On the Grind: Who is Bizness?

Follow Bizness: @Bizness516 http://www.bizness516.com/

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Who is Bizness? It's a good question. He's an up and coming MC out of Westbury, Long Island, New York. A talented artist who is also multifaceted, Bizness dropped a new mixtape entitled The Suburban Dream on January 18th. The 17 track mixtape, excluding bonus tracks, gives listeners a view into Bizness' vision. In order to fully understand that vision, I met up with him during the mixtape release party at First Class Clothing in Westbury and spoke to him for a little while.

In the short time that we talked, I was impressed not just by his talent, but by his outlook on a number of things.

Bizness is both an MC and a producer. Rapping since around 11 and making beats since the age of 15, he has an insight into at least two of the many sides of the creative process. This isn't his first mixtape, but its the first to really go into the "Suburban Dream". As he put it, a lot of people are afraid to be from Long Island, because it doesn't fit in with the stereotypes. But he's trying to show people that there's a struggle there too, and that there's talent as well that deserves a chance to shine and be heard.

The tape features all original production from Bizness, with samples used on "Jealous", "Suave", and 100 Ft. Casso. Originally the mixtape was going to be titled Suburban Revenue, before the title was changed to the Suburban Dream to focus people's attention on how he's trying to touch the history of the suburbs and the life that people live there, through the history of Westbury, nicknamed Westmoney. It was done to be just another way to show people that artists coming from the suburbs are worthy of the same amount of time and attention as those from anywhere else. We talked about the tape for a while, before we moved on to other topics.

When I asked him who his favorite MCs were, he heavily favored fellow NY emcees such as Jay-Z, Fabolous, Jadakiss and late NY greats the Notorious B.I.G. and Big L. He also named people like Drake, Lil Wayne, and Rick Ross. Because of his love for NY and NY emcees, I asked him how he felt about the current state of NY Hip hop. Its a question that you might not consider apt because he's from Long Island, but that's just another reason why Bizness made The Suburban Life and started the Westmoney movement. He spoke on how there isn't any unity in NY Hip hop and how it seems as though some of the artists in the NYC area have a problem with others making it.

He noted that in the South, when there is beef and there are problems, they're worked out relatively quickly. He said that was something that doesn't happen that much in NY Hip hop.

I didn't have a large amount of time to talk with him, but from what time I did have, I got a good picture of the artist, and I think I can answer the question of who is Bizness?

Bizness is a MC with skills from Westbury, Long Island. He's someone with rhyming skills that surpass the average and someone with something that a lot of MCs lack: Vision. He's the kind of artist that needs a deal and now.

Make sure you check out his mixtape, the Suburban Life and check him out on twitter and on his website. I was able to get a copy of the tape and there'll be an official review coming soon.