Heavy Reign #leadpoison

A photo posted by ELZHI (@elzhi) on Feb 8, 2016 at 12:03pm PST

If you’re comfortable, can you talk about your period of depression? How did you deal with that?

The only way I know how to cope with it is by writing and getting it out. When my moms passed before that, I would just write anything, like how fresh I was. But when she passed away, it was the first time I used my art and my craft to talk about it and get it out. That day I realized that it was healthy for me to get it out. That was my outlet. That’s what I did for this record. I used it as an outlet.

Do you think that hip hop should address issues such as depression or mental illness a bit more? Rappers will talk about it, but it’s not as often we hear about the encouragement to seek help.

It’s freedom of expression. I can’t really tell someone else to do more of this, or do more of that. I just feel like somebody got to step up to the plate and talk about something that normally people wouldn’t talk about. I just feel like if you’re an artist, you should do what moves you, and you should be genuine about what you put out there.

How do you feel about the sound of Detroit and its place in hip hop, being that you’re part of that?

I think the sound of Detroit is represented in so many ways. We grew up off of techno music, but we’ve also been dubbed Rock City. We got rock there, and we’re known for the Motown sound. When you think of someone like J. Dilla, and you hear his production, it’s pretty much Detroit and what it reminds me of having grown up in the city. It’s pretty, but it’s gritty at the same time. It influenced me, and I think it influenced everyone that comes from there. I can only speak for me, though. When I think about the stories I tell, it all comes from the city.

The J. Dilla album is about to be released this week. What are your thoughts on that, since you both had a close relationship before his death.

I actually haven’t heard about that. But whatever they’re putting out, as long as his family is benefitting off of it, then it’s all good.

Do you consider yourself one of the underrated lyricists in the game?

I wouldn’t say underrated per say, but I would say that people are unaware. Behind closed doors, I’m respected by a lot of folks from J. Cole, to Drake, to Dr. Dre. It’s a lot of people that know my capabilities and appreciate what I do. It’s just the listeners who might not know because of the situation as far as my outlet of putting music out there. It hasn’t touched them yet, so they may not be aware of what I can do.

What’s the best piece of advice you can give to an upcoming artist right now?

It all kind of depends on what kind of artist they are. If they want to take the pledge of carrying on the tradition, I would say just be genuine and be who you are. Don’t try to chase a radio hit. Use what we have in this era, from social media to soundcloud, to your advantage to put music out there. Never sell yourself short, and make sure it’s always quality. If you just in it for the money, you just got to study what other people are doing, and hopefully that formula works for you.