In a landscape where most new trap rappers use the tactic of imitation to create a false identity, Young Buddha Ezuk takes a completely different path and instead leans into what makes him and his music deeply individualistic.

With three albums of consistently unique material already released, the path for Young Buddha Ezuk continues forward. With each album, you can find that YBE doesn’t stray to far in any direction with his subject matter but rather creates a familiar world for the listener to enjoy. The blend of metaphysics and trap music is something that few others have achieved with quality and consistency,

“I remember being 18 and telling myself that I will be the biggest rapper in the game.”

SH: Who is your greatest influence?

YBE: My greatest influence growing up was most definitely Notorious B.I.G. + the Puff Daddy Family. The energy around their work was undeniable. The way B.I.G. portrayed both his light and his darkness in his music always hit me in my spirit. It’s crazy because B.I.G.’s music is a body of art that I’ve grown with throughout the different chapters of my life, and even as I’m turning 30 I still relate to it and still am inspired by it.

SH: When did you start making music? What kind of tools did you use at the time?

YBE: I’ve played the cello since I was 3, but I really got passionate about music at the age of 16 when I started making hip hop beats and rapping with 2 of my closest childhood friends. At that time we were using the first edition of GARAGEBAND with a mini ALESIS 2 octave keyboard. The 3 of us all had different motives and inspirations for making music, but we were able to tie it all together and create some beautiful tracks together. I can still listen to our early 2006 -2008 projects and get goosebumps.

SH: Who are some of your favorite unknown artists?

YBE: Ooooh, underground artists are the majority of what I listen to these days. Let me try to narrow it down: Lil Lotus, Seejayxo, Steadysuffer, Nicholas Hunt, Lil Narnia, lil soda boi, Tren-D to name a few

SH: Do you think teenage rappers have lost all respect for the 'hip hop gods' and should we even have 'rap gods' at all?

YBE: I love where hip hop is right now! I do feel like A LOT of kids right now don’t know the basics in hip hop history. But that’s ok, they’re kids. And hip hop is infinitely vast! It takes years to do the proper research and obtain a basic hip hop education, lol. Give em some time. There will always be HIP HOP GODS, but just like traditional religion its up to the individual person whether or not they acknowledge one’s godly status.

SH: When you think back on your life, at what point did you realize that music was something you would pursue?

YBE: I’ve had a few chapters in my life that were highly focused on music, but the first time I felt like ‘destined’ to create music would’ve been back in 2006 when I would create hip hop tracks with my friends in our bedroom studios. The elation I experienced as we would make heavy bass lines, melodic piano parts, and tongue twisting lyrics was and still is very magical for me.

SH: How does your creative process manifest itself? What sparks it?

YBE: My process relies almost completely on my emotions. When I’m happy, I freestyle. When I’m sad, I write bars. When I’m feeling neutral, I make beats and stay away from the lyrics. I like to tap into my inspiration, wherever it comes from. So I only really produce and create when I’m feeling inspired. If the inspiration isn’t there I won’t force it , and I’ll do something else like yoga or meditate or hang with friends.

SH: Tell me about the vision for YBE. What is your path and where do you want to end up?

YBE: I remember being 18 and telling myself that I will be the biggest rapper in the game. Lol, I’m much more humble these days. If I can get to a point where I can make even a simple living off of my music/art thats when I’ll feel comfortable. I really just want to have the freedom to create + explore the rest of my life here on earth.

SH: You were raised in St. Louis but have family from NYC with Haitian roots. How influential has STL been on your style and what benefits does St. Louis offer that bigger cities, like New York, can't offer?

YBE: STL has been huge in helping me craft my sound. Theres a definite midwest energy that artists here are able to tap into and capture. There’s no words for it, but if you know — you know. I think it’s like that in a lot of places around the world. What STL is really able to offer is a look into a different (sometimes smaller) world. With a city like STL there’s a “make it out” mentality, and that really changes the game. So many people try to escape this city their entire lives, and that makes for some really deep experiences as you grow with everyone around you. NYC on the other hand is a DESTINATION for literally the entire world. So the ‘sense of home’ is very drastic between the 2 cities.

SH: With 3 full releases in the past two years, you don't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. What projects can we expect from you in the year ahead, if any?

YBE: Thanks, yea I’m trying to gain some momentum so there’s a ton of new music coming. New music, new videos, new vibrations, all of that. DEMONS is out now on all platforms. It’s blend of music, hip hop based vibes. I’m also about to drop singles for the rest of the summer, maybe leading up to a short album or something like that.

SH: Who do you want to shout out?

YBE: Gotta show love to producer/artist GUTHEAD, my engineer Rich Harris, STL artist MOOCH, Canadian artist TREN-D, producer ISITMUSIC… R.I.P. SCUMMY/ Chris Vice

Run it Up, Winter, and DEMONS are available for streaming on all major platforms (apple, amazon, youtube, tidal, etc)

Soundcloud | Spotify | YBEZUK.com