Meet iDROWNEDZAY | Music Producer & Beatmaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with iDROWNEDZAY and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Zay, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I am pursuing a creative career because I love being able to express myself through multiple mediums. I always had this urge as a young child to express myself and put my own twist on things whether it was through writing, music, fashion, dancing, drawing from time to time, and other creative activities. I remember back in elementary school, I really wanted to be an author and I used to write these novels in my notebook that were inspired by the anime that I was watching at the moment like Naruto, Fairy Tail. Dragon Ball, etc. I would bring my notebook with me to school occasionally and write whenever we had free time. I was able to knock out multiple pages a day with the help of my brother and eventually we ended up writing a whole 3 book series together with over 200+ pages. Looking back on it, writing and thinking of new ideas came really easy to me and didn’t feel like it was a “chore” to do. I knew in my mind back then that when I grew up, I wanted to do something that required me to think outside of the box and express myself freely because that’s what brought me joy.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What sets me apart from others is the fact that I don’t care what anybody thinks of me and whatever I decide to do with my music. I admit, I used to put a lot of emphasis on what people thought of me especially when I was younger but then I realized that what made me different, actually made me stronger. This was a lesson that I had to learn along the way. Growing up, I was extremely shy and timid when in school and around new people. This is due to the fact that I was extremely insecure and self-conscious so I thought that anything I say would sound “stupid” or “weird” so I just refrained from saying anything at all and that carried over to how I treated my music. It took me a pretty long time to be able to build enough confidence to post my music online because I was just so caught up on what my peers or strangers would think. I eventually just decided to take a chance and post whatever I was working on to YouTube one day and to my surprise, I ended up getting a lot of positive feedback from strangers on the internet and that just motivated me to continue posting content and the rest is history.

I am most proud of myself for breaking out of that habit of letting other peoples perception of me affect my confidence or sense of self. That definitely was not an easy thing to do for me and it took a lot of self reflection and rewiring my brain to finally say “I don’t care how anybody else feels about what I do, I’m doing what I love and nobody can take that away from me”. I feel like letting go of all of my insecurities and concerns and doing what I want, helped propel me to the position that I am in today. I still haven’t really “blown up” or produced any hit songs yet but I for sure am getting way more attention than I originally thought I would and that right there to me is a blessing.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would definitely recommend that they visit Wynwood first and foremost. Wynwood is like my go-to place for when I want to walk around, eat, clear my head and not think about anything. There’s so many restaurants, pop-up shops and even some small concerts going on in the Wynwood area it’s so hard to get bored over there in my opinion. I like how it’s not just looking at art and graffiti it’s a variety of amenities for all types of people, that’s why almost everyone goes there. Another place I really recommend is Bayside Marketplace in Downtown Miami. Bayside has always been a place that I frequented a lot as a child. I remember being around 5-6 years old and going on a Boat Tour with my Dad at Bayside and seeing all the celebrity houses in Miami Beach and Star Island. Bayside has a lot of amenities and things to do over there like listening to the live music, going on boat rides, restaurants/bars, and exploring the outdoor shopping mall. If they’re an avid sports fan like me, then I recommend visiting the Hard Rock Stadium home of the Miami Dolphins and FTX Arena, which is home to the Miami Heat. Aventura Mall is also a really good place to hang out with family and friends, catch a movie in AMC Theaters (located inside the mall), shop at the various outlets that they offer, or grab a bite at Tap 42 and other restaurants. They would definitely enjoy their time there.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to Shoutout my older brothers Jeremiah and Steve for keeping me on track and encouraging me to be more consistent with my music. I would also like to Shoutout my bro Terrain for always showing his support and helping me get my name out there to more people. I am extremely grateful for any type of support I get from anyone because they could’ve chosen somebody more talented, famous, or rich but they chose me and that never fails to motivate me to keep doing what I’m doing.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/idrownedzay/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/idrownedzay?lang=en

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2CQgjvlyXRteAQqRojHWjg

Other: Email for business inquires: zayofficial305@gmail.com

Image Credits
@eliott.return2zero