Photo credit: Jeffrey Chambers

Kazi is a New York-based recording artist, songwriter, and producer who is doing it all on his own. He has no label, management, or team behind him, yet his debut single Options racked up 10,000 plays in just its first week. How? His own promotion, word of mouth, and his undeniable talent. He even landed a feature on Hot New Hip Hop & support from YesJulz. Options was a standout record and an incredible first release.

His follow up was highly anticipated by his growing fan base, (myself included) and it’s finally impacted. Kazi outdid even himself on Neo Yokio, creating an even catchier and endlessly repeatable single. It was inspired by and named for Ezra Koenig’s new Netflix original series – and while that may sound overly ambitious, he pulled it off. His songwriting abilities are astounding, most notably the development of his chorus structure. A feature from fellow NY native Rocket will grab the right attention from hip hop heads, as the MC delivered impressive bars with exceptional cadence. The song is barely a day old and plays have almost hit 2K, with humbling comments ranging from “the sauce” to “bumped.” Kazi emailed me about a week ago giving me an early listen – an example of his hard work at promoting his music. Get acquainted with the rising artist below.