Deemed often by the media as the “prince of noize,” Bronx-born musician YUZIMA just released his latest single titled Atheist from his soon-to-drop insta-album where he explores American obsession with religion and belief systems.
He describes himself as a “quasi-atheist-agnostic” and in this single “respectfully asks why certain artists, particularly of color, feel the need to include God in their work to be relevant?” He explains, “my lyrics are inspired by the likes of Patti Smith, Kanye West, and Bob Dylan and I switch between the voice of the believer and the non-believer, [eventually] leading to an ecstatic wail at the bridge of the song. Twisting lyrics go from the spiritual to the sexual – even positioning the act of ejaculation as a godly act.”
Check out the single and my discussion with YUZIMA on his artistic culmination below:
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“To me nothing is taboo; that’s what an artist does, they go where others are scared to go, they pull down the veil of every aspect of society.”
What is your personal relationship to the title Atheist? How did your upbringing influence you artistically and spiritually?
It’s definitely something that I don’t think has been touched upon in pop culture in a significant way. You have people juggling ideas around it, but no one addressing it directly. I probably would not consider myself one clear thing. I’m a little atheist, a little agnostic, and a little spiritual, though I was raised Catholic and went to a Quaker school. I like turning those things inside out on the song, wearing different concepts like a guise. In a way I feel like I’m playing the trickster.
You mentioned how you are questioning why certain artists, particularly of color, feel the need to include God in their work to be relevant. What about this troubles you?
It goes with artists of all backgrounds. We’re just at a moment in time where people are challenging things like Black Lives Matter, but we are not challenging religion. Several big albums have come out where the artist leans on religion which is cool, but I want to dig into it and question it. Part of Atheist is just opening up the conversation. To me nothing is taboo; that’s what an artist does, they go where others are scared to go, they pull down the veil of every aspect of society.
“Several big albums have come out where the artist leans on religion which is cool, but I want to dig into it and question it. Part of Atheist is just opening up the conversation.”
What did you explore overall in your last album BEHEMOTH?
BEHEMOTH was my last insta-album which dealt with the organic but sometimes negative system of things, about breaking up culture and starting up again. I saw things happening in the world where evil people were trashing ancient monuments in far off lands. I saw crazy things happening so I had to put it in a rock song. We are living in a weird transitional time. At the end of BEHEMOTH I say “The beginning of life starts with a conversation.” And that conversation has shifted now to Atheist.
What do you hope listeners take away from your work?
Some kind of greater understanding of the world, it doesn’t have to be negative or positive but it can’t just stay in the same place – it has to move. That is even the concept of my insta-album, I came up with it as a way to do a short almost instant album focusing on in-the-moment themes. It’s a way to slow down the moment and observe it.
What is next for you in 2016?
Atheist is the first single from my 3rd and last insta-album; BASH and BEHEMOTH were the first two, while the last one will be dropping soon.
For more information please visit www.yuzima.com
