Originally from the Bronx, NY, Swazy Styles (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH GEORGIA NATIVE AND SLIp-NSLIDE SIGNEE SWAZY BABY) MADE major moves after moving to South Florida. Taking advantage of the networking opportunities around him, Swazy has the support of many area DJs, including Shadyville’s DJ Epps. Here, Swazy explains how he’s taking his craft to the next level. How did you start getting your name out there? I started out freestyle battling on the block in New York. I was real animated with my flow and delivery. I used to eat a lot of dudes up. I saw I could put together songs, so me and my crew put together a nice home-based studio. People started liking our music so promoters started booking us for shows. At the time I was in a group called Amped Up with another artist called Precise. We continued on our journey for about 5 or 6 years and then I went solo. What brought you to Miami? I moved to Miami in 1993. We came out here in for opportunity. I was young, my mom’s loved it out here ‘cause of the weather and all that. It was a better environment to raise a teenager in. When we moved down here, I continued to pursue my goal. I met all the right people and networked. I established a name for myself in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale and Palm Beach. You have a decent internet presence. What have you been doing to establish yourself on the net? 8 months ago I teamed up with a company called YoRaps.com. They’re managing my PR and giving me an online presence. We also did a mixtape feature for their website, presented by Block Starz Music. I had a lot of heavyhitter DJs cosign me like Supastar J, DJ Epps, Chuck T, DJ Drama, DJ Scream, DJ Nasty. I had over 7 DJs cosign my mixtape. My mixtape had 40% of the downloads on the website. When they saw that, they knew there was a hunger for my music so they presented me with a contract. I signed with Block Starz Music. What’s the next move? I got my assistant Aldo working real hard for me. I’m gonna continue to build that buzz out here on radio, Power 96, and 99 Jamz. I just finished a mixtape called Live From the County Line, hosted by DJ Laz from Power 96 and DJ GQ. It’s got 7,000 downloads right now. I’m
also working on my album called Hustle Life. I got production from CP Hollywood, The Runners, Mike Beatz, Ace of Spades. I got Triple Cs on the album, KC, Billy Blue. I got K Pon on the album. He has a big song with Flo Rida. I’m looking to release the album in the 2nd quarter of 2010. I got distribution so it will be on iTunes, Amazon, and all that. Are you pushing any songs as a single? My first single I dropped was called “Pockets Full of Green.” It was cosigned by Shadyville DJ Epps. He’s my official resident DJ. It played on radio from Palm Beach to Dade County. I did well with the ringtones. I had over 54,000 ringtone downloads. Now I’m working on my second single called “Sounds Like Money.” I dropped that last February. It did so well that Unda Surveillance wanted to jump on it so we got the remix with Unda Surveillance. The video is out. The remix is in heavy rotation in clubs and radio. I’m going to let the remix bubble a little bit and drop my next record in March called “Already” ft. K Pon, produced by CP Hollywood. Do you know what you’ll be doing Super Bowl Weekend? Are you booked anywhere? I’m booked at Club Dream, SOBE Live, and I’ve got a show at Nocturnal in Downtown Miami. I’ll be real heavy that weekend. What else do you have going on? I have two tours set up. We’ve got the Dream Big, Hustle Hard Tour set up. We’ll be doing 10 cities, starting out with Miami, Orlando, and Atlanta. I’ll also be in the Bay Area and North Carolina. What’s the overall impression you want to leave with people, as far as your musical style and who you are as an artist? I want everybody to know that Swazy Styles is here to give you originality. I like to party and have a good time, so that’s part of my music. At the same time, I like to give something back to the streets. I’d say my style is versatile for everybody. I’m originally from New York, so I got that New York swag with that down South sound at the same time. Excellence is my goal. Is there anything else you want to add? I want everyone to check out my website SwazysWorld.com. Check me out on YoRaps. com and BlockStarzMusic.com. For inquiries, holla at my personal assistant Aldo Mottolese 305-643-0786. //
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