Introducing… King Mez

King Mez is a name you’ll need to remember. With North Carolina’s hip hop scene experiencing a breakthrough in the 2000’s from the emergence of artists like Little Brother, Supastition & Median, the state has been a hot spot for hip hop. Mez is one of those highly talented newcomers like Kooley High or Thee Tom Hardy. We got the chance to speak with Mez about his thoughts on NC hip hop, how he came up in the game and what to expect form him this year. So here’s your chance to get to know King Mez.

Introduce Yourself

I’m King Mez of the Lazaretto Crew, 19 years old from Southside Raleigh, NC.

Why the name King Mez?

Mez was always my nickname, Knowledge Is Now Guiding My Everlasting Zeal is the acronym. I don’t feel like “the” king but I am one of them. Not because of my lyrical capabilities but because of the way I carry myself, fearless, humble, king like.

Who are some of your musical inspirations?

Nas, DOOM, Mos Def, Lupe Fiasco, A7X, The Gorilaz, Old Jay, Big, EPMD, Rakim, Andre 3000. I could do that all day fam.

Past projects readers should know about:

My most credible past project is Long Live The King. Still people say the Prequel to it was good bread, but I think I progressed well or a lot for that matter. Winter was my most recent, little short EP to hold em for my album.

Current projects readers should know about:

The Paraplegics, Me and producer Commissioner Gordon –  I do the bars, he does the beats, some dope features on it too. 

How did you link up with Commissioner Gordon?

Myspace. We both live in the same area and we both thought each other were talented. So he produced a track for Long Live The King and it was history from there.

So you spoke about some features on the album, who are some of the guests?

Well we got Donnie Vash from the Lazaretto Crew, Tab One and Charlie Smarts from Kooley High, Nickelus F, and Thee Tom Hardy as it stands now, still might have one more feature.

Nice, a lot of talent right there. What’s the meaning behind the album title The Paraplegics? Is there a theme to this album?

Yeah there definitely is.  The Paraplegics is a play on words representing the people who are always dependent upon something in life. It’s like they can’t walk on their own if you know what I mean.

Now you mentioned guests like Thee Tom Hardy & Kooley High appearing on the album. North Carolina has definitely had a lot of talent emerging from it since the debuts of artists like Justus League & Supastition. Do you feel like NC is one of the hot spot regions right now?

To be honest, I do man. J. Cole, Kooley High, Thee Tom Hardy… we’re definitely making our presence known. And we are most definitely switching up some stereotypes man, word up.

Definitely. It feels like Little Brother especially opened up a lot of hip hop fans eyes to the talented in the state. You’re obviously working with other NC artists; do you think it’s important to stick together that way?

I most definitely do man, there’s nothing like showing love. It prevails over all else. With it being so convenient for talented people to get up with each other whenever we’re back home we have an advantage. We also have our own style about us, all different but all derived in chain like order. Lazaretto being one of the newer groups on the scene we definitely get influence from the more established cats who have been doing it for a while. I’m grateful for the opportunity to be able to learn from them.

Talk a little bit about the Lazaretto Crew. How did you come together?

We went to high school together, graduated in 2008. When Vash came to Garner High it was a wrap. We met through a homie (original Lazaretto member Arcane) but right now it’s just me and Don Vash. And we have a team behind us by the way. “Fotography” from my good homie and teammate Sameer of Fisdjfoto.com and our homie Courtney from Red Carpet Society, they’re our teammates.

If you had to pick one song that defines your career up to this point, what would it be?

Wow, that might have to be… Jay-Z’s “Feelin It.” “If every nigga in your clique is rich your clique is rugged/ Nobody will fold cause everyone will be each others crutches/” Thank God for the people around me.

You’re stranded on a desert island and can only have one album to listen to, what’s it gonna be?

Illmatic, hands down. April 19th 1994, the hardest album hip hop ever saw, in my opinion.

Any shout outs or last words?

Thank God man, thank everyone who takes time out of their day to hear what I have to say, thank anybody who does something significant for the greater good. And thank you guys for this opportunity.

The World

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You Already Know

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Effortless

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