HIP-HOP/RAP, Interview, Music Reviews, New Artists, New Fire Music, NJ, TRAP/HIP HOP
LBezzle Embraces The Wounded In New Song, “S.O.S”
Oct
New Jersey-based rapper LBezzle strives to have listeners tap into their higher selves with every song release.
Often coupling an attention-grabbing cadence with words to live by, the “Apocalypto” spitter delves into rhymes about societal issues, worldly issues, and personal experiences. At the same time, LBezzle refuses to comply with the government, saying that it’s best to question everything. He passes along this intel with storytelling and a knack for learning. In other words, LBezzle is the truth.
“I want people to find themselves, to challenge shit, and heal,” he tells me during our interview. “Just be yourself. Get out of the matrix.”
Still, LBezzle is more than music. He’s anything that involves returning back to one or that has to do with the four elements. Calling himself God’s manifestation, he is sure of himself and says his purpose is to elevate vibrations through music.
LBezzle’s moniker derives from a nickname he received in college. During his time there, people would call him light bright a.k.a LB because of his skin complexion. Fast forward, and his friends would make several plays on the initials. Sometimes the words wouldn’t even have meaning. Eventually, he noticed that he was always trying to make the best of his time; thus, LBezzle was born. It also helped that an L signified his smoking sessions.
Growing up, LBezzle would spend time with his cousins and brothers. They’d always put on beats and create music to them. Subsequently, that transitioned even further when LBezzle was in college. As fate may have it, his roommates were into music as well. And so, he and his roommates would freestyle and curate songs. LBezzle also grew an admiration for music when he was managing other artists and marketing. Once a friend brought attention to his unmatchable skill, LBezzle decided to go all in and hasn’t turned back since.
The artist finds inspiration in his growth and the positive feedback he gets from listeners worldwide, noting that people often tell him that his message is needed in the present-day world. Musically, however, he looks up to his emcee brothers like Day Shore, SB, NicKey Stringz, and WeSingCin, to name a few. To add, MF Doom is on the list due to his ability to rap about pretty much anything.
His newest song, S.O.S, touches on mental illness, suicide, and how to fight your inner demons. Having no assistance from a hook, LBezzle raps from a first-person perspective, saying
“Smile in your face/You’ll never know what I’m goin through/Bottle up all of my problems/I don’t know why/Shake it up shake it/Pop this champagne to the sky.”
As the song continues, he lays out some more bars about personal dealings with depression, those who’ve done him wrong, and finding himself again. Furthermore, LBezzle assures listeners that they aren’t alone and passes some advice to help them see the light at the end of the tunnel. He delivers,
“Sleep during the day/Cuz at night I stay woke/Sometimes you have to vent/Please don’t choke/On getting all your thoughts out/While your eyes get soaked/It really is sad/The type of spirit some people have/If your an empath/Learn how to say no/When you walk down/The yellow brick road.”
Cadence-wise, LBezzle oscillates between a passionate and transparent flow. The R&B and boom-bap beat couples soothing harmonies with electric synths, ambient arrangements, piano loops, ticking loop, and a warm guitar arpeggio.
“S.O.S” was inspired by a darker time that occurred in LBezzle’s life amid doing some shadow work (don’t fret, he’s way better now). “Several people think that the light doesn’t come without the darkness, but that’s not true. Suicide is peaking, and I wanted to bring awareness to it,” he says. His favorite one-liner goes,
“I don’t need a shirt/I wear my heart on my sleeve/Please disregard the blood/On my arm when it bleeds/I always loved them more than they loved me/All the sacrifices you make/Can bring you to your knees.”
He continues, “My whole life, I wore my heart on my sleeve. There would be times where it would and wouldn’t be accepted’/appreciated. But, eventually, I stopped caring about the possibilities and said, ‘Fuck it. Time is precious. I’m going to love hard anyway.'”
As a whole, LBezzle needs people to understand that he’s their confidant.
“We are all together. I’m here to activate your DNA. The more that you know, the more you’ll activate it. I want them to heal on many levels, spiritual, etc. We’ve been messed up for a long time by others we don’t know. I want to spark thoughts to make you dig deeper for the answers.”
During COVID, he enjoyed performing at the Truth Or Lie Showcase, conducted by Ambush Effect. And while the pandemic surely tested him, LBezzle didn’t give up without a fight. He was able to study more marketing methods and implement them.
Moving forward, expect LBezzle to drop a music video for “Say Amen” and more tunes with rap mates, SB and Day Shore.
His advice for upcoming artists is to tap the fuck in. “Don’t think about your album work, beat, lyrics, nothing. It’s [the album] is going to build itself.”