Wazo Dàveed
Rage for the People
By Bailey Meyers
ARTIST FEATURE
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ARTIST FEATURE 〰️
When I first met Wazo, the 23-year-old artist noticed me listening in to his conversation with another stranger. It was in French, in the darkness of a late-night party, and he was decked out in a balaclava, a silver nose piercing, Chrome Hearts and several beautifully torn and sewn pieces (which I later found were the work of Wazo’s friend and collaborator, Fendi, who also acts as a stylist). I had seen Wazo perform a set of rage music the week prior at Elevate, an underground events company in DTLA, among churning, sweaty bodies and neon strobes. I was curious about him but slightly intimidated by his aesthetic.
When he turned to me, he immediately asked if I spoke French, staring me dead in the eyes. His wide smile followed my fumbling “oui.” He was happy to talk. I met with the rapper again recently and he led me through the story of his artistry; from his birth in Congo, to his upbringing in Portland, Maine, to his tenure in LA and plans for the future.
Currently engaged in his debut Back Outside Tour in 17 cities around the US until the end of July, Wazo has been intensely involved both within the Los Angeles “underground” scene and in breaking free of that “underground rapper” label. While on the tour, named after recent single “Back Outside” (produced by F1LTHY), Wazo will perform hits from his 2021 album, Facecard, like “My Bands” as well as his most recent single “Take The Stairs,” which shows the rapper moving in a new direction while he gears up to release another album in 2022. Almost Kicked Out of Heaven will show Wazo leaning into punk rock, boldly announced by gritty synths on his recent releases.
Speaking on Facecard and his upcoming album: “Facecard is me tampering with [genre]. It’s an alternative, pop, hip hop album. There’s a couple rage songs on there but there are a lot of different sounds. I wouldn’t know what to call it but I’m definitely leaning more towards rock now…I feel like with rock I can tell more of my story…I came to America when I was two years old, so even doing rock music, for me, I feel like I’m the first Congolese rockstar. I have a lyric: I’m an immigrant but I’m not stranded. Facecard is like, people know me, I’m valued, and this [Almost Kicked Out of Heaven] is more about where I’m from.”
Born in Kinshasha Congo, Wazo’s family fled a civil war and ended up in Portland Maine, much more well-known for its lobster than its rap scene. Raised by a fashion designer mother, Wazo chased artistic expression and ended up as an artist in residency at Space Gallery while attending Maine College of Art. Also in Portland, Wazo founded the art collective and nonprofit youth organization, Kesho Wazo, compounding multimedia arts, activism, and creative youth expression. “Kesho Wazo means ‘tomorrow’s ideas’ in Swahili, and everyone in the group put Wazo in front of their name. Afterward, everyone was calling me Wazo, Wazo, Wazo, and then my mom started calling me Wazo too, so the name kind of gravitated toward me. And my artist name was Dàveed, so Wazo Dàveed.”
Wazo was grateful to Space Gallery and his arts education which allowed him the opportunities to pursue his passions. “I was super young and it just helped me out a lot. It gave me a lot of resources and helped the collective. Through Space Gallery we got a grant and i was able to open a studio and a gallery so that's where I started recording other people and we threw parties. It's a small city and the youth need it.” Before rapping, Wazo was modeling, curating, hanging around galleries, and he told me that he also has a screenplay already written and in the works. Additionally, Kesho Wazo has put on 3 annual “Wazofests” in Portland.
“It’s a three-day festival. The first day is community day: we bring the community and the mayor out for a community blessing, we have a barbecue, it's like an opening ceremony and we tell the community about Kesho Wazo and our goals. The last year that we did it we painted a mural and then did a skate jam the next day and gave away boards. Right next to the skatepark there’s a baseball field and we had a kickball game; the youth versus the mayor, city council, different artists would come. And then the last day, just like a festival, different artists would come. We’d book one major act and it was dope… I want to do Wazofest in LA.”
In Portland, Wazo got his break. “I opened for Wyclef Jean and that was crazy for me because I didn't even have a song out ye…. My first song was called Wazofest 1917. I was turning 19 in 2017 and the song is about Wazofest. There's a music video for it.” After honing his skills in sound engineering at Maine College of Art and making several key connections, Wazo moved to LA to be closer to the music scene. As “the real rockstar, no tattoos” Wazo explained his journey:
“I was moving here and my mom, she was like, “just don’t get any tattoos and get me a house in Heavenly Hills.” She was trying to say Beverly Hills, but I was like, wow, I’ve got to make that a brand. So Heavenly Hills became a label, and under Heavenly Hills there's Heavenly Sounds, and it's a group of like 30 producers from all over the world. Kid Zodiac made “Pop Out” and he’s in Vietnam right now. A lot of my producers, I haven't even met them in person, I've just been talking to them online and we formed the group. They do their own things but they all collab and send me beats.”
Wazo has big goals for Heavenly Hills, including a wine and maybe a furniture line, but stays humble throughout. He told me, “I love talking to people and talking to my fans and supporters and networking because I know I'm not going to make it without everybody. You need a whole village to get you where you wanna be. These artists be so stuck up; that's why I'm pushing this rockstar shit ‘cause everyone wants to be a rockstar. I won't call myself a rockstar yet, I'm in rockstar school right now. I'm still in training.” Despite his humility, Wazo has certainly proven himself worthy, double booking opening acts for G Herbo and Matt Ox on the same night. Before touring, Wazo jumped from stages with elaborate scaffolding to shows on the ground at the heart of the LA subversive subculture. He said, “G Herbo is a mainstream artist. I did a show on one of the biggest stages I've ever performed on and then I went straight to Elevate, one of the most underground—it’s like the underground scene. So it was crazy being exposed to that.”
Elevate Events was instrumental for Wazo in gaining his footing in LA. As a company focusing on exalting the subversive expression of LA’s underground, the match was perfect. Wazo told me, “Elevate is much more than a party brand and a lifestyle brand. I wouldn't be where I am today without Elevate, Aidan, and what they've done for me; putting me on the stage and giving me a platform to share my music.” Wazo joined Elevate as Creative Director, and sees the company as in parallel with Kesho Wazo. “It's more than what people see it for, it has a longer trajectory. I feel like Elevate can give a lot of people inspiration in LA to just look at the underground scene. It's bringing people like me and you and Aidan together. It's the new wave, networking.”
Wazo is involved in many ventures and projects, but has defined intentions that drive his passion. Speaking on his goals, he told me, “I’m not out here just ignorant, like ‘yeah, I’m a rapper, Imma go buy VVS and shit.’ My angle is to build schools, bro. I want to build a hospital. I’m from where kids don't even have hospitals, where kids don't have an opportunity to go to school. So I’m looking at this like, fuck, I need this more than anybody.” Wazo is intrinsically motivated by giving back and supporting the community, despite songs that may make your parents cringe with lyrics like “Walk in the party and the panties come off.”
Though touring right now, Wazo has plenty left on the back burner. While acting as translator in the studio with French rapper Luv Resval, who became a collaborator, Wazo said, “We made two songs together, I didn't even go there to record.” The two performed together in Montreal for Montreality on June 14th to open for Uno The Activist. Getting in touch with his French side was key for Wazo, and he intends to capitalize on his diverse background and influences, which range from Kanye to Playboi Carti to Jimi Hendrix to Tupac to PinkPanthress and Willow Smith (Check for Wazo’s cameo in their recent music video for “Where You Are”). He explained further:
“I have this French album called Afrocana that I want to drop and I’m gonna work on that with Drake's dad, he's like a mentor to me. He’s the one that said ‘Il faut que tu parles français seulement parce que, tu vois, le hood shit ce n’est pas cool, bro.’ I’m not a hood nigga at all but look at the route Drake took. That really opened my eyes to where I could really take it. When people see me the last thing people think is ‘oh, hes international’ or ‘oh, he's French,’ so I have Afrocana and I have another project with MDMA that I’m going to drop either Halloween or New Years, plus Almost Kicked Out of Heaven and Before The M’s.”
While Wazo continues to grow and develop his sound, be sure to grab tickets for his tour and stay tuned for Almost Kicked Out of Heaven. Blending rage and rock music with an international flair and community-minded presence, Wazo Dàveed gives fans an electric new experience in the mosh pit.