Q&A: meet ZEKIEL, a true Aussie rapper

Sydney-based, Mackay-raised rapper ZEKIEL has just released his third single in just three years, 9 Days Straight. The song heroes his melodic flow that’s nestled within a low-fi trap beat. His lyrics always talk to his personal experiences and his new track is no different, diving into the poignant message of feeling like a misfit. His rap style is soft and almost song-like and we are totally down with it.

The 23-year-old grew up with his large family consisting of 5 other brothers and sisters. At the age of only18 he flew down south to Brisbane where he really began to hone in on his craft and create a name for himself. Since then he has worked with an array of other amazing Australian and New Zealand talents. What we love most about him though his drive to champion those around him and help elevate the next-gen talent that’s coming out of the country. Collaboration is HUGE and it’s important in this industry and ZEKIEL is on the money.

We had a chat with ZEKIEL about his new release, whether or not a hotdog is a form of sandwich and what he’d do if he was invisible for the day.

Heres a quick look into our chat:

Heya! So tell us who ZEKIEL is and how you got into music?

Hey I’m ZEKIEL, a hip-hop artist from Mackay, North Queensland. I was exposed to live music at a young age by my dad, who’s been a pianist in numerous rock bands since the 80’s. I was introduced to Aussie hip-hop/rap when I was 8 or so. It started there but I never thought I would pursue music as a career until I was in my teens, recording raps I had written on my webcam. No thought about quality AT ALL.. it was very muffled, broken up audio with about 5 pixels on the screen at any one time… honestly the worst shit ever. I’ve probably been through 4 or 5 really bad rap aliases, but I finally settled for the name my parents gave me. ZEKIEL. 

Tell us ALL about your smooth new track “9 Days Straight”.

9 Days straight is my third release in 3 years. It’s been a slow grind getting the pieces together for an album and ‘9 days straight’ is the story about the finer things that surround that. A narrative on how I struggle to be consistent and maintain balance in my life. It was a song I needed to write for myself and it feels amazing to have it out in the world where people are connecting with it.

 Do you think collaboration is an important part music?

For me, most definitely. I think it’s important to hone your skills and practice your craft in as many areas of music as you can. Connecting with different minds exposes you to new patterns of thinking and throughout my young career, I’ve had so many moments where I have learnt and levelled up because of somebody else in the room. It’s not the case for everyone because process of creation differs for the individual but for me, there is an undeniable difference in the energy when collaborating. The entirety of my small catalogue has been in some way, shape or form, collaborative work. 

Out of the other Australian/New Zealand musicians you’ve met, who’s been really fun to work with so far?

I worked with Thelma Plum and she was a pleasure to work with, seriously talented, insane song writing chops and always good for a laugh in the studio. Also linking up with Ned Houston, who’s now like brother to me, has been a blessing as well. He has helped with a lot of my singing and melody work for the ZEKIEL project and I feel like its come leaps and bounds through his influence. Dudes also hilarious.

What was it like growing up in a house full of 6 siblings?

I wouldn’t change it for the world. I am who I am because of each of the relationships I had with my siblings. I am the 4th child out of six, kinda sharing that middle child role, but having siblings either side of me was always good. Everyone (all the siblings) in my family are tight with each other and I credit my mum for that 100%. She instilled really strong family values in all of us. We’re a tight knit unit. 

Mackay, Brisbane, Sydney… the next logical step is Melbourne! Do you think you’ll light up the Melbourne music scene and move down here?

I love Melbourne. I played Crooked Fest (My first festival) which was a hip-hop bill with talented acts from all over the country. It was incredible and I would play in Melbourne every night if the energy was like that! I’m not going to lie, I’m happy where I am for now building and getting everything where I want it to be, if the right opportunity presents itself then I could move to Melbourne, but hey who knows?  

What was it like supporting Merkules?

The show itself was awesome. I can’t recall the exact number but the room was packed to the back of the room and the crowd was feeling themselves. There were a few rowdy characters and I experienced my first bit of controversy on stage as some eshays weren’t really feeling ‘writing away’ but was fun to do a freestyle at the end of my set and shut them down and earn a bit of respect. I met Complete who was a real cordial guy, smoked a cigarette with him,  chatted about his new release and then watched him absolutely kill his set. Merkules, I briefly spoke with when he arrived at the venue and it was a simple dap up and intro but I was just happy to be there.

Do you think a hotdog is a sandwich?

A hotdog is visual representation of what America thinks is a sandwich. That is all.

If you were invisible what’s the first thing you’d do?

I’d be the 14th man on the field for the Brisbane Broncos. The boys are on a 5 game skid at the moment and I know they would appreciate a win by whatever means. I know I would.

ZEKIEL is championing the ideals of collaboration and the communal lifting of each artist in the industry. It’s incredibly important to remind one another that everyone has a different lesson to teach. We really vibe with what ZEKIEL is putting out into the world and are super excited to see what’s next for him.

Check out his new track below or head to our Vibes Vibes Vibes ✨ playlist to hear more dope songs like this one.

By Samuel Seedsman.