After releasing his debut mixtape ‘A Step Up’ last month, 22-year-old UK rapper IZ follows up the project with this VIPER Presents interview. Get familiar…

 What five words define your sound?

Unique, refreshing, unpredictable, hard hitting, vibes 

 Tell me something unique about your creative process.

My creative process involves the beat speaking to me in a sort of way, I know that sounds weird but I believe that as soon as I hear the beat a couple times the idea for the hook and how I want the song to sound is already set in stone, I just have to steer it in the correct course. 

Which song of yours would you like people to hear first?

‘Big Dreams’

 What inspired you to make that song? 

Literally my everyday life, I consistently work heard to pursue the dreams and life that I want and need. So I just decided to channel that all into a song. 

What’s the most vulnerable you’ve allowed yourself to be when writing/making music?

 Worst experience I’ve had – is the first time I played big dreams out to the public the crowd wasn’t really feeling/ resonating the in the way I had hoped them too, some asked for a song change by typing big texts onto their phones. But nonetheless I continued. Best experience – is then a few months later that same song going viral, then me preforming it again and everyone knowing the words. 

 What is your favourite song to perform? 

‘Big Dreams’ or ‘Outside’. 

 What’s the meaning behind your name?

A nickname I’ve been given literally since birth 

If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing instead? 

Probably trying to become a professional athlete in some sort of way.

What’s success to you?

I believe success is archiving whatever dream or vision you have for yourself, I believe achieving that vision or even getting close is successful. So for me that involves me being able to live the life I want, my everyday life through fruits of my labour from the music, I produce. 

What moment in your life/career forced you to change direction? 

I think for me it just got to a point where I had matured enough to be able to make decisions he correct choices where things like what kinda of music I am producing and putting out into the world will evidently be a direct representation to how much I can survive and earn from in this industry. So from when I had realised that I looked and studied in order to find out which sound good hopefully do that for me. 

Where can people keep in touch with you?

Everywhere, Instagram /TikTok / Twitter . IZ.certi Snapchat: iz.certi1