22Gz

Bio

Dating all the way back to rap’s Golden Age, Brooklyn has given rise to one hip-hop pioneer after another.  

Upholding the borough’s tradition of invention, 22Gz stands tall at the forefront of Brooklyn Drill. He didn’t just set the template though; he consistently rewrote the rulebook with every subsequent release, leading the pack and even lending “Blixky” to the lexicon. Beyond the ironclad metallic beats, viral dances, hundreds of millions of streams, and think pieces by Vulture, HypebeastThe Source, Pitchfork, and Noisey, he has cast a long shadow over the genre with a combination of menacing melodies and razor-sharp rhymes.  

With The Blixky Tape 2 and more music on the horizon, 22Gz continues to innovate. 

“Brooklyn Drill is a vibe,” he observes. “It’s our town. It’s hard, but you can dance to it as well. Brooklyn Drill means everything to me. It made me…but I made it. That’s how I feel. I take everything I’ve been through in Brooklyn and put it into the music.” 

That music also lifted him up. Toughened up by the trauma of his father’s murder, the tribulations of being raised by his older sisters, and trouble of his own with the law, he lit the match for the Brooklyn Drill movement with “Suburban” in 2017. Pitchfork christened it “the first Brooklyn Drill song worth a damn,” and he ended up with a deal from Kodak Black’s Sniper Gang in partnership with Atlantic Records. After popping off with The Blixky Tape in 2019, he lived up to the title of his next project, Growth & Development, a year later. “Suburban Pt. 2” went crazy, now approaching 100 million streams and over 23 million YouTube views. Another standout “Blixky Gang Freestyle” is nearing 100 million global streams, reeling in much critical acclaim. In its aftermath, Complex cited him as “a trailblazer of Brooklyn drill music, and OkayPlayer claimed, “22Gz reigns supreme.” HYPEBEAST posited, “22Gz is one of the main reasons Brooklyn’s drill scene made its way to the masses,” and Vulture observed, “He has dropped projects that have continued to showcase his sharp and antagonistic skill set.” The official video for “Blixky Gang Freestyle” is now approaching 7 million views. Chances are, you’ve also witnessed somebody do his patented “Blixky Twirl, maybe even NBA superstar Russell Westbrook or Offset. 

As the Global Pandemic consumed 2020, he endured the loss of two close friends—Lu Blixky and Nick Blixky. Their murders ignited a groundswell of emotion, so he hunkered down and focused on what would become The Blixky Tape 2

“A lot of shit happened, and I really made this tape for my friends,” he admits. “Due to COVID-19, I had a lot of time to really work on this. I was locked in. So, I decided to switch up the style. It’s still drill, but there’s more versatility. It’s got a party vibe. I’m trying to mix the old culture with the new culture.” 

He burst through the gate with the single “Blixky Gang Freestyle Pt. 2” where he devours skittering raps with a commanding flow punched-in and freestyled intensely. Church bells and a haunting sample bleed into the emotionally charged “LLNB”—a tearful dedication to the late Nick Blixky in an effort to “keep bro’s legacy going. Then, there’s his collaboration with Jackboy for “Never Be The Same” and the intoxicating “Casamigos,” which culminates on the turned-up hook, “Casamigos turn a good girl to a freak hoe.  

’Casamigos’ shows where I’m going,” he adds. “It’s a hard bop, and it’s meant to make you dance. Everybody loves Casamigos. That drink is lit all over the U.S. So, I went crazy on the song. It’s about the party.” 

As 22Gz expands his sound further, he’s only pushing harder. 

“I want you to know I’m the Brooklyn Drill G.O.A.T.,” he grins. “Rap is like a sports league to me. I’m trying to be the best.” 

BOILER 

Upholding Brooklyn’s tradition of invention, 22Gz stands tall at the forefront of Brooklyn Drill. He didn’t just set the template though; he consistently rewrote the rulebook with every subsequent release, leading the pack and even lending “Blixky” to the lexicon. Beyond the metallic ironclad beats, viral dances, hundreds of millions of streams, and think pieces by Vulture, The Source, Pitchfork, and Noisey, he has cast a long shadow over the genre with a combination of menacing melodies and razor-sharp rhymes.  

Toughened up by the trauma of his father’s murder, the tribulations of being raised by his older sisters, and trouble of his own with the law, he lit the match for the Brooklyn Drill movement with “Suburban” in 2017. Pitchfork christened it “the first Brooklyn Drill song worth a damn,” and he ended up with a deal from Kodak Black’s Sniper Gang in partnership with Atlantic Records. After popping off with The Blixky Tape in 2019, he lived up to the title of his next project, Growth & Development, a year later. “Suburban Pt. 2” went crazy to the tune of almost 100 million streams and 23 million YouTube views. In its aftermath, Complex cited him as “a trailblazer of Brooklyn drill music,” and HYPEBEAST posited, “22Gz is one of the main reasons Brooklyn’s drill scene made its way to the masses.”  

On The Blixky Tape 2 and more music on the horizon, 22Gz proudly asserts himself as “The Brooklyn Drill G.O.A.T.” 

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