If there is somebody to bridge the gap between the underground and mainstream, it’s North Carolina producer, Its2Ezzy. He has recently placed songs with NBA Youngboy and Lil Durk, while simultaneously working with smaller artists such as SoFaygo, ShowJoe, and Yung Fazo. Get to know more about Its2Ezzy below:

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What got you into producing in the first place, and what is your music background?

I had a musical background, but I didn’t really get into it until my junior year. That is when I was listening to all of these songs. I grew up listening to all of these songs and watching MTV and BET in the morning before school. I had the knowledge plus being in church made it come together. One day I just wanted to make beats and be the person behind all of these songs. I thought it was cool so I dabbled into FL. I didn’t even know there was another version of FL. I always thought it was just the demo. I was on YouTube one day and saw DT (Dorientheus). It was the first video I saw on YouTube. I realized there was Omnisphere. It was crazy.

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How long have you been producing?

It’s been three years, and it will be four in December.

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When was the time when you knew you could do it for a living?

Right after I got my first Youngboy song (AI Nash). That was my first industry placement. I was already making noise in the underground. I was doing that, but it wasn’t really fazing me because people already knew my name, but I didn’t have songs with people in the big leagues. Once I got the Youngboy song, I felt I could get more songs with these people because I am in the door now.

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Take me through that first placement. How did you even get yourself in the door?

I had a midi kit, and I was going to drop it, but I was going to send it to a few of my friends before I dropped it to the public. I ended up sending it to three people, and BJ Beatz happened to be one of them. It was crazy because I was talking about it with one of my friends talking about if Youngboy and Cole Bennett came together and did a video. They both were running YouTube at the time. The next day I’m scrolling, and I see Youngboy on Cole Bennett’s page. I thought it was crazy so I pressed it. I was like, “Wait a minute, is that my melody?” I ran back to my computer and went exactly to the midi that it was, and was like, “Oh shoot, that’s my midi.” That is what happened that day. I got the lawyer that day and got the paperwork. I hit up BJ to tell him and he gave me no problems. The beat was old and he didn’t know.

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What does it mean to have a Cole Bennett video as your first major placement?

That is on everybody’s bucket list. Especially for artists, it’s usually their introduction to the industry. If you get a Cole Bennett video, it means you're about to go mainstream. For a producer to produce a song that is on Lyrical Lemonade, you know it’s going to do numbers. Once you get one, you’ll be good.

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You’ve worked with Lil Durk recently on The Voice. How did that relationship get going and what does the song mean to you?

“The Refugee” beat was from 2019 too. My boy John Lam called me, and he told me we need to work on stuff for Durk. We were just sending FLPs back and forth and finishing them. After the third beat we did, Durk had got on it. We didn’t know when the album was going to drop, but we knew it was going to be after Christmas. John Lam called me and said, “You know if I’m calling you, something good just happened.” Durk got on the beat and John Lam played the song. We still didn’t know if it was going to drop, but then they sent the paperwork a couple of days before it was released. It was wild. It was crazy because those melodies were made awhile back and they just got placed.

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Now you are still working heavily with the underground. What is the balance of working with the underground and being in the industry?

As I was working in the underground, as the years went by, I’ve seen how the underground can help build my fan base. It gets personal with SoundCloud. If you make a beat with the artist, the fans are going to know who you are. I can keep working with so many upcoming artists, and their fans will gravitate toward me. I knew the underground was building my fan base, and it looks good to the industry because this lady from Sony thought it was crazy how I was already tapped in with everybody. That’s what is really cool to me. The underground allows you to be more creative.

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What’s your advice to someone trying to stand out in the underground?

If you see someone going one way, do something different. Every sound dies out. It has its moment and then ends. The sound that is hot now will die out. If you’re doing something new, they will be hearing your stuff first. Everybody will catch up, and you’re ahead.

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You have your own album coming. Talk about that.

“Life Ain’t Ezzy.” That one is going to be crazy. It has SoFaygo, Yung Fazo, and a bunch of other guys in the scene. I’ve been talking about this since last year. It’s easy for me to bring all of these guys together because they know who I am, and I’m cool with everybody. I do numbers on my SoundCloud so it’s easier to make music. I want to be the DJ Khaled of the SoundCloud scene. I want to bring these guys together because I hear it, and I know it can go number one. That’s what I feel like with this tape.

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What’s the process of bringing these guys together for the album?

Since these guys are all on the move, I was just getting everybody by word of mouth. They just trusted me. It’s basically like me setting it up, and I am the one putting it together. I just know it’s going to work and they believe me.

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Take me through your single, “MVP,” with Yung Fazo and ShowJoe. What does it mean to have that out?

That one came about when we were in L.A. We were all together at the Internet Money compound. They went on the beat, but we didn’t know who was going to drop it. I was already releasing music on my SoundCloud so I was just like, “Let’s just drop it.” Let’s make it feature Synthetic. I was already thinking about marketing stuff. If they see Synthetic as a feature, they might think he’s rapping. It gets more people to press play. It ended up going crazy. It had 100k in one month.

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Is being an executive producer a long term goal? What’s your main goal with all of this?

I don’t want to be known as just a producer because I know I can do bigger things and be more creative. Of course I want to have that executive producer role too, but I want to be a person that is known for everything. I want to be known as the all-around guy.

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Who are some dream collaborations dead or alive?

I was looking at a video with Quincy Jones. I was looking at how he was doing stuff with Michael Jackson. I’ve been working on a bunch of synth stuff like pop. It would’ve been crazy to work with Michael Jackson. I’d also say Charlie Puth and Justin Bieber. I do the hip hop stuff, but I want to focus on the next genre.

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What are your top 3 VTS or analog gear?

I’d say Omnisphere, anything in the Arturia V Collection, and Analog Labs. Those are my go to. I love tweaking sounds in Omnisphere.

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Final question. What is advice to young creatives trying to get to your level?

I’d say work with up-and-coming artists. That’s all I know because it worked for me, and it still works for me. I went to the underground and listened to everyone’s music. Get your beats to guys that are lower and build up.

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