Welcome, once again, to the infamous Underground Spotlight. So, Juggalettes and Juggalos it’s time for us to check out another fresh new artist. On this edition of the spotlight we’ve got a young talent from South Florida. In fact, he’s actually from a town about five minutes from where I live. Oh, and this place sucks, in case you were wonderin’.

J. Buzzi isn’t the typical artist you would expect to make an appearance here, but you can’t deny his talent and passion. The song “Tyler” shows versatility and ability to provide a deep message in with his lyrics. Personally, I’m glad to see someone getting out of this area and pushing to do big things. Even if you’ve never seen this little town, I’m sure there are a lot of you out there that can relate to the situation.

Anyway, let’s jump into this bitch and kick off the latest Underground Spotlight.

Johnny O: So, first off for those who haven’t heard of J. Buzzi, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

J. Buzzi: I grew up in this small town called “Jensen Beach” just north of Palm Beach, Florida. It’s one of those towns that if you get stuck there, you REALLY get stuck there. So I’ve always been determined to make something of myself. I’ve been writing songs since I was 13 and I’m now 22, so I’ve began to really perfect my craft.

JO: How would you describe your style?

JB:  This is always a tough question for me, because it would be cool to compare myself to other rappers out there, but at the same time, I am my own sound. I’d consider myself a motivational rapper who’s not afraid to touch on emotional subjects. I can do big anthem/club type songs while at the same time I can slow it down and write about deep, meaningful songs that will grab your attention lyrically.

JO: Your latest video for “Tyler,” is an extremely personal tale of being bullied due to a disability, can you tell us how this track came about?

JB: Yeah, Tyler a kid that is still in high school would always post my album artwork or song artwork and tag me in it saying how he liked it a lot. At first I never really thought much of it beyond that he was just a fan. I would say thank you on his pictures and he would always reply. I never really understood something was mentally not together with him until I met him in person for the first time. It was kind of an awkward encounter at a memorial soccer game that I was playing in, and he was attending to see me play, and get a picture with me. There was a moment where Tyler actually followed me onto the field just before the game started, and I knew something wasn’t all there. At that time, I used to say like “wow why is this kid following me around” and stuff like that. But then one day I found Tyler walking home in the rain (his house was miles away); so I pulled over and decided to drive him home. I started to record a voice memo on my phone (which is where the intro of the song came from) as he was telling my friend, Joe about being bullied and me. He would get picked on so much in school that he would end up posting pictures of his arms cut up, from self-inflicted wounds. I felt like I HAD to write this song for him. And I made it personal enough to even name it HIS name. I involved him in the writing process (sending him samples of lyrics as I went) and also in the video you can see Tyler. It really opened the eyes of people in high school and he calls me about once a week now telling me how good everything is going now. I never knew how much of an impact it would actually make I was just hoping it meant something to Tyler.

JO: I personally love when music has a message, but is this something you feel is important to you?

JB: Of course! I will never release a project without having a few songs that are message-heavy. Sometimes I feel like there’s so many different emotions in life, its hard to put just one into a song. So when I feel very strongly about a certain emotion, I make sure to turn it into a song. There’s nothing cooler than having a listener tell you how much they connected with a certain song, and that’s all from the underlying message.

JO: Most recently you dropped both the, “All Work,” and “No Play,” EP’s can you tell us about those projects?

JB: These were two projects I had planned for about 6 months. I wanted to release my new music but I hadn’t finished enough for a full-length album. So I decided to make 2 shorter EP’s. I think the titles explain my attitude the most towards music. It’s beginning to get to the point where it’s turning into a business rather than just a hobby. I really think a lot deeper into every song and how to market it, sell it, give it away, get people to listen, etc. etc. So “All Work” and “No Play” kind of showcase that transition into maturing into a professional artist.

JO: Is there anything in the works for J. Buzzi right now that you can let us in on?

JB: Hell yes! I’m actually in the middle of making a full-length album. I have several songs already fully written, and a few just semi mapped out. I plan on releasing 13-16 tracks at the end of February or beginning of March as a new full length. Each week (on Tuesdays) until it’s released, I will post song artwork with the song title to give people some hints about what they can expect on the album

JO: At 22 years old you’ll no doubt work with numerous artists throughout the years, is there anyone in particular you would love to collaborate with?

JB: I’ve actually gone back and forth with Gorilla Zoe a few times on the phone about getting on a song. We are just waiting for the right one for him to get on. So hopefully that will come soon. Besides that, I’d love to work with anyone that legitimately loves music. I’d love to get Kid Ink on a song, he’s dope. There are a few other people that I’m trying to work with right now that I can’t say because I don’t want to ruin any surprises… Haha

JO: So, we both actually live right around the same area, but for those who don’t know can you tell us what the music scene is like in our part of Florida?

JB: It’s hard to explain but I’d say it’s a LOT of local artists that just make songs here-and-there as something to pass the time. A lot of it is honestly really poor quality. There’s a few local people I think have really good potential but like I said, if you get stuck there, you REALLY get stuck there. So many local kids in the rap scene just write about smoking, partying, and not remembering the previous night. It’s so one-dimensional that it’s a shame that some kids have nothing else to write about.

JO: Who would you say your inspirations have been?

JB: Recently, I have a few close friends that do music for a living and they have been a huge inspiration to me and that transition for myself. Josh Woodard – Bass player in ‘A Day To Remember’ has been a great inspiration in the way that he travels the world and will do show after show, night after night. Stephen Marro – Audio Engineer/ my producer has really been a big motivation in getting into the studio and fine-tuning all of my lyrics/songs/sound. My mom is also a huge inspiration, she will text me almost every day telling me that she’s going to be my tour bus driver one day, and she calls herself “da bus driver” haha. She’s awesome, that kind of thing motivates me to actually make that happen

JO: Who are you currently listening to?

JB: Kid Ink, Meek Mill, B.o.B, Ace Hood, Justin Bieber (seriously haha), Rick Ross. I love up-tempo music, and MMG has a great sound currently so a lot of their stuff gets played in my car.

JO: Where can fans find more of you online?

JB:

www.soundcloud.com/jbuzzi

www.facebook.com/jbuzzimusic

www.twitter.com/j_buzzi

www.youtube.com/justinbuzzi

www.jbuzzi.com

JO: We would never be where we are today with out some good people by our sides, how about a few shout outs before we end this thing?

JB: I hate when I miss some people that I should shout out but I’ll give it a shot hah. My graphics guy: Joey Jay. My engineer Stephen. My good friends that I send my songs too before anyone else just to hear their opinion: Jacob, Cal, Josh, Uncle, Sambo, and Rossco. My mom: she’s the bomb. My hype man: APO. And everyone that has helped me out along the way, it’s honestly too many people to name. I’ve been really lucky to meet some great people and work with great artists. Also, thanks to everyone at your website for being supportive of my music, that is dope!! Thank you!

Well, that concludes another edition of the Underground Spotlight. Don’t worry, like always I’ll be back sooner then you think. In the meantime make sure to go check out J. Buzzi’s “All Work” & “No Play” EPs. I also want to thank J. Buzzi for taking time out for this interview, keep grinding homie.

As always, remember if you’re an artist and would like to be featured right here on the Faygoluvers’ Underground Spotlight just hit me up at [email protected]. Make sure to include a short bio, why you want to/should be featured, a pic or two and a couple tracks. Of course don’t forget to include UGS or something similar in the subject line.

Oh, and before I go I have to thank Faygoluvers’ own .R.A.M for his January 30^th edition of .R.A.M.-Dom Flava. Specifically, this episode introduced me to the YouTube show The Game Chasers. It’s basically a show about some guys who travel around collecting retro video games and now all I want to do is buy a fucking NES again. If you haven’t checked out yet, just click the link —> HERE. I also thought it was an odd coincidence that everyone was discussing retro games here in the forums. Anyway, I’m out Fam and until next time…

Peace,

Johnny O.