Thinking back to last year, it is easy to be pessimistic. Sticking to his trademark optimism, the 22-year-old artist WizTheMc drops a new track, ‘World Is Fucked’, a quarantine-inspired single that points to the positives. With this release, WizTheMc teases his vision for 2021, with a full-length project coming later this year.
At the beginning of the pandemic, I remember hearing ‘For A Minute,’ a breakthrough single by WizTheMc, and despite the metaphorical gloom that took over our lives, I was overjoyed. This glee surrounding the artist is an ongoing theme that fuels his newest creation, ‘World Is Fucked’ weaving pop, rock, and rap elements in his songwriting.
“Life has been really exciting recently. Right now, I’m visiting my family and friends in Berlin, Germany right now. It’s been over a year since I’ve been here, so I’m really excited”, says Wiz as we begin our chat. He was born in Cape Town but grew up in a small town in Germany. “Honestly, looking back at it, I couldn’t have imagined a better childhood for myself. I’m very grateful. I never felt out of place once there, even though I was oftentimes the only dark person in a room”, he reveals.
Residing in Canada throughout the last year, Wiz was isolated from his closest like everyone else. However, he admits the temporary pause in life wasn’t all so bad: “Beside the isolation from family and friends, which has been super hard for me, quarantine has been the time of my life. I’ve really had exponential growth and learning. I’m grateful for the extra time I got with myself”.
Could you talk about how you started?
Sure. When I was 15 years old, I started freestyling everyday. I just kept working at it until I got pretty good. It was only about a year later when I started writing my lyrics down and really started to do traditional songwriting. From there, I was hooked.
Who are your musical influences today compared to when you were starting out?
Now, my music influences are OG bands like Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Queen, and the Beatles, but early on in my career, I was heavily inspired by rap acts that were more contemporary like J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar.
Why did you decide to move to Toronto?
After high school I had a trip planned to Toronto for 2 months. Just a summer thing really, but I fell in love with the creative scene and the people over there, so I cancelled my flight home. From that point, I did everything I could to come back after my 6 month Visa expired. Now I’m here full time, and I still love it.
What are your current themes/energy motivators?
Honestly, the main themes that I‘ve been fascinated with for as long as I can think of are love, relationships and my own feelings towards women. It’s something I explore a lot in my work. These themes are universal but they are also really complex and hold so much power in our lives.
What is your favourite thing about meditation, why would you encourage everyone to try it out?
I think my favourite part about meditating is that you just feel so light afterwards. I often find myself at peace or even in peace….even if just for 10 or 20 minutes. I believe that stillness can be so powerful.
Watching your music videos, it seems like you are confident and you play around a lot with your style. How did you become so confident in your authenticity?
My Mama raised me in a way where she would never doubt my ideas of the world or my dreams, so I naturally grew confident in my own true self because I never knew anything else.
What inspires your style?
Honestly, I have no idea what inspires my style. I like certain colours, certain textures, feelings etc. and before I know it, my whole vibe is equipped in things I never thought about wearing. I don’t have certain brands I have to be wearing or a specific look, I just dress in whatever feels good.
What is a track you’re particularly proud of?
My song “WhoWho” from 2020 because it feels so personal and true to me. I’m really proud of how it turned out.
In what place were you in your life when you wrote ‘For A Minute’, what is it inspired by?
“For A Minute” was written in March 2020 during the first lockdown. I remember being so inspired to make even more music with the new time I had, and “For A Minute” was one of the first 20 demos that came out of me in that period of time.
Could you talk about your latest project ‘What About Now’? What is the core of this record?
The core of What About Now is me becoming more vulnerable and honest in my lyrics and incorporating inspiration from various genres. It’s an attempt at sharing my process of getting to know my own feelings and being honest about them.
What is the backstory to World is Fucked?
It was originally Jeff Hazin, my longtime collaborator, idea to make a fun uplifting song about the world being fucked. I loved the idea and as soon as he played the chords you hear in the song the words started to come out super naturally.
What can we expect from the next wave of your music?
Me in a more me way than ever! I’m really excited to share this next stuff with everyone. There’s been a lot of personal growth this year, and I think you can hear it in the music.
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Words: Karolina Kramplova