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After introducing himself into the underground hip-hop industry in late December of 2018, Brooklyn native and Rollins College grad Zay Suav has kept his head to the ground as he fine tunes his craft and continues to find a unique pocket for his sound that blends the likes of Travis Scott and Don Toliver.
Early on, things started off light for the former college baseball standout as he balanced life on the diamond with life in the studio during his debut single release entitled (coupled with its visuals) Rockstar. However, even as he found his footing among two different avenues one thing was clear.
Music was his ultimate calling, and that much was clear every time he graced a stage or laid down vocals for a track. Even further than that though, his work ethic and output when locked in during studio sessions is second to none.
Fast forward to just a year and a half later, the young Suav has garnered himself a strong fanbase (primarily through almost 30K followers on TikTok) after two separate EP drops culminating in his latest EP release CIRCUS on May 29th. A strong summer of 2019 which featured tracks like Bring the Heat Out (20K streams), 911, No Principles, and Rodeo helped his name grow steadily too.
Following up his rookie effort entitled KISS, which dropped in late August featuring hits like See You Soon among others, CIRCUS is the ‘proof-in-the-pudding’ of Zay’s continuing evolution as an artist and through the roof potential.
The EP’s lead single I’m That Dude has seen considerable success for a project releasing during the middle of a pandemic with very little promotion behind it (5K streams across all platforms). Even before it’s release, singles such as Hickery Dickery, Tell Me, and Undefeated (which features his self-started LORNO label running mate Apollo J) all did very strong numbers and continued to show a wide range of sound both vocally, lyrically, and in production too. Zay Suav songs often feel like you’re floating on clouds, coupled with perfect melodies that take you to a whole other headspace and creative realm.
The craziest part? He records most of his music from a high-tech USB mic in his apartment right there in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood. You wouldn’t know from his other-worldly sound that mimics that of a high-level industry studio.
In addition to exceptional talent across the board within this tape, Suav shows a knack and unique style within his visuals and content too. Most notably, CIRCUS’ trailer that featured the tape’s lead single Skyfall takes viewers on an acid-trip of sorts visually all while racking up over 2K streams in less than two days. One can only hope that more visuals will follow to only further heighten the notoriety of this tape.
With features from the likes of Apollo J, Meka, and Rshad there’s truly a sound for any and all hip-hop heads to gravitate to on this project. From some of our favorites such as Gummi Worms, to Highly Anticipated, and even Love Skies it’s impossible to ignore great music when it hits your speakers.
One thing is for certain, you’ll be glad you jumped on ‘Suave the Goat’ now rather than later.
As always, make sure to follow Zay on all social media platforms @zaysuav as well as us @engmtcent to keep up with his latest releases and more. Zay's music catalog is available on all major streaming platforms.