ILL-EGO Exclusive Artist Story: "Blitzophrenia" The Interview and The Mixtape!

Often the story of Hip Hop legends is one of turmoil, trial and tribulation, the struggle and sacrifice one makes and experiences on the road to get to the top.  But when was the last time someone told you that story before they made it to the top?  During the period of time when that struggle was a reality?

This is a story of an Underground Emcee on his way to that said "TOP"...this is the story of "Dat Boy Blitz"!!

The Exclusive ILL-EGO Artist Story of the month- "Blitzophrenia" The Interview and The Mixtape!

The setting is simple. The call is made, both parties are sitting down and the questions began:

ILL-EGO: What is the meaning of “Blitz” how did you come up with that name and who are you?
BLITZ: Through my music career I wanted to put something out that was goin to stick out to people and stand out. Like when they hear the name “Blitz” they be like yeah. I grew up on the res. And Growing up I was depressed and a loner I never really knew anybody cuz like through my middle school and high school years I moved around a lot 2 or 3 schools a year everytime I moved I would try to make a friend and its hard cuz I’m a naturally shy person and then I would make a friend and the next thing I know my mom is shippin me off to my dads house or grandmas or something, and a lot of those years I was getting shipped around I didn’t really know any body and music was all I had Like that period of my life is really goin to shine in my Blitzophrenia Mixtape. A lot of inner thoughts I been keeping to myself and a lot of things people don’t know about me is gon' show.



ILL-EGO: Speaking of “Blitzophrenia”  which is your current mixtape in the works, when is it set to be released?
BLITZ: I don’t really have a solid answer for that , but I’m guessin, Hoping this winter or sooner. But probably this winter, possibly January at the latest. It’s just a mixtape, but it’s something I wanna put out. Blitzophrenia is not like a cd that you can just put in at a party and blast it, its goin be something that you pop in your headphones and be like just vibin to when your by yourself , like when your down and depressed or you just wanna hear some real shit, its something that’ll bring out emotions in somebody, and that’s what I’m aiming for.


ILL-EGO: Ok Cool, What is the target fanbase you have designed "Blitzophrenia" for?
BLITZ: Well I mean the target audience I’m thinking more like hip hop heads and you know like it's gon' be dark but not like evil, but its depressing. But to a lot of people they’ll be able to relate.



ILL-EGO: Are you going to have any featured guest artist on the Blitzophrenia Mixtape?
BLITZ: Well I mean The Lost Angel Crew , I definitely want them to get on it, if not at least a couple of tracks, and then my group Quad City Fam goin to be on it, they’ll probably be on a few different tracks, I got another artist from down in the cities who’s going to be on it, and I guess a couple of other people but they ain’t really like concrete that they goin to be on it but we been talking and exchanging information and everything about it, but for the most part its goin to be a lot of solo songs, future tracks and collaboration.



ILL-EGO: What influences what you write?  daily living, girls, family etc.?
BLITZ: Yeah, I mean a lot, like basically anyone around me, like I could take a family member , like as an example or a line or a lyric I wrote that had to do directly with'em or linked to them wether it be good or bad , I mean not everything about my family is just happy stuff, because a lot of bad things like depression and painful memories came from my family members and I guess I put it all in my lyrics.



ILL-EGO: What other genres of music do you listen outside of Hip Hop?
BLITZ: I mean I can listen to any music and be feelin it, and vibe to it, like when I was growin up with my mom I grew up on West Coast rap, a lot of Tupac, a lot of Nwa, Ice Cube, I listened to a lot of rock, and then when I lived with my grandma I listened to a lot oldies like from the 50’s, I mean I got a pretty wide variety of music that I like. A lot of people don’t listen to that shit and like when I pop a cd or something in, some people be like “you listenin too dat kinda shit!” I’m like yeah I mean it’s music, I’m a musical person.



ILL-EGO: What is the kinda setting you have when you write your music and do your thing?
BLITZ: You mean my environment, well I don’t really have a setting, Just every time I listen to a beat or something I just come up with lines in my head. Like I don’t really write my lyrics like with a pen on a pad, it just forms in my head and I find it easier for me like that because I feel like when I’m sittin down with a pen and paper and I got something in front of me and once I write like lines down or something and I get like half a verse written or four bars written and then its not workin for me, but if I write it in my head, I mean I can’t really explain it, Its kinda like building blocks, where I can switch em around and structure em differently. Ideally I rather be in the studio just listenin to the beat and comin up with it in my head, just wherever I’m at and whatever inspires at the time that’s how I come up with my stuff.



ILL-EGO: You know we blaze out here in Cali all day? What kinda shit is Blitz into?
BLITZ: Yeah I mean but I been calming down on that for a minute tryin to get my life back in order you know what I mean, there’s so many ups & downs. Like currently I don’t have anywhere to stay right now, like I don’t have any where to live, you know what I’m sayin, I’m just startin school tryin to get back on my feet and shit and just make this music happen, like really this music is like my only hope. Like right now my situation just isn’t really good, I mean really if you ask anybody who I know around here, they say like on the weekends everyone be like partying and shit or whatever this and that and you ask them what I’m doin, they’ll say Im at the studio. I’m there all day and night.



ILL-EGO: Deep story, let's get into a couple tracks off "Blitzophrenia" which you shared with us here at ILL-EGO.  Now your song S.T.A.R. I know is metaphorically about music but explain it a little in your perspective.
BLITZ: A lot of people think its about a girl but. But its not, its kinda a complex song, if you don’t listen to it right you’ll think its about a girl that I’m comparing to a star, that I can’t reach, that I want to be with but in reality it’s the music who I’m comparing to a girl, a star I can’t reach, which is the person I wanna be with but I can’t because I feel like I’m just a nobody and theres all these other rappers in the world and all these other people doing their thing and whatever and I’m in the backround not being noticed.

ILL-EGO: What was the motivation behind S.T.A.R.?
BLITZ: The beat! The beat is what did it for me, I was uh doin some line work this summer and I got that beat and I just was listenin to it all day and I was like in a trance vibing to it, the instrumentals and that hook and the whole feeling you get from it, and it just kinda captured me and I just got sucked into it and ideas, lines and metaphors just started swirling in my head and it just kinda fell into place into how it is right now.



ILL-EGO: I know the song "Tell Me Why?" is very dark and mysterious, you talk a lot about chronic depression, poppin pills, anxiety, drug and alcohol abuse and I want to know are these things you experienced and what the mystery is behind this one, what personally created this song?
BLITZ: Yeah see um, with the whole poppin pills thing, I got anxiety and depression, I’ve had that for as long as I can remember and now I’m starting to take medications for it and so I’m sayin all these problems and stress in my life has got me poppin pills now. And right at the very end in the outro I’m sayin like all the fucked up things and all the depressing nights, no job , no money, people turning on me and now they givin me these pills but really if all I did was make music and live off of that then I don’t have to worry about anything else I’ll be good, I won’t have any stress in my life none of that shit would be there anymore.



ILL-EGO: What does Hip Hop mean to you?
BLITZ: It’s just a way to express myself how I really feel, It’s like in person it’s real hard for me to express my emotions to people and shit, I kinda keep my feelings bottled up inside of me and stuff and like the only real way I can let people know how I feel and for people to truly know who I am is through my music so that’s what it is for me, it’s kinda like keeping a diary or somethin, it’s just like my music tells people about me and that’s what I use it for, expressin myself.



ILL-EGO: What genre(s) of music are you currently listening to and any artists in the game your staying on top of?
BLITZ: I listen to a lot of Tech 9 , Lil Wayne, and Eminem, those are the type of artists that influence me a lot, listen to a lot of Korn, a lot of rock , and stuff, I guess I can’t really say that I’m trying to keep up with any artist, I guess I’m really lagging on that part, I’m just kinda focused on making my music, When I’m by myself or if I’m in in the car I’m just listen to my music tryin to evaluate myself, analyze my technique and see what I can do to make it better listening to it here and there, little effects that I can change or improve or things that I can add or things that I can change, so I guess basically I am currently listeng to myself, just tryin to evolve myself cuz the way I see it right now in my position comin out with this mix tape and tryin to make the moves that Im tryin to do I gotta kinda hone my skills and perfect my craft and just try to be as good as I can right now.



ILL-EGO: Are there any up and coming artists in the Music industry that you feel are a force to be reckoned with?
BLITZ: Myself! And well I guess there’s this one cat that I know that I’ve been keepin up to date with, ever since I’ve really started rapping and everything , he’s going to be on my mixtape, his name is C-Section, he’s from Minneapolis, Minnesota he’s real lyrical and he’s like my shit, real dark and in depth with a psychological side of a lot of depressing things and everything and guess I can’t really explain his style as best as he can but I mean he’s definitely got floq and he’s got lyricism. I mean with the right promotions he could definitely be up there.



ILL-EGO: Without thinking I want you to name your top 5 MC’s …Go!
BLITZ: Eminem, Tech 9, Lil Wayne(older Lil Wayne, not the new stuff), Method Man, well I wanna give something good for the fifth one, uh well nobody I guess probably knows this one except for a few people out there but Jaime Madrox was a big influence on me Jaime Madrox from the group Twisted he was on Psychopathic Records, he was a real big influence on me, actually he’s probably up there in the top 3 outa 5 with Eminem and Tech 9.



ILL-EGO: Alright, off the wall question time. You a fan of Michael Jackson? and how do you feel about him passing?
BLITZ: Yeah, Well mmm I don’t know, I can’t really say that I’m a huge Michael Jackson fan as a kid I liked him a lot, I always listened to his music as a kid growing up, but like in the past I don’t even know ever since growin up, I guess I really wasn’t up to date on listening to Michael Jackson a lot so I mean when I heard he died I knew it was big news and I knew that it was goin to be devastating and was big in the music world but I guess it didn’t really affect me or anything.



ILL-EGO: Ok, honest answer. one more for any females out there wondering- Are You Single?
BLITZ: Well it’s kinda complicated.


ILL-EGO: Any upcoming events, albums releases, show dates?
BLITZ: Blitzophrenia should be coming out in the next few months, and my group got the mix tape Massacre that’s finished and should be out the next month and we're working on the second installment of the mixtape Massacre 2, we don’t have a date for that yet. I got a couple people in my group Quad city Fam , they comin out with a mixtape soon, I mean I guess were kinda like all solo artists that came together as a collaborative effort to create this group that we’re in, my man Infared G is comin out with The New Breed mixtape, and the Bow to the Prince mixtape comin out really soon, Drew Burna’s got Hood Pride mixtape, and Furious has got the No Bullshit mixtape so we all got mixtape’s comin out you know our solo stuff, just tryin to show everyone our own perspective on things.