ZeXzy, a Nigerian singer-songwriter, made a comeback with his brand-new song 'Live' which features Versvs, an Italian-Canadian rapper. The new song blends pop, rap, and R&B flavors together. The inspirational and upbeat song was entirely digitally generated, save for the saxophone. The songs touch on ZeXzy's mental health issues and life experiences.
We sat down with ZeXzy to discuss his music and much more. Here's what he had to say:
Hey ZeXzy, welcome to FLEX! How are you?
I am AOK! Thanks for taking the time with me!
Congratulations on your new single ‘Live’ - what inspired this particular track?
Thank you. The inspiration behind the song is life’s personal experiences. I’ve been on this journey for so long just trying to climb my way to the top. There have been so many failures that I have lost count of them. In spite of the losses, life throws at us, “LIVE” is trying to say to us that we must never give up, rather we have to strive towards our highest ideals and dream on until we wake up in our dreams. Depression will only lead to suicidal thoughts, but when you choose to live, then you’ve chosen to fight all of life’s challenges till you win.
And do you have to be in a certain mood to write?
I write in all moods and that’s why my songs are so varied in style and general approach. A neighbor can say something in the other compound and if there’s a ring to it, I just sing it and make a melody out of it. No mood or genre is out of reach.
How was the recording and writing process? The idea for the song came on the 16th of March 2023. I was listening to a beat my producer was playing and it inspired me to sing what we hear today as “LIVE”. He had to create another beat on the 27th of March 2023 to suit the song perfectly. The song was recorded on the 31st of March, 2023. I had to do about 3 takes to get it right on this one because of the mellow mood of the song. I was just finishing off some high-energy songs, so going into this project, I was kind of attacking it with the same energy I was on in the other energetic songs. My producer had to ask me to calm down and approach it with the calmness that the song required. So after about 3 takes, we were sure the vocals we had were good enough and we just had to select the take that best interpreted the mood.
Interestingly enough, the song had always been intended to be a solo song, but in preparation for a major show in Canada, we came across Versvs who was doing some really great stuff. Inspired somewhat by the collaboration between Dido and Eminem for their hit song “Stan” I thought we may have an opportunity to make something really special with such opposing dynamics. We approached Versvs and his management team in June and they jumped all over the project. The final product came out even better than I could have imagined. Versvs, his team as well as my label, Maple Grove Entertainment, are immensely happy.
For viewers who don’t know ZeXzy, how would you describe your sound?
My sound is eclectic. I do all genres of music and like I said before, it all boils down to the mood I’m in at the time, which determines the type/genre of music I make. With me, you can expect anything.
And what are some of those activities that you engage yourself in when you aren't writing or recording in the studio? I like exercising a lot and chatting with family and friends. Going out and meeting new people is also something I love to do.
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