Zeale is a hyper-talented hip-hop artist who’s found his niche in unlikely places. In addition to Blackillac, his duo with Phranchyze, Zeale also guests on tracks by a wide range of acts. From Blue October and Jason Mraz to Disturbed and Alien Ant Farm, no genre seems out of his reach. A seasoned performer, he’s as comfortable supporting Imagine Dragons and AWOLNATION as Drake and Talib Kweli.
Texas to California
Speaking from his home in Los Angeles, Zeale credits his Austin roots with shaping him. “I cut my teeth and developed my music in Austin which is very rock and blues-oriented. Some of my best friends I do music with are people like Gary Clark Jr. and Black Pumas.”
Zeale’s musical influences are as varied as his collaborators. “Lyrically, what Eminem did with timing and wordplay was groundbreaking.” Then there’s the rock side as well. “From an energy standpoint, Joe Strummer from The Clash had that rebellious, edgy vibe. Also, I love Nirvana and the heavy, dark energy Kurt could bring through a song.”
Austin’s local flavor showed up in Zeale’s sound from the start. “There’s a history of live music in Austin and it’s always leaned towards the rock side. Rather than fighting against that, I’d sample Led Zeppelin and make rap songs out of it.”
"Every time there was an opportunity to get on stage and showcase what I could do, I would do it.”
A Different Approach
Zeale credits the warm welcome he received in town to the fact that he was doing something different. “At that time, there weren’t a lot of hip-hop producers in Austin. To get that hip-hop or straight rap sound you had to go to New York or L.A. or the West Coast or even Houston.”
Still, before landing in studios and on stages with chart-topping legends, Zeale was a poet. “Writing lyrics came from poetry,” he says. “I was really into slam poetry in middle and high school because it was an easy way to get my creativity out.”
His skill brought Zeale to competitions and eventually tournaments. “I had a knack for it and got a lot of recognition. It turned into music naturally because I grew up listening to hip-hop.”
Blackillac is Born
In fact, it was at a University of Texas rap battle that Zeale met Phran, his future Blackillac partner. The pair began seeing each other at every battle in town where either one or the other would claim first prize. “At one point, we were like, ‘Whoever wins, we split the money.’ Maybe one of us had an off day, but we’d still take home a bag.”
Zeale reveals that the duo’s history extends back even further—to middle school. “There’s a little pre-story too, which is me and Fran met playing basketball. We’d play at the same park and run full-court games all day.”
"Writing lyrics came from slam poetry. In middle and high school it was an easy way to get my creativity out."
Grammy-winner Gary Clark Jr. provided the impetus for the pair to reconnect. “I hadn’t worked with Fran on anything in a number of years, but we’ve always been close friends.” Clark Jr. invited them down us down to a sold-out show at Austin’s Paramount. “We went to Gary’s hotel and he played us beat after beat. And they were dope. From there he was like, ‘Let’s get in the studio this week, feel it down.’”
The triumvirate yielded creative fruit which is only now seeing release. “It started rolling and turned into what is now Blackillac. We’ve been holding on to it and developing a little bit more. But we’re starting to release this music in the next two to three months.”
Like Starting Over
Despite his deep connection to Austin, starting over in Los Angeles wasn’t difficult. “As a kid, I’d always felt drawn to the West Coast, so the transition was easy. Two of my best friends live here. They brought me in with open arms and I hit the ground running.”
For Zeale, that meant hitting up every open mic he could find. “Every time there was an opportunity to get on stage and showcase what I could do, I would do it.” The proactive approach is paying off. “It helped me get a nice foothold here and grow what I was already doing.”
Another strong foothold is his reverence for education. “I come from a family of learners, so I didn’t want to move out of my state without something behind me.” Zeale’s studies focused on the creative side of advertising. “Having a musical brain gives me a fresh perspective.”
Production Confidence
That same mindset serves Zeale in his production, which now utilizes the Roland VERSELAB. “When I first got the VERSELAB, I had no manual. Once I looked at the layout and started understanding it’s designed for people to take an idea from jump to finish, it opened itself up to me.”
The positive results encouraged Zeale to dig deeper into the instrument’s functions. “To be honest, no cap, this thing is giving me more confidence in production all the way around. It’s easy and quick for me to create a percussion pattern I’m really loving. Then I can drop the instruments and start just creating vibes, do vocal tracks. It’s a game-changer for me.”
“When new opportunities come, I want to be able to dive into them and see how
I perform."
Opportunities and Goals
VERSELAB even provides opportunities for Zeale to step outside and use the world as a backdrop. It’s a perfect fit for a kinetic creative on the move. “The icing on top is it’s portable. I can shoot videos at Venice Beach or go to the park and make a beat.”
As an artist with seemingly boundless drive, it’s no surprise Zeale has a concrete set of goals for 2021. “Number one is to release the Blackillac Amber Room EP and put our signature on what we do,” he says. “My second ambition is to produce, write, and mix an EP—my own project with my own hands from beginning to end.”
Zeale’s final goal for the coming year is an even broader one. “It’s saying yes and throwing myself into scenarios I may not have considered in the past.” He insists he wants to embrace the way the world is shifting. “When new opportunities come, I want to be able to dive into them and see how I perform.”
