A Sit Down with Zado

We recently got to sit down and interview budding artist Zado! We discussed an array of topics including his latest  project Self Portrait Vol 2., Nowhere and a bevy of other topics. Sit back and enjoy!

Photo By Jessica J Page

Photo By Jessica J Page

With Volume 1, the vibe was more laid back and with Volume 2 felt more up-tempo, was there a reasoning behind that?

Zado: Yes that was the purpose, I wanted the first one to be soulful, and I wanted the second one to hit. I want the third one to be in love. The fourth one is going to be about mourning and dealing with pain.

So you have all of these planned out? It’s not just a spur of the moment type of project?

Zado: Yeah I’ve had them planned out, it's just how I wanted them to feel and look. They are all self-portraits of people. The first one is me. The second one is all of the important mother figures in my life, and each one centers around the self-portrait theme.

When do you plan on dropping the next installment in the series?

Zado: It’s only four, but at first I wanted to drop once a month and then come back with a whole album.

A lot of people don’t show much interest in actually planning out and promoting their music, but your whole team is amazing when it comes to planning how you guys roll out your projects. What inspired you guys to become passionate about how your music was released?

Zado: The people who I look up to drop when they drop. Like you get it when you get it. It’s like a double-sided coin. On one hand, whenever you hear from me, I want it to be quality. On another hand, I do realize you geat very few chances before people are over you. So my thing is having more output and being more consistent.

How did the collective Nowhere come together?

Zado: So when it first started off, we had a show called 'Going Nowhere.' Eddie had thoughts about making a collective, but I didn’t care about no collective since I had been solo for so long. The show sparked the idea, and I was cool with it cause I was cool with Eddie. The show went well and we were a collective ever since.

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Are you guys looking for other members or is this current roster it?

Zado: We always want to grow and evolve. We're open to everybody. If you do cool shit and add some type of value, we're open to the idea of having other people.

So what is the relationship with your Mom, and how does it tie into the theme of Mother figures and self portraits on your latest project?

Zado: I don’t really have one with her. I mean I’m not really to familiar with the details, but that inspired me to make that the cover. Because instead of hating her, because I spent a lot of time with resentment because I didn’t understand.

What woman in your life had a positive impact on you and helped mold you into the person you are today?

Zado: So the woman on the cover Princess, was a big influence. My homeboys since I’ve known since I was twelve, their mother was a big part of me. She saw me everyday and showed me so much love and her passing was a reality check for me, because that was the first woman I had that was motherly role in my life.

Has your mother not being around affected the way you move or behave?

Zado: The general consensus with women that I’ve talked to are surprised because I guess people who don’t know their mother have a resentment towards women and terrible people when dealing with women. I’m just more self aware and emotionally intelligent. It just made me more aware of how I speak and deal with women.

Have you tried to reach out and try and build some type of relationship with your mom?

Zado: Nah. I wouldn’t want to at this point. What I do want to do is offer a support system to people and kids who deal with this type of thing . My biggest goal with music, is to create some type of infrastructure for black kids in single parents homes as far as therapy and psychology and help them.

How does your father feel about your musical endeavors? Does he feel away about you rapping? Some parent are hesitant when they hear their children are pursuing a career in music.

Zado: He doesn’t know I do music, but as far as me expressing myself, even though my dad is old school, he’s always let me be myself. Especially during 2010 when niggas were wearing skinny jeans and bright colors and leopard prints and shit I know it was killing him. Through all that he never judged me and never reprimanded me from that, It helped me be myself and him letting me express myself.

So you was out here wearing leopard leggings?

Zado: Man , Its some crazy pictures of me on the internet man. I pray but if they do I own it, but I was out here wearing some crazy shit (haha).

How does fatherhood drive you and your work ethic?

Zado: My son is three and he inspires me to not stop and keep my childlike creativity. It helps me not limit myself because kids are jovial and don’t give a fuck about anything. So it helps me keep my energy up, and keep me on point.

How did growing up in Jennings influence you and your music?

Zado: I think Jennings is one of the most special places in St. Louis. I don’t know if it was like any other High School Experience because it is dirty in the essence of dirty and grimy, but at the same time, it was comfortable for me. I was exposed to a lot while living in Jennings. It’s not the worst, so it’s not like the cracked out slummed out crack-ville of the world but it helped keep me grounded and it molded me and I’m thankful for that.

What artists in St. Louis do you see yourself working with?

Zado: I fuck with everybody in nowhere. I fuck with Teacup Dragun, I fuck with Eddie and LMTD. I fuck with Theepharoah. we have a handful of tracks together. I fuck with Slikkdarko. I fuck with everybody it’s just with who I would work with. I have to have a relationship to work with someone. I actually have to know you and have some type of upstanding relationship to really work with you.


Be on the lookout for volume three of the Self-Potrait series dropping soon!

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