EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH ZEE (www.thezeesite.com)

 

 So I told y’all for 2007 we were going to be doing some exclusive interviews & ministry posts. Via email on January 12th 2007, I had the honor of interview Bro Zee from www.thezeesite.comand one the newcomers in the forefront of HHH for 2006.

He has some great insight on ministry, the HHH movement, relationships & a life submitted to God. Check it out after the jump…

DB: Zee, thanks for letting me do this interview. I know that you are a busy man with your album and all. Designing sites for Vickie Winans & all that! You go boy!

Yep, I’ve been quite busy!  I just got back from the Holy Hip Hop Awards in Atlanta and it was off the chain!  A spirit of worship was in that place, and souls gave their lives to Jesus Christ!  That’s what it’s all about!  I had the opportunity to minister one of my favorite songs “Why Wait? Don’t Wait!” and it went very well.  God is good!

And yeah, my company Bezworks Design, LLC has been on the grind as well.  2006 was our best year, and we can only wait to see what God has in store for 2007.  I know that it will be our best year ever!  God never moves backwards!

DB: And I hear that you are in my neck of the woods! You a NCnative?

Yep!  I was born and raised in Salisbury , NC .  I now live outside of Winston-Salem , NC.  I’ll actually be right in your backyard on this Friday.  A group I peform with a lot called The Gatekeeperz are having a benefit concert at United for Christ Church in Durham , NC .  Feel free to drop by if you have time.  I’ll be one of the opening acts that night.

DB: How long have you been rapping?

Well, I used to rap a lot before I gave my life to Jesus Christ in 1994.  One of the cats I used to roll with was about to sign with Def Jam Records, but it fell through.  I was never a part of a group or anything like that, but I used to freestyle and write a lot.  When I got saved I was into a lot of traditional gospel – mostly choirs and what not.  There really wasn’t much gospel rap, if any, to listen to at that time.  In 1998 I discovered Cross Movement though, and things took off from there.

DB: Tell us about your album.

Livin’ Proof is my debut album and it’s making a lot of noise for the kingdom of God right now. 

DB: OKay, okay! That’s what’s up!

The purpose of this album is to encourage people to be a light for Jesus Christ by painting a lot of different pictures and scenarios that they can relate to.  We deal with suicide, depression, rape, prostitution, faith, failures, sin, having a good time, making right decisions, false religions, homosexuality, salvation and much, much more.  The album is thick with truth.  I don’t make a lot of scriptural reference – nothing wrong with that by the way, if that’s your steeze, then do your thing – but I try to relay the heart of the scripture.  I’m called to take a different route. 

DB: Who have you been blessed to work with?

I give God the glory for having some of the best production and post-production in the world!  The album was recorded mainly at OnQ Productionz in Winston-Salem , NCand two other songs were recorded at The Yuinon in Michigan.  Tracks were produced by 4SightSounds, Tony Stone, DJ Official of Cross Movement, Mac the Doulos, J Pierre, Maji, and M-tegrity.  The Lord really gave me favor.  And to top it off, the album was mixed and mastered by the same folks who’ve done work for the likes of Kurt Carr, Trinitee 5:7, George Clinton, Yolanda Adams, Lil Flip, Lil J Xavier, Mike Jones and more.

DB: Yeah sounds like favor to me!

A lot of work went into this album to insure that the biggest impact for God would be made, and I’m seeing the results of that right now!  It’s awesome!

DB: I know received a couple of nominations on www.rapzilla.com. (For best new artist & song of the year)

Yep, I praise God for that.  Honestly, I think Trip Lee is going to win! (laughs)  But, again, I thank God for even being chosen and put in the ranks alongside them.  We’re all in it for the same reason, and that is to win souls and make disciples, you know?  So, win or lose, in Christ you’re always a winner!  Just to be nominated is a blessing within itself, and I don’t take that lightly.  A big shoutout to Phil over at Rapzilla.com!

DB: Also I see your site is among the top 100 hip-hop sites.  

Another “Rapzilla production.”  They have this banner program that allows Holy Hip Hop websites to determine their ranking.  I’ve always been in the top 30 with it.  Right now I’m number 25.  So, that’s good.  I anticipate it going up soon.  There are a lot of things about to jump off that will give the site a lot of exposure.

DB: And your song “Moufs of The Souf” was voted in the top 30 on Holy Culture Radio. Seems like 2006 has been a great year.

I have to give honor where honor is due.  A lot of that is because of my boy DJ D-Lite showed me love over there.  He even put in on his latest mixtape,The Heatwave, pick that up y’all! ( www.dasouth.com/djdlite/ )

“Moufs of da Souf” features my friends Sound Doc, Parable, Big R, Tre9, Brinson and Excelsius.  I was actually surprised that the song was in the Top 10, coming in at #8.  Praise God!  That track is responsible for a lot of its acclaim.  That is one of the hottest dirty south tracks I’ve heard in a while.  And would you know that a Pennsylvania cat made it???  www.4SightSounds.com  It was his first-ever dirty south track. 

DB: How you handling your success?

Hmmm… Success?  I do and I don’t try to focus on that.  Let me explain what I mean.  On one hand, you have to handle success by being humble and not letting it be a factor in why you do what you do.  And on the other hand, you can see it as a good thing because the more exposure you get – if you are truly in this for Christ – the more exposure He gets.  See what I mean?  You have to remember that it’s not about you, but about God.  I appreciate the victories and ground being gained for Jesus Christ.  That means the chances of lives being impacted to make a decision for Christ are increased tremendously.  That’s what it’s all about for me.  That’s what I consider to be success.

DB: Where can we see you spittin’ them skills for Christ?  

New dates are being added all of the time.  It’s best to just check out the calendar on my website for upcoming appearances.

DB: I also want to give a shout out to Mrs. Zee. How old is your son now? 

My wife and I will be celebrating three years on the 16^th of this month, and my son just had his first birthday on the 13^th of this month.  Time flies by quick doesn’t it? 

DB: Yeah it does fly! What advice can you give the singles in the church of any age?

I would tell anyone who wants to know the will of God for their life – no matter what it pertains to – marriage, business ventures, employment, ministry, etc – take relationships seriously.  The will of God always involves people, and the people you allow into your life – your circle of influence – make an impact upon the direction your life will go in.  So, making the right decisions about people is key.  First and foremost, make God your number one priority.  Secondly, if wanting to be married someday, don’t handle relationships with the opposite sex casually.  In my song “1+1=2” there is a line that says “frequency builds intimacy.”  That’s true with anything.  So, don’t casually date if you’re not interested in a person.  Don’t fool yourself, you know whether or not you are digging someone.  It’s not hard.  My wife and I only knew each other three months before we felt led to get married.  Up to that point we both were responsible with relationships, understanding that there are certain lines and boundaries that should not be crossed.  So, when God introduced us to one another, we were two mature Christians who were able to determine the will of God – which was us being married.  That’s not possible to tell when you’re dating around a lot; always on the phone with multiple people; becoming emotionally attached in varying degrees with people.  Everyone is not supposed to have a soul tie to you.  We must be careful.  This applies to the young and old.

DB: How does it feel living your dreams? Any advice you have about dreams, timing or setbacks? What would you say to someone who has experienced various setbacks or who is in the “waiting” period? What about when someone is like “I’m 35 years old & still a, b, c ain’t happened yet”?

Wow!  That’s a great question.  I believe setbacks and disappointments are the number one reason why many choose to give up on life.  The bible says to acknowledge God in all of your ways and He will direct your path.  God never fails.  If we experience something we didn’t like, never look at God.  Always look within and do a self-evaluation.  He can’t lie and He never fails.  He can always be trusted.  Why?  Because He loves us and He is our Heavenly Father.  For anyone seeking direction and answers, the bible says that if we desire wisdom, all we have to do is ask for it and He’ll give it.

But to put a twist on this, I believe that many people fall flat on their faces because the “dream” they had was not one God necessarily wanted for them, but they wanted it.  Or, we aren’t patient with God in allowing Him to do things in His timing.  Just like I said above, the will of God involves people.  If your dream only benefits you and doesn’t benefit anyone else, you should re-evaluate it.  God never assigns things to us to have to ourselves.  He wanted us to multiply it, nourish it, and build it up so that others could benefit from it.  That’s called being a blessing.  We are blessed to be a blessing.  And ultimately, if what you’re doing doesn’t in one way or another have a kingdom-minded agenda to it, then it’s fruitless to God. 

Questions to ask yourself are, how will this benefit others?  Will souls be won to Christ?  Am I making money to invest back into the work of God, while at the same time understanding that the workman has the right to eat of the fruit of his own labor?  Lastly, am I a tither?  Tithing isn’t an Old Testament concept, it’s a biblical concept.  Far too many folks get lost by the Old Testament/New Testament ideology.  Yes, a new covenant is in place, but just as sin equaling death is in the OT and is found in the NT. 

DB: How do you use your music as a ministry tool?

Well, I first make sure that I’m not trying to win you through clever speech.  Being able to relate to people on their level and just break things down for them so that they can understand it is my goal.  My grandmother who just turned 86 told me two days ago that she enjoyed my album.  For her to be able to understand it was amazing to me.  

People want to hear your heart.  They want passion!  I know that’s why Jay-Z’s latest album was a flop!  He’s not talking about nothing!  Holy Hip Hop is about to take over and Jesus is about to rule the music industry!  Mark my words.  Hip Hop is the language of the generation I was born and raised in.  So, I’m using it to relay the gospel message.

DB: How did you get involved in the HHH movement?

I got into it from being grieved with a lot of the HHH music I was hearing.  A lot of folks have a good flow, cool rhyme schemes, but they lack passion.  Or, they never speak to a person’s situation.  Yes, they have a sin and God situation, but they want to know that God knows they exist!  Does He even love me?  If He is there, then why is my life this way?!!!  That’s the cry of the majority of the world. 

DB: That’s the cry of majority of the church too!!!

 Don’t get me wrong, I like a tight flow and all of that, but let me hear your heart as well.  Quite a few rappers come to mind who have this combination and that’s why I believe God is exalting them within this genre – Lecrae, Mark J, Da Truth, Mynista…  There are others as well, but we need MORE!

I started working on my album after helping Big R get his album started by putting him in touch with Tony Stone.  Tony was the first producer I contacted when I decided to start my album.  I started working on it in 2005.  The album is seasoned!  Pun intended. (smile).

DB: What’s up for Zee in 2007?

Be on the lookout for a video for “Heaven Ain’t Got No Ghetto” in a few weeks. We start shooting it this week. (January 2007) An awesome videographer and director named John Holland is putting it together. His work is top notch! The song is doing very well in gospel and secular markets.

Also - expansion.  And again, not for me, but for the glory of God. I would love a great distribution deal, but now isn’t the time.  I’ve seen far too many artists strive to get into stores, but when no-one knows your name, no-one knows you exist to even go to the store to pick up your CD.  So, expansion of the Zee ministry is my primary goal for 2007.  Whether you’re in stores or not, ministry should always be your #1 goal.  So, I’m going to carry this message and make it do what it do! 

I have a great management team with me – The Real Church Entertainment – who supports me 100% and they are working on a tour.  Tentatively it’s called the “Three in One” tour.  No, that has nothing to do with the trinity, but there will be genres in one tour.

DB: What importance does leadership and the church play in your career? Any advice?

Everyone needs a church home and someone they can be accountable to - especially when you’ve been called to an avenue of ministry that may have you going a lot of places.  My church – St. Peter’s Church and World Outreach Center – is a cell church, meaning we have small groups that we are all a part of and we are accountable to each other in the group.  Each group has a leader, and I have one of the best cell leaders in the world.  I thank God for him. 

A big shoutout to Pastor, Bishop JC Hash and Lady Joyce, his beautiful wife, and my cell leader James Jenkins!  James’ love for God, sincerity, understanding of the kingdom of God and much more challenge me to be a better Christian.  I need that.  There was a time I didn’t have it and it almost caused me to shipwreck my relationship with God.

If you don’t have a church home – find one!  And find one that believes in sound doctrine, as well as the operation of the gifts of the spirit.  The gifts have not ceased by any means!

DB: What advice do you have for an up & comer? What is required to make it this industry? What should a Christian artist expect and do to be successful?

Give 100% in all that you do.  Don’t let money be factor when it comes to wanting to give God your best.  Never settle for less in anything. 

Be humble.  Trust God.  Don’t trust in witty inventions, schemes and don’t use people to make it ahead.  If you humble yourself, seek God’s face, and love your neighbor, God will exalt you in due time.  And never forget that the exalting is only so that you can bring others up with you.  This applies to any situation.

DB: Well Bro Zee, thanks so much for your time! It was truly a pleasure and I look forward to big things from you in the future. Maybe even a website (designed by Bezworks Design). LOL

It has definitely been a pleasure.  Thank you for the opportunity for sure!

Y’all can check out Zee @  www.TheZeeSite.com  and be sure to pick up a copy of Livin’ Proof!!!