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Let's address the elephant in the room right away. Yes Yung Zakk is a white rapper. He doesn't look like Eminem (more like Asher Roth mixed with Mac Miller), but it's a comparison that Zakk is more than happy to take on but quickly explains.
"I use my race to stand out and be original. It helps my exposure because I'm already different from most rappers," says Zakk. "If I'm being me, my story is different so I'm already different than any other rapper."
The Tacoma born and raised 22 year old rapper recently won the "Sugar Does Seattle" rap showcase produced and hosted by Mad Girl Productions after being picked by the judges as the winner. If you haven't heard of Yung Zakk it's because he's new to the rap scene; very new actually. It wasn't after a short stint in the hospital back in 2008 that Zakk decided to start rapping.
"My boys came and visted me after I got out the hospital, and they played this song that they did. I told them that I wanted to be on the song too and they said yeah. I just thought it'd be a lot of fun because it sounded like they had a lot of fun doing it," explains Zakk. "Wasn't until I really saw an opportunity to do this that I started to take it seriously."
One quick glance at the rapper and my initial thought was, "This dork is really gonna rap?" But after watching and listening to Zakk for two songs, I felt like I was just hit with an AK-47 assault rifle. He has a machine gun like delivery, with his words piercing your mind like tiny knives sharpened by every punchline. He claims that his fierce delivery is more of him releasing the anger he's built up from all the people who saidhe can't do it. To say I was shocked was an understatement, but to say I enjoyed it would be one even more. But like most rappers who are one way on stage, Zakk also has a soft spot for his family.
"I'm a family man. I have two kids, my oldest being my son who's five. I work from eight to five, was going to school at Tacoma Community College, then come home, change, then go to the studio," says Zakk. "And I'm married man. It was hard on my wife at first but we talked about it and she understands."
With his single "Locked Down" from his awaited mixtape "Nice Guys Finish Last" geared up to have a video shot soon, Zakk is in no rush to put material out. When asked about his process of putting out songs, his answer was more like a rapper that has already established themself in the game.
"If it doesn't sound good, it won't work. I had a mixtape mastered by one engineer that had it sound really good in the studio, then I went to the car and it didn't really sound right. So I threw away all those CD's and had it redone by someone else to make sure it was done right," answers Zakk. That in a nutshell is who Yung Zakk is as a rapper.
Be on the look out for that mixtape and video for his single "Locked Down" coming real soon. Also be on the look out for his Music Monday interview with Kun Luv next week.
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Twitter: Yung_Zakk |