Hawke's Bay Compilation Record Showcase - Zonny
This is the second year of appearing on the compilation vinyl for the exceedingly talented local artist, known as Zonny.
Zonny has the reputation of going with the flow, and that is exactly how he embarked into the world of music.
He began with saxophone, and even though he was proficient enough to be included in orchestra during Intermediate and high school, he capitalised on the fact that the conductor was focused on other areas of the ensemble and would ad-lib his parts. However, a self-confessed lack of passion put a stop to his extemporaneous musical performances.
Rapping entered his life at 16.
“I would be with my friends, at a party or something and we would be in the room and someone would throw a beat on, like a freestyle thing. I just started doing it with my friends and I loved it so I continued doing it, and started writing and couldn't stop myself. Couldn't help it”.
A milestone on his journey as an artist was that of entering himself onto Popstars, the second edition of the show that aired in 2021. During his audition he performed to the internationally successful songstress Kimbra who said of Zonny - “He wasn't a rapper, he was a beat poet”.
This is a sentiment that is reverberated amongst those closest to him.
Close friend Jusy explains “When you listen to Zonny’s music, it's a different way of cadence comparative to other rappers and rap now, it's got a different flow and it keeps changing up and it’s main priority is not melodics - it is flow and he constantly switches it up”
Rapping isn't the only string to Zonny’s multifaceted bow. He also has flair in the realms of painting. Portraits are commonplace within Zonny’s collections, one of which was recently showcased at Creative Arts Napier.
“I get drawn to faces. Whenever I am feeling those creative juices flowing, I just find a cool face that I want to paint and then take it”
Staying true to his nickname of “The Flow''. Zonny’s painting process is not one of a meticulous nature.. He revels in the more fluid framework of “just seeing where it goes”.
“It's usually rather psychedelic in nature and trippy in a way, and I love that, and kinda the same with rapping, I never really plan what I am going to say but it still comes together and seems to make sense half the time - which I am surprised by”
The song that was chosen to be on the vinyl this year is called “Beat Poetry”
“There is a point in the song where the beat cuts out completely, and it's just me rapping. They're very powerful words. It feels very powerful to me. I am preaching these words to myself. Then the beat comes back and it rolls off really nice”.
Zonny’s goals for the future resonate with many of the musicians around Hawke’s Bay. For his art to pay for his living.
“To be fully sustainable. Definitely want to do well and play some big festivals and create a name for myself, for sure.”
The Hawke’s Bay Compilation Record- Under the Sun, Vol. 2 was produced by Backline Chartable Trust.
This record would not have been produced without the help of additional funding through Lion foundation, EIT Te Pukenga (Ideaschool) and Aramex.
There is an event being held at Paisley Stage, Napier to celebrate the completion of the vinyl. It will be on 23rd March 2023.
For more information about this event, and about our local musicians check out the Hawke’s Bay Music Hub website and Facebook page.
