Izza Kizza has never met Kriss Kross,
but the tween duo changed his life. "They were the influence that made my
career happen," says the Valdosta, Georgia native (born Terry Davis), who
started a local rap group at age 11 and rocked a NASA jumpsuit at his show.
"I would walk around the 'hood doing my verse with 10 dudes behind me,
clapping," he recalls. "We did a song called 'It Was the Boom in My
Trunk.' We didn't even have a car!" Now 28, Kizza — who is signed to
Timbaland's Mosely Music label and has worked with Missy Elliott — is churning
out slightly racier verses. But he hasn't lost his playfulness: His mixtape, Kizzaland is packed with wacky homages to
nursery rhymes, narcolepsy and the sticky-icky. " - ROLLING STONE
"10 Buzz-Worthy Breakouts"
Timbaland & Missy Elliot are not the only big names
batting for this up-and-comer. Soul
Diggaz, David Banner, Lil’ Wayne, Birdman, Crookers, Calvin Harris & others have all teamed up with
Izza. His mixtapes are an on-going project, two and counting, with no end
in sight – the perfect thing to tide you over until his first album drops later
this year." -
“Even when Nas said hip hop is dead, the music lived on through
dude making that statement. It lived through death.” - Izza
Kizza in VIBE
"Timbaland finally found his rapper. Sorry Magoo. Sorry DOE.
Sorry Nelly Furtado. Izza Kizza is on that same dust and dumps out absurdist
lyrics like My exhibition’s
just so expialidocious/Call me Aloysius cuz my swagger is ferocious. Etc
etc that whole verse is ridiculous, and what, dude’s are studying Old High
German now? Incredible". - FADER
"Down-home
dawg -walkin' MC busts bunkers rap...With influences ranging from Ohio Players
to Outkast, Kizza combines the cozy vibe of an old-school "Saturday
afternoon jam" with a visionary spaciousness. Sounds like he's ready to
rock in any millennium" - SPIN
MAGAZINE
"Since
Mos Def's Black on Both Sides in 1999 Izza Kizza roots from the South but nests
in the East to intricately craft his ecclectic ryhmes - alongside
Timbaland - to deliver the unexpected"- URB
"Timbaland
"freaked out" (according to Kizza) and decided on the spot, to sign
him... a runaway stream of verbal consciousness...inspired the maestro to dust
off the old Timbo magic." - FADER
"The Wizard of Id" shows
Izza’s true talents on the mike"
- TIME OUT NYC
"The out-there MC is living life after Timbaland ...there can
be no shortage of confidence...with an elastic rhyme flow that’s as lyrical as
it is left field, Izza is out to become the next Southern spitter" - VIBE
"Izza had dance moves! Synchronized dance moves
with...Electric slidey kind of jook-to-the-left/jook-to-the-right maneuvers...somehow
integrated into his atypical honkeytonk steeze...Fittingly, he, his man and his
DJ wore white NASA jumpsuits, and stylistically, the trio was reminiscent of
the Beastie Boys. - BLENDER
"Right now, Timbaland is writing up a prenuptial agreement.
This is because he's finally found his lyrical soul-mate in Izza Kizza. Kizza's
neon flow is the perfect match to duel with Tim's untouchable, trademark
synths. Gotta give this rookie credit for being bold and confident enough to
call the current state of music "dry."...it'd be very hard to start
beef with this kid- being that he's not even really bound to this planet"
- URB Next 1000
"Timbaland protégé. " - PREFIX MAG
"best
comparisons I can make for Izza is perhaps a mix of Timbo & Outkast...The
outcome is outstanding" - THE INSIDER
"His music recalls some of hip-hop’s best and most playful
moments (like the classic 3
Feet High and Rising, and Deltron 3030) - PASTE MAGAZINE
"Izza Kizz is the Willy Wonka of rap music. Not Johnny Depp’s
wacko-jacko Wonka, but Gene Wilder’s Wonka who goes from Technicolor candy
maker to stern mastermind in a split-second" -CONSEQUENCE OF SOUND
"Gracefully spasmodic word
gumbo... Kizza’s elastic snake-charmer flow. “Freeze, you diseased rhinoceros
pizzle!”... confusion and inconsistency constitute a big part of Kizza’s
appeal. In a year of hip-hop Martians, he flows with the current despite
himself. - BOSTON WEEKLY DIG
