 Lil Flip | Young Dro  |
I be hearing people saying, ‘Aww, he’s using vocoders.’ Ain’t nobody using vocoders since 1970.
Not many people saw Gorilla Zoe’s “Lost” coming. The erstwhile Alonzo Mathis, 30, just didn’t seem like the Auto-Tune type. After some early success with the no-frills street single “Hood Nigga,” from his 2007 debut, Welcome to the Zoo (Bad Boy), Zoe shocked with an ambient, spooky tale of isolation and desperation. It worked. “Lost,” the first single off his sophomore project, Don’t Feed the Animals (Bad Boy, 2009), helped redefine his career. His follow-up single, “Echo,” pushed his pop quotient even further. So is Zoe a ’hood star or another sing-rapper with his eye on the pop charts? He says both.
VIBE: So how are you feeling about everything right now? How are you feeling about the album now that it’s out?
Gorilla Zoe: Oh my god, man. I never would of thought shit going the way it’s going, it’s beautiful. The album, it debuted number one [on Billboard’s rap charts]—my first No. 1 album. “Lost” broke a record. ’Cause that was my second biggest single other than “Hood Figga,” and actually it was a bigger single for me because it crossed me over to other markets. People who like real music—people who buy music fucking with me, you know what I’m saying? A street record I put out ended up taking off—doing good on iTunes. Like this shit hit BET. It’s a good look. The next record is definitely gonna be probably one of the biggest singles this year. It’s called “Echo” and it hit the first week at 9,000, went to 12,000, then went to 15,000. So it’s gonna come in at 27,000 without a video. It’s just at thirteen-hundred spins on airplay. “Lost” or “Hood Figga” never sold more than 27,000. Never even got to 27,000 a week, you know what I’m saying? This doing it without a video, without nothing. This might be one of my biggest records. So I’m really, really happy right now.
Congratulations. Let’s circle back and talk about “Lost.” You mentioned you did it just as a street record but it does sound like a bit of a departure for you. How did the song came about?
I got a lot of music. You listen to “Echo” you’ll wonder the same thing. But how I make, I make…that’s what kind of music I make. I make all kinda music, bruh. I got all kind of pop, all kind of crazy music ’cause I like to make music. It’s like it’s easy for me to make this kind of music. You know that’s where I come from. I can do that easy. But I’m trying…like be that artist with like, you know what I’m saying, Bruh, y’all niggas can’t do what Zoe do. And I can come back and do what y’all do, you know? “Lost” just came from an archive of music that I make ‘cause I got all kind of music.
Was it easy for you to do the Auto-Tune thing? Did that come naturally?
Yeah.
It was nothing? It was just like, “This is what I want to do now”?
It just came…. I mean, I’m not even caught up on that Auto-Tune shit. I use all kind of different programs. It’s more than just one program. I like to try shit and have fun. So I’m using all kind of shit. It’s so much shit available. I be hearing people saying, “Aww he’s using vocoders.” Ain’t nobody using vocoder since 1970. The fuck you gonna use [a] vocoder?
So what are some of the programs that you’re using?
Any and everything, dog, if it’s available. I’m using Pro Tools. I’m stretching vocals on. I got one of the dopest engineers. Like right now, that’s why my shit sound crazy. He new like me. His name [is] Trey Styles.
You mentioned that you’ve only been making music for four years. Can you tell me a little bit about how you got started?
I had a music store. I used to sell music. Seeing the decline of sales of music, I opened up a studio and me and my partners just started making music. And one day I went to a club for an album release party. One of my partners gave Block the music. Block and Puff left the club, listened to it, and they hit me.
It was that simple, they just signed you right away?
Yeah. The next day.
Wow. The next day?
Yeah.
What about some of the producers on the album? How did you find people that you wanted to work with?
Well, Drumma Boy, Zaytoven, ourselves, we produce on the album. We basically look for that new sound. We trying to create something new right now and it’s working, bro. I promise you. Zaytoven is definitely one of the dudes that I believe in—he’s coming up at the same time as I am. So it was like it’s working perfectly.
What’s going to be the record after “Echo”?
After “Echo”? Next album, next album. After “Echo” we going into the next album.
Really?
Yeah. “Echo” the third single and then after “Echo” we’re going into the third album. We’re takin’ them to Mars.
What’s the name of the album?
It’s gonna be called King Kong. I don’t know where we going with it. We going to Mars with it, though. We going to Mars with it. Trust me. It’s going to be that new shit.
One thing I noticed on that album is that you had Roxy Reynolds, the porn star on a track?
Oh yeah, Roxy Reynolds on the album. Don’t Feed the Animals is…. We haven’t had any bad reviews on it. It’s definitely my best album—one of the best albums that drops this year. It’s got one of the biggest singles that’s gonna drop this year: “Echo.” It’s gonna be crazy. This next album is gonna be hotter, though. Trust me.
Okay. How exactly did you get Roxy on the album?
Well, Roxy’s actually in my movie.
Okay. Well, tell me a little bit about that.
The movie is just basically about the transition from the music—from the streets to music, back to the streets, and realizing, “Hey, I got to do this music full time.” It’s all the things that you go through during it, but it’s dope. I’m starring in the movie. I’m the only rapper. The rest of them are certified actors and it’s crazy. You want to check out the trailer to the movie, it’s called Don’t Feed the Animals, the movie trailer.
Who are five rappers that you’re listening to right now?
One of my close friends, Gucci Mane. Another one of my close friends, Lil Wayne. Rick Ross—my brother, you know what I’m sayin’? I mean right now, Rick Ross, Gucci and Wayne and that’s it.
Are there five producers right now who are out that you’re really messing with?
Yeah. Drumma Boy, Zaytoven, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. I like what that boy Felix the Cat is doing.
And who are your five favorite MCs ever?
Now that’s easy man: Biggie, Pac, Andre 3000, Jay, and Nas.
What about the Internet? Are you on Twitter?
Yeah, I’m on Twitter. @GorillaZoe. Myspace/gorillazoe. You can go to gorillazoe.net. YouTube: Block Ent. TV. And uh, just Google me.
What got you on to Twitter?
Shit, I was out there in L.A. with Puff and everything. When it first started cranking up I was like, Fuck that, I’m finna get on that shit. I got addicted to that shit.
How often would you say you update your shit?
Every time I land. Every time I hit the mall. Every time I’m at the club. Every time I’m sitting down to eat [laughs].
What’s the status of Boyz N Da Hood right now?
As soon as we get out, we back on that, too.
You’re going to do a third album?
Yeah, you know, it’s so many ways to make money in this shit man. It’s just hard for corporate America because they base everything around the sales of CDs and now they’re trying to capitalize on digital. The truth is that you got to give this shit away. Now they getting it with the 360 deals and all that shit, but…it’s a sea of money. It’s a sea of money out here and at one point in time they were making all of it. Nothing lasts forever though.
Press play to listen to "Echo" by Gorilla Zoe from his album Don't Feed Da Animals
Press play to watch the video for Gorilla Zoe's "Lost" from his album, Don't Feed Da Animals
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