Tops 10 with Zamar

"Motor City Maz & Cruise Control"

Neiko: “Who is Motor City Maz?”

Zamar: “Ahh, Motor City Maz is me, Zamar. Maz is a nickname I got when I was really young and since I be in the Motor City I put Motor City in front of it. That’s pretty much all it is, it’s a nickname that’s all.”

Neiko: “What inspired “Cruise Control”?”

Zamar: “Umm, I don’t really know actually. I think it came from Motor City Maz, I just kinda got the idea, Motor City, cruse and I just wanted to make a smooth tape that uhh, reflected myself. You know, it just showed off my ability to hold it down by myself basicly that's all. It started, evolved from a compilation on tracks I did, a whole type of musical difference from like a mix tape to an album. So, originally it’s suppose to be a mix tape but like, the sound change it into an album. I think it came out well.”

Neiko: “How did you pick the features for the tape?”

Zamar: “Well, for “Deeper” with CrackKillz and Britney Stoney, that was a track I did like last minute. The day before I was rappin on "Cruise Control" and I just had this weird idea that I wanted to have Crack and Britney on my album so.... I decided to make that happen and it just turned out great. With “Word is Bond”, the beat came from Nolan. Nolan and I was talking about working again since we did something on "IIKings" and I got Ams Fresh to see if she was down and she was. I got Manny, Manny had hit me up about doing a song a little while ago so he got on the end of that and it turned out to be what it was. On “TheMotorClub”, A-Minus and M-City, I worked with them on "IIKings". Tish is my homegirl and she’s still relativly new and I wanted to give her a shot so people could see how cold she is. Sammyboi is apart of my crew as well so you know, he wanted to get down, it ain’t take nothing for him to be on my stuff. Breanna Barnes is my homegirl, I’ve known her for a long time and she sings so we had to do music together. I have a chill for people and their talent and I try to give everyone a chance that people haven’t really heard like that before and making music with them.

Neiko: “What are your top 3 joints from your project?”

Zamar: “I really like the way “TheMotorClub” turned out, it’s a hype song, a banger so I like it a lot. Umm, my second favorite might be “Introduction Essay” because it talks about my history and how I like went from being the in the background and not really rappin like that into full fledge over coming my fear, having dreams and trying to manifest those. My third favorite might be “The Ride Out” because it’s really smooth. It talks about me, myself personally and showing people I think more in depth as far as me being a rapper.

Neiko: “How does your Mom feel about it?”

Zamar: “Haha, my mom hates rap music. I let her hear “Good Morning Love”, she loved that song, then I let her hear “The Ride Inn” and “The Ride Out” she liked that. So, she was really impressed you know, for someone who legitimately hates rap with a passion and for her to like some of the songs off me my album lets me know I’m growing as an artist. I can make music for everybody, she's relatively old... I’m not going to say how old she is but she liked, for the most part, that I let her hear it. I let  her hear the ones without a lot of cussin and she was fellin it so I’m happy.

Neiko: “Were there any songs that you took off the tape that you now wish you hadn’t ?”

Zamar: “ Yeah, there was a song I did with P. Floyd from Room500 called “The Feel” and my homegirl Britney sung on it. It was a really good song, I just felt like it didn’t really fit the scheme of the album but it  was a really good song. I was trying to think if I could use it for another project. This other song I was doing with Q from Tha Raiders called “Hello” , we already laid the foundation for it but never got around to finishing it. I wished we could have did that, that would have been dope. And.. this other song called “Ruff Ride” I did, it’s pretty smooth, the melody was good but I just felt it didn’t fit the sound of the album.

Neiko: “Any frustrations along the way?”

Zamar: “ Yeah umm, really just putting a deadline on myself. I do things last minute like, “IIKings” wasn’t finished until like a day or two before it was suppose to be released and “Cruise Control” wasn’t finished till like a day before August 1st. I wish I could get stuff done earlier but, situations of people having trouble getting their features done because you know everyone has a life. So, that was really the only thing that frustrated me, getting everyone in the studio at the same time and getting everything mixed and mastered at an earlier stage so I wouldn’t have  to worry about it later.”

Neiko: “What were you last thoughts finishing up the project?”

Zamar: “This about to be a cols ass project! Hahaha, that’s pretty much what it is. I went home that night and listened to it straight through and I couldn’t stop listing to it, I was like this is really good. I tried to take myself away from it being my music and just listing to it and was like yo.. this is really good, haha. Me thinking you know, I don’t know if people are really ready for this. How are they going to feel about it? I was worried about that, like are people going to understand where I’m coming from? What songs will people like the most? Are people going to fuck wit it? That was all running through my head but I was happy with the end result and that was the main thing that mattered to me that I got my vision out. That’s pretty much how I felt about it.

Neiko: “What do you want your listeners to get from “Cruise Control”?”

Zamar: “I want them to get the diversity of my artistry as a rapper. I want them to know that I can make real music, I can make any type of music that I want. I have smooth tracks on there like “Paradise”, I have tracks on there taking about how I’m getting my heart broken and moving on. I got songs where you can get ratchet to like “Band-Aid” and “TheMotorClub”. I got smooth, like laid back music like “The Ride Inn” and “The Ride Out”. “Word is Bond” is like an old school song, different shit like “Liu Kang Back”, I just want people to get the variety and diversity I offer as in artist.

Neiko: “Give me one of your favorite quotes.”

Zamar: “Uhh, in general or rappin wise?”

Neiko: “Doesn’t matter, just one of your favorite quotes to just say.”

Zamar: “Uhh, damn. That’s a tough one, oh I got one. “Don’t compete, just create” and that from Crack. It really stuck with me because as a rapper I worried about trying to step in the game and show people that I’m better than them and I had the wrong mentality as far as wanting to do a solo album. I wanted to show people I was the better rapper and that I could out rap them when I should have been worried about making the best music I could make at this point in my life. Just listing to that, growing and continuing to do that and everything else will just fall into place. After he told me that I really took it to heart, it help evolve “Cruise Control” into the album it is now.

Special shoutouts to Zamar for doing this interview for me, he always looks out really, cool dude. Download my IvyLeague brethren new project by clicking the link below.

"CRUISE CONTROL"