretched me to go beyond my comfort zone which is dope. I'm learning the more technical side of making music which I was a novice to, also learning the actual science to it as well. What's dope about the whole process is that even the joints that fall outside Finding Zen are part of the whole journey of Finding Zen. So as long as it's taking, just know that even the Zenuary Series allows me to craft and improve what's already on the Finding Zen tape. Features that I'll be playing with as well also fall under that process, which is why I named it Finding Zen basically.
CJ: How do women or drugs contribute to your work? Or are they your primarily creative source or are there other ways of getting your juices to flow outside of sex?
Maestro Zen: Drugs and the women I vibe with go hand in hand haha. Look, I never try to make it a crutch in terms of drug usage. I stay to my psychedelics, even that's in moderation every 3- 4 months. What I like about psychedelics is that it's not like class c shit, they're non addictive and they've added color to the way I view things that are usually bland by nature. Like even the way I word my shit now, I feel like some sort of hand brake in my mind was just released since I started exploring with pysches'. I can now find inspiration (sober minded) in the most insignificant things like clouds dispersing outside my window because I know what it's like to twist my brains perception center through psyches. Women are like drugs, they're so fucking creative they'll have you seeing shit so differently. Like colors for example, niggers will see Blue but women see Opaque. They see shades, that's how they approach life. Even the most bland topic, if they're comfortable with your vibe they'll just say shit where it's like “ oh fuck I never saw it like that, to me it was just Blue but you see Opaque that's trippy ”. Plus the sex, I mean that's good for any dudes confidence. It's such a great topic, when you talk about sex in just a personal capacity it can be seen as thirsty by some women but talk about it through your music? You become the most thoughtful, insightful guy ever. Plus, some music I've made was designed to set the mood. So fucking to my own shit also makes me feel awesome, narcisstic pimp shit hahaha. It's all part of the process
CJ: Who are artists you'd like to work with (whether they rap/sing/produce)?
Maestro Zen: So many dope artists bruh, my brother Peace and I need to make new music because we've grown outside Q.M.K as solo artists and his always been someone who inspires me. Louie B too because dude is just off the wall widdit, Khanyo, Greek God because they just get it Dawgg. Hopefully in like a year or two I would have built enough clout to make music with people like Petite Noir, Moon Child and Toya Delazy because they're wavy AF in terms of what they represent.
CJ: The digital era that you & I live in, has its pros & cons, we have an audience that's always demanding new material to be dropped, being unappreciative of time, energy artists put into their work & time, how do you navigate through that, does it heap any kind of pressure on you ?
Maestro Zen: Pressure is always there, especially since you know that there's always something popping up. New material is always popping up, but I feel like if you know what you're working towards and you trust what you've got then you won't succumb to it. Sometimes you feel like giving in especially when someone drops a banger, you're like “ Oh damn, so and so dropped some heat ” maybe I should put out something similar and jump on that too. Then it's like “nah b”, I have my philosophy on how I wanna play out my shit. You need to pick your moments, people will organically discover my shit through word of mouth or seeing me perform. Trust what you got, work at it and keep developing. No shade but there are dudes that are ahead of me in terms of numbers for now that make music that will only put more pressure on them to keep dropping because the music is only designed for a young window of time. If you're making that type of music, that's when you'll always succumb to just aimlessly dropping but you're not improving in any aspect as an artist because inflated numbers cloud people's perception. I'm in no rush to grab everyone right now, but I wanna ensure that the people I do grab I keep and grow with.
CJ: Do you plan on dropping any visuals for the any of the singles you've dropped?
Maestro Zen: Definitely something for Indiewave is a must, I first wanna build numbers and awareness to Maestro Zen so that by the time I drop visuals it makes sense. So that will come through performing more, just networking and making sure that the right people like Rapfornication are aware of my music and co-signing it. Naturally that will bring more numbers and then from there we organically drop the visual for that.
CJ: With massive potential in every facet, in very corner, evolving & amidst an important growth spurt at this very second, what are Maestro Zen's future plans/goals, as an artist and as a brand?
Short term goals : Refine my sound (overall craft /aesthetic) and attract influential artists / taste makers into my network that can expand my support base. By performing consistently starting with the Majila Tour on the 27/2/2016, set the tone for the rest of the year.
Medium Term : Release the book I've co-authored with Max which is just awaiting it's final touches before seeking publishers to bring it to the masses. Consistently have solo projects / joint projects in the eyes & ears of the good people that love the art available through all meduims. Radio, Television, Digital media format etc.
Long Term : Make the dream of getting to Coachella / Lollapalooza, SXSW , Glastonbury a reality. In the Internet generation with the right networking, your art can land you anywhere and I want to be representing my city on the biggest platforms such as these. Consistency, commitment and pushing the envelope will make this all possible. It's about seeing it before it happens and crafting towards it through the aforementioned goals.
