It’s a difficult task, to break into the world of rap nowadays. With so many aspiring MC’s, styles constantly changing, and the ones only in it for the money – what will make a new artist stand out from the vast sea of artists before him?  Ambition? Drive?  Charisma? A hot pen game and ear for dope beats? With all those things in favor, enter: EZRA. Ezra Forest, being his real first name, was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. With profound family dysfunction in his home and an absent father, Ezra was forced to mature faster than kids around him. At the age of 13,  Ezra encountered his first run in with the law.

By the time  Ezra turned 15 and with trouble mounting at a fast pace, his mother decided it was best to leave Buffalo and relocate to Orange County, a suburb of neighboring Los Angeles. It was then that Ezra took to music. Being no stranger to music, Ezra was classically trained in trumpet, and self taught in piano and drums. But it was the new environment of Los Angeles where he was able to focus and put his energy in his new found craft, Hip-Hop.

Once in Los Angeles, Ezra began pulling from his past experiences and putting them into rhyme form. Within 2 years of relocating to Los Angeles, Ezra recorded & released 2 mixtapes: “Cali Living” & “Rooted In 716”. The response from those projects confirmed that hip-hop was Ezra’s calling.

With things cooling off  in Buffalo, Ezra’s mother decided to move back to Buffalo while Ezra decided to stay planted in LA to focus on his music.  But in an effort to survive in the City of Angels – Ezra found himself back in trouble with the law. Charged in a high profile triple-felony case, Ezra quickly bailed out and made his way back home to Buffalo, NY.  With life stresses and a case hanging over his head, Ezra hit the studio and took his frustrations out in the booth.  With money out of his own pocket, Ezra booked recording sessions at the famous Quad Studios and recorded his debut EP, RISE OF THE SET.

When asked to explain his style, Ezra states – “My style combines melodic harmonies with formidable lyrics & a strong hip-hop flow”. When asked about his influences, he mentions legends such as Tupac, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Nas & Bob Marley. Ezra also pulls inspiration from unlikely musical influences such as Lionel Richie, Cat Stevens, Earth, Wind & Fire and Alicia Keys.

Ezra has always been extremely effected by music in a positive way.  It’s a calming process for him.  Ezra started his own label, Loyal Set Entertainment, LLC. in 2013.  Loyal Set originated as a “set” of individuals and musicians that Ezra grew up with, all with similar aspirations and goals. Loyal Set Ent. has a wide spectrum of musicians to Industry Executives and has a goal of giving the world real music that will last forever and to help talented musicians worldwide. Ezra’s goal is to create life changing music –  as well as songs to purely have fun to. Such as “Turn Up” Ezra’s new single/video. Produced by hitmaker, Ruwanga Samath, “Turn Up” is the ultimate party anthem designed to remind people they can let go, and enjoy this life GOD has blessed us with.

Preparing for 2016 to be an explosive year for Loyal Set, Ezra connected with J2 Music (founded by industry veterans Jonathan Platt & Jonathan McHugh). Rive Accoris, Ezra’s older brother, is a writer/filmmaker in his own right, connected with Jonathan McHugh for an upcoming film. River previewed Ezra’s music and the J2 guys were very impressed! With that, J2 immediately put Ezra on the soundtrack to “Flock Of Dudes” (Hannibal Buress, Hillary Duff).

With a solid team behind him, Ezra is ready to take the world by storm. His new single “Turn Up” will be released March 2016 with his EP, RISE OF THE SET immediately following. Watch below.

Online
https://www.facebook.com/EzraForestMusic
https://soundcloud.com/ezraforest
https://twitter.com/loyalset
https://www.instagram.com/loyalset/

The post RESPECT. Premiere: EZ Forest – Turn Up (Visual) appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.