Fighting for Something Else
In rap music, as it is in real estate, location is everything. As an emcee, the municipality you represent can mean instant credibility and a springboard to success—or it can hang as a detriment to your progress. Cities like Oakland, Atlanta, Detroit, and New York all have cultural capital that allows denizens from those locales to be understood more readily by a national hip-hop audience. It should come as a surprise to no one that San Jose is not very present in America’s hip-hop landscape. This is not to say America’s 10th largest city doesn’t have talent; acclaimed producers Traxamillion and Peanut Butter Wolf both hail from the 408.
West San Jose product Ziggy is keenly aware of the fact that San Jose is a relatively unknown quantity in the hip-hop world. “We don’t have a face,” says the 27-year-old rapper. Ziggy also understands the unique burden of trying to put your city on the map. Over the past few years, Ziggy has established himself in the greater Bay Area music scene by working extensively with San Jose producer and hyphy music pioneer Traxamillion, penning the hook for Philthy Rich and SOB x RBE’s “Right Now,” and working with one of Kendrick Lamar’s favorite rappers, Mozzy.
On his latest album, KHAKIS, Ziggy connects with producer Krikit Boi for eight tracks of weed-infused aspirational braggadocio that would not be unfamiliar to fans of Drake or Big Sean. But unlike the aforementioned urban radio deities, Ziggy manages to craft party-ready ear candy that is not awash in clichés. In the lead single off KHAKIS, “Outcome,” Ziggy boasts: “still in the building / you still in ya feelings? / Zig never had to find it / Zig had it in ’em.”
This palpable hunger for bigger and better things, a hallmark of a young rapper on the make, is present not only in Ziggy’s songs but in the way he carries himself. His raspy, cigarette-charred voice machine guns parts of speech as if a hot verse will leap out of him mid-sentence. He says this hunger is part and parcel of being an artist from San Jose. “Being from San Jose kept me hungry. Being a San Jose artist, you already know you are fighting for something else.
You’re not from Oakland and San Francisco; you’re not from these places that have an established type of sound. When I fight, I am fighting for everybody. Being a San Jose artist, you always have that on your back.”
“I was listening to a lot of Pac. Also, my grandmother used to play a lot of oldies—Stevie Wonder, the O’Jays, and stuff like that,” Ziggy says, explaining the influences that made him want to start rapping at age 11. “But then, on top of that, it was a lot of C-Bo, RBL Posse, and just real Bay stuff. And then when I started to think of myself as a rapper, I did my own research, and that’s when I found out about rappers like Nas and DMX.”
“I’m not just trying to make something that sounds hot right now. When I make an album, I am trying to make something that will sound good 5 to 10 years later.” –Ziggy
Listening to KHAKIS, you can tell that Ziggy has been paying attention to the mechanics of what makes a hit rap record. So much so that his penchant for writing radio-friendly choruses has made him a sought-after “hook guy” in Northern California rap circles. When asked about being a specialist of this sort, he hilariously demures, “My mom called me a ‘hooker’ because I was just doing hooks for other people. I can rap, too. I’m not out here trying to be T-Pain or anything like that.”
When asked about how he wants people to respond to his music, Ziggy remarks that he wants the listener to empathize with his struggle and his joy. “I just want people to feel my struggle,” he proclaims, adding, “to have people feel what I was feeling when I made the music. I consider myself a storyteller. I want people to learn something from the stories that I’m telling. I also want it to slap too. I want people to have a good time to my music. I want people to be excited to tell other people about my music.”
Upcoming is Ziggy’s five-year plan, which includes establishing himself as a brand and potentially moving to LA to be in closer proximity to the music industry. Ultimately, however, the primary goal is for him to create timeless music. “I’m not just trying to make something that sounds hot right now. When I make an album, I am trying to make something that will sound good 5 to 10 years later.”
IG: simplyziggy