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WKNC DJ Whippopatomus interviewed local artist and members of 47 Eyez On Me, Joey Zen & Saturnalias. They discussed their upcoming projects, the importance of mindfulness, & the personal journey they took to reach their artistry.
Off the Record features interviews with local and national musicians as aired on WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2.
00:00
DJ Whippopatomus
What's good everyone? You are listening to WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1 Raleigh. We are a student run nonprofit radio station based at a North Carolina state university. I am DJ Whippopatomus. This is Local Industry Talks where I interview local artists from around the mid-Atlantic region. Here with me today is the man.
00:23
Joey Zen
Yo, yo.
00:24
DJ Whippopatomus
Joey Zen.
00:25
Joey Zen
Yes, sir.
00:26
DJ Whippopatomus
And who is here with?
00:27
Saturn Alias
Saturn Alias.
00:29
DJ Whippopatomus
All right, what's good with you? How y'all doing?
00:30
Joey Zen
I'm doing fantastic.
00:31
Saturn Alias
My guy doing great.
00:33
DJ Whippopatomus
It's great having y'all here.
00:34
Joey Zen
I appreciate you guys having us.
00:35
DJ Whippopatomus
It's cool having some students around. I interview a lot of rappers that are like from around the community. But yeah, not a whole lot from NCSU.
00:43
Joey Zen
Yeah, that's sure. Yeah, we've been trying to get tapped in here, man.
00:47
DJ Whippopatomus
Yeah, it's love.
00:48
Joey Zen
It's love. I love WKNC.
00:49
DJ Whippopatomus
I'm glad we finally got the link up. I've been hearing your name a lot.
00:52
Joey Zen
Yeah, yeah, I appreciate it. That's what I like to hear. That's what I like to hear.
00:56
Saturn Alias
Yeah.
00:56
DJ Whippopatomus
No, for real, you're doing something right.
00:57
Joey Zen
Amen.
00:58
DJ Whippopatomus
I mean, you learned something. Dr. B's class.
01:00
Joey Zen
Shut up, Gary. Shadow Gary.
01:02
DJ Whippopatomus
I talk about Dr. B too much in my interview. How many times he comes up, you know, macho bro.
01:09
Joey Zen
Yes, I was literally just about to say that because he had him too.
01:12
DJ Whippopatomus
That's insane.
01:13
Joey Zen
Yes, bro.
01:14
Saturn Alias
Gary didn't even Masho and I just. That's what I was talking about. Just recently. Yeah, we did a show with him in Durham. Oh, that's a fruit.
01:21
Joey Zen
Yeah, yeah.
01:22
DJ Whippopatomus
Oh yeah.
01:22
Saturn Alias
Oh yeah.
01:22
Joey Zen
Really?
01:22
DJ Whippopatomus
Yeah.
01:23
Saturn Alias
On a one night's notice.
01:25
DJ Whippopatomus
Yeah, I know, that was crazy. I was so lit though.
01:27
Joey Zen
He was.
01:28
DJ Whippopatomus
I've been wanting to see him perform.
01:29
Joey Zen
He. He was bruh. Saturnalius was, bro. With the hat, the goofy hat on. Shredding the guitar. Oh, okay.
01:35
DJ Whippopatomus
Yes, sir.
01:37
Joey Zen
Go, go.
01:37
DJ Whippopatomus
Damn, that's crazy.
01:38
Joey Zen
Nah, but Abe know Gary too. And Gary didn't even know Abe was popping. I had to show him cuz he only had him for one semester. Cuz he didn't do like the full minor program and he only had him for one semester. And then I was like, Gary, do you remember? And he was like, yeah. And I was like, you know he's like doing his thing, right? And he was like, what? No way. And then I showed him like his page on Spotify and everything and he was just like blown away. I was like, what?
02:04
DJ Whippopatomus
For real though, let's get into the introduction, actually. So, yeah, can y'all introduce yourselves? Where you from, what you do, all that got you.
02:14
Joey Zen
My name is Joey Zen. I am a rapper, artist, entrepreneur, philanthropist.
02:19
DJ Whippopatomus
Yeah.
02:20
Joey Zen
Reap shout out to Nakias. But yeah, I started record collective 47 Eyez On Me. It's also independent record label. Originally I'm from Greensboro, moved out here to Raleigh to come to NC State. And I've just lived here for like last three years or so. And I'm planning on living here for the time in the future, moving on forward.
02:39
DJ Whippopatomus
Okay.
02:40
Joey Zen
Yeah. And I just, like, love just making music and chilling with people and just like creating just more than anything, just creation.
02:48
DJ Whippopatomus
Right.
02:49
Joey Zen
That's my favorite thing to do. So I'll let Saturn Alias take over, introduce himself as well.
02:54
Saturn Alias
Yeah. My name's Alexander Tung and I'm the guy behind the band Saturn Alias. I write all of the instruments and lyrics for all the songs. But I do still greatly appreciate everyone that plays in my band live. I used to live in New York and then I moved here when I was, like, in middle school.
03:18
Joey Zen
I didn't even know that.
03:19
DJ Whippopatomus
Nyc.
03:20
Saturn Alias
I didn't know that. Like, upstate New York.
03:21
Joey Zen
Okay, bet. Oh, yeah, that's right.
03:23
Saturn Alias
That's right.
03:24
Joey Zen
And.
03:27
Saturn Alias
Oh, shoot. Oh, yeah. So I'm one of the founding members of 47 Eyez On Me as well. I was like, first or second.
03:35
Joey Zen
Yeah.
03:35
Saturn Alias
Okay. Around there, I guess. And we've been just doing fantastic ever since. Very accelerated growth in the last year or so.
03:48
Joey Zen
Yeah, literally, that's just about it. It's literally only been about, like a year and a half.
03:52
DJ Whippopatomus
Yeah.
03:53
Saturn Alias
And we've been making, like, a lot of good music that you.
03:55
Joey Zen
You can find all of our music at 47eyezonme.com.
04:00
DJ Whippopatomus
Wonderful. What is the story behind your name? First Joey.
04:06
Joey Zen
Gotcha. Okay, so really, my name is Jonathan. Let me get to my government name. My name's Jonathan, but my dad's name is Joseph and that's also my middle name. So my name. My name is Jonathan Joseph Zamola. And my dad's name is Jo, but he goes by Joey.
04:23
DJ Whippopatomus
Okay.
04:23
Joey Zen
And so when I was picking, like, a stage name originally, my first rapper name was J. Zeus, and it was so Head Ass. So Head Ass. It was in middle school and I went by Jesus. And so I, like, stopped rapping for, like, two years because my mom found my music and she didn't like all my cursing. So I like. I like. She didn't tell me to stop, but she was like, yo, like, if you want to do it, you Better tone down. And I wasn't trying to. I was like super rebellious and I was like, nah, F that. Like, we not gonna do that. I'm gonna do it my way if I'm gon do it.
04:54
Joey Zen
So I took a little hiatus and then when I came back to music, I was like, let me rebrand myself to something more aligned with how I am. And because I had grown since then, two years is a lot of time to like, grow and whatnot.
05:04
DJ Whippopatomus
You're going through this process as a kid.
05:06
Joey Zen
Yeah, yeah. I was still in like, it was probably. I came back to music senior year of high school, junior. Senior year of high school. And when I did that, I was like, who do. Who are the people that inspire me the most? And so my dad's up there and then my favorite rappers are Joey Badass and Joey Perp. And I was like, here are things, three people named Joey that like, I resonate with so much. And it's basically my name. Like, it's not my name, but it's basically my name from Joey to Joseph. So I took that and then the Zen aspect. I was super big into spirituality at the time and still am. So I wanted to implement that within my music and within myself as a person because it's what I hold as like a core value of myself.
05:48
Joey Zen
So I was like, I love to meditate, love to get in this flow state. And so all my music is in this flow state where it's like supernatural. I don't have to think about anything when I'm doing it. So I was like, zen. I am Zen, like all the time. I just try to be Zen. So I was like, Joey, Zen. And it just rolls off the tongue really well. And the initials are Jay Z and those are actually my initials. So I was like, it still fits. It's not like super far off from my actual name for sure. So Joey's.
06:17
Saturn Alias
I call him Joey and he calls.
06:19
Joey Zen
Me Joey and everyone else calls me Joey now. Like, even my cousin who, like from the jump, he was like, I am not going to call you Joey. I know you as Johnny. You're always going to be Johnny. He now calls me Joey. So I've gotten him to come to his senses. Look who's laughing now. For real. Shadow, Finesse, the Phantom. But Saturnalias, you can take over yet?
06:44
Saturn Alias
Sure, I'll try to keep it brief. So I've been playing like different instruments since I was like a toddler basically. Yeah, you know, piano, drums, guitar, keys, bass. Vast majority of it is like self taught.
07:02
DJ Whippopatomus
Yeah, yeah.
07:04
Saturn Alias
I've only had like very few sparse times where I've had like lessons.
07:11
Joey Zen
And.
07:11
Saturn Alias
Those never really worked out for me because they just seemed kind of too procedural. So yeah, most of it was self taught. And so I've always had the idea that I wanted to make music since I was like in middle school. But I didn't really start doing anything until the Pandemic where I started recording demos at my parents house where I was quarantined. Solid.
07:41
DJ Whippopatomus
Yeah, yeah.
07:41
Saturn Alias
And then as soon as I moved out, I moved with another one of the founding members, Omid Shout Out. Big O. Yeah, him. And I would make music pretty soon after that in our apartment. And then I started, I got like Ableton and stuff for my computer.
07:59
DJ Whippopatomus
Oh yeah.
07:59
Saturn Alias
And that's when I started like actually recording like fully formed songs and stuff in my apartment. And now that just basically leads. That basically leads me up to now where I still record pretty much all of my songs in my apartment. I record all the instruments myself.
08:19
Joey Zen
How did you get your name though?
08:21
DJ Whippopatomus
Yeah, yeah.
08:21
Joey Zen
How did you get her name?
08:22
DJ Whippopatomus
It's a wonderful story though.
08:24
Joey Zen
I was like, yes, but where is this leading?
08:27
Saturn Alias
Yeah, my bad. So it was. My name was originally supposed to be just Saturnalia with no S at the end.
08:34
DJ Whippopatomus
Yeah.
08:35
Saturn Alias
But there was like three people on Spotify that were already named, so I just added an S. But the reason I was going to name it Saturnalia is because there's this song that I really like called Saturnalia by this metalcore band. Okay. I just thought it sounded hard as ditch.
08:55
Joey Zen
Isn't it like a Greek God too?
08:58
Saturn Alias
It's ancient Roman holiday. It's like the pagan version of Christmas. And I quite like Christmas, so there was also that element to it that's really cool. So that's basically the pretty stupid story of how I came up with that name.
09:15
Joey Zen
Shut up. Saturnalias pagan God and everything. Yeah.
09:21
DJ Whippopatomus
And where did the name 47 Eyes come from?
09:24
Joey Zen
Oh man. So many of them got to know it has. So like I tell people all the time when they ask, like, what's the meaning of it? Where does the name come from? It's like 47 in itself is its own conscious entity. So it has like so many different meanings and layers to it that like, it's hard to summarize it, but I'll do my best. Real quick. So 47, the numbers 47 stem from. As I said, Joey Badass is a huge inspiration of mine and he came up with a group called Pro Era and The person who started Pro Era, his name is Capital Steez. Rest in peace, Capital Steez. I'm pretty sure he grew up on 47th street, but even if he didn't, he still always talked about 47. And that was a big part of their branding and whatnot.
10:08
Joey Zen
And it basically is the fourth and seventh chakras. So Anahata, which is the heart chakra, and then Sahasra, which is the crown chakra. So it's the combination of using your heart, spreading love, spreading peace and positivity, and then using your crown chakra, this ability to connect to a world outside of our own, outside of the physical dimension and whatnot. Super deep stuff.
10:32
DJ Whippopatomus
I'm here.
10:32
Joey Zen
But yeah, so he always used to talk about that, and I was like, I love that. And that's something that, like, instilled in me as a youth, as a child growing up, listening to his music, listening to everybody in Pro era, and then just falling in love with this idea. And as I said earlier, like, spirituality was something I was super big into. So I was like, all right, I want to combine 47 with something else. Like, I don't want to completely rip it off, and that's not what I'm trying to do. So I took 47 and I was like, all right, what does 47 necessarily mean to me? So I was like, 47 is using your heart and your mind to connect outside of whatever is here so that we can bring whatever's outside there.
11:10
Joey Zen
And by outside there, I mean, like, outside the physical dimension into the physical dimension. So it's like aligning your heart and your mind and putting your mind to anything you want and achieving that. So Eyez On Means you have to visualize what you want people to talk about, like manifestations and all that. You have to visualize yourself in the act or whatever you want to see, accomplish, or happen. You have to literally visualize it to happen. So it's combining your heart and your mind 47, with what you want to happen. Visualize the Eyez On Me and then the on means it's all up to you. Like, nobody else is going to put in the work for you. Nobody's going to give you handouts.
11:48
Joey Zen
You might get help, yes, but in order to get the help, you have to be the one to open the door. You know what I mean? You have to be the one to realize that, hey, my actions and my thoughts and everything that I do directly correlates to the things that happen to me. So it's like, 47 Eyez On Me. Is like, yo, realize life is in your hands and do what you want with it in a positive manner. So that's where 47 Eyez On Me stems from.
12:11
DJ Whippopatomus
I love it. That is so deep. Like, I love all yalls names. Like, there's a whole lot of meaning.
12:16
Joey Zen
There's always. It's never surface level with us. And that's what I really love about everyone in the group and everyone doing their own thing is because, like, life in itself has so many more meanings and deeper levels to it that you don't get to explore unless you actually take the time to explore the court. So I appreciate this interview so that I can explain that to the peoples and whatnot. Because everyone is just like, oh, numbers and Eyez On Me. Like, is that Tupac? Like, what is this? And I'm like, no, no, it's way deeper.
12:45
DJ Whippopatomus
Put it in the Wikipedia.
12:46
Joey Zen
Swear, swear. They go, bro, once we get the Wikipedia page, that's how I know I've made it. When somebody starts. Once somebody starts editing my Wikipedia page with like false ass facts, like things that do not mean anything, like, then I'm gonna be like, oh, yeah, I've made it. Somebody's wasting their time to talk about me. And like, that's.
13:05
DJ Whippopatomus
I'd be saying, like, if you have haters, that's success. That's a sign of success.
13:08
Joey Zen
Yeah. 100.
13:09
DJ Whippopatomus
100 now. I love that. So you. Have you been this mindful since you were a kid?
13:14
Joey Zen
Oh, very much so. I feel like it's always been ingrained for me from the jump to be just aware, not maybe not as mindful and there. I've obviously made mistakes as a kid, but nowadays it's like I hold myself to like the highest standard. Oh, okay. It's like, if I want to be this, then I have to hold myself to this. And I had to really discipline myself to be in this certain light, in this certain way. So being mindful and aware of everything around me and how I am acting, that's always important to me.
13:40
DJ Whippopatomus
I respect that, man.
13:42
Joey Zen
Trying, trying. So let's.
13:44
DJ Whippopatomus
Let's get into the music.
13:46
Joey Zen
Let's talk about it.
13:47
DJ Whippopatomus
For people who haven't heard you before, how would you describe your sound to them?
13:50
Joey Zen
Oh, versatile. Yeah, versatile. Very, very versatile. Hip hop is obviously the main focus. I am a hip hop artist.
13:58
DJ Whippopatomus
Yeah.
13:59
Joey Zen
I do tend to stay in the rap lane, but I love experimenting with anything and like trying to twist it into rap or trying to implement some sort of rapping or spoken word into whatever I'm doing. So Alex, for instance, Saturnalia, he does a lot of experimental shit. A lot of different, like, things that are there that I myself have not tried and attempted. And so when he was releasing his first project, he was like, well, I told him I was like, put me on a song. Even though it's, like, not my style, I still want to attempt. So I've done, like, experimental rock song. You guys can find that on his project, Planet Philistine. It's called Control. Okay. Turn out pretty good to turn out very well.
14:42
DJ Whippopatomus
That's all right.
14:43
Joey Zen
Very well. It is out right now.
14:44
Saturn Alias
Control.
14:45
Joey Zen
Called Control. But that's very, like, outside of my realm. So to describe something, I would say the best way to describe my music is always there's a message within the lyrics.
14:57
DJ Whippopatomus
Right.
14:57
Joey Zen
It's never going to be anything that's just like, oh, I'm doing this. So I'm doing, oh, I'm big. I'm plumb up. It's like always, like, if you like songs that have meanings, listen to my songs. And then you'll find a lot of different meanings and you'll find a lot of different keys and a lot of different things that people can implement into their life. And so I understand that music and anything really consumes us. That's like going back to the awareness, mindfulness, like, whatever you're consuming consumes you in a way, either intentionally or unintentionally. So I know that the music people listen to, whether they know it or not, that's affecting them.
15:34
DJ Whippopatomus
And that's a whole.
15:35
Joey Zen
Yeah, so much. So I was like, if I'm aware of this, I'm not going to be, like, subconsciously programming people with negative things. Like, I have the control literally shout out to that song. I have the control to, like, implement good ideas. So let me do that. Like, some people might say, oh, that's boring, or that's lame. But it's like, at the end of the day, this is gonna help you more than this song about how much money you had in the club or.
15:58
DJ Whippopatomus
How much in the music.
15:59
Joey Zen
Yeah, it's always gonna be bigger and deeper than just the music. So my music, I want to say that it's motivational music. It's like mantra music. Like, if you sing it every day, it's going to work. Okay. I don't make music, I make mantras.
16:11
DJ Whippopatomus
Young mantras.
16:12
Joey Zen
Young mantras. I want that on a shirt now. I don't make music, I make mantras.
16:17
DJ Whippopatomus
Yo, that's crazy.
16:19
Joey Zen
But that's how I would describe my music.
16:21
DJ Whippopatomus
Oh, yeah. Are there any other notable influences to your music besides Joey Pro Arrow, Joey.
16:28
Joey Zen
Bettas and Pro Arrow?
16:30
DJ Whippopatomus
He said Joey Perp already to us.
16:31
Joey Zen
Joey Perp, Shadow. Joey Perp, man. I'm going to send this to him. I've talked to him like once or twice.
16:37
Saturn Alias
Oh, for real?
16:37
Joey Zen
Yeah. Okay. He's goaded. He's goaded. But besides him, my favorite artist of all time and will always be Kanye West. Kanye West.
16:47
Saturn Alias
Kanye West.
16:48
Joey Zen
Kanye West. Even though he be on his, he be doing his thing sometimes, like, sometimes mental health is a real thing and sometimes he be struggling to appropriately present himself because of that. And I feel for that. But in terms of the art, man.
17:04
DJ Whippopatomus
Yeah, yeah, Kanye, the whole nother thing.
17:06
Joey Zen
He'S a genius when it comes to that art.
17:08
DJ Whippopatomus
Crazy.
17:09
Joey Zen
So I don't make Kanye type music at all.
17:11
DJ Whippopatomus
Of course.
17:12
Joey Zen
Like, at all. Just because, like, that's on a level I'm trying to reach and I haven't reached it yet. But like his influence and just what he does, like even him, like from his beginning, he came into the rap game kind of like similar to me where like everybody was talking about, like, at that time, rap was only big because it was like straight street rap. It was straight like guns in the club. Now it's a little bit better because we. Hip hop has grown to have so many different genres and whatnot, like melodic rap, punk rap, emo rap, all different sub genres, like you're saying. But for him it was like you either in the club or you on the street. And he was this dude who came in with a polo and a backpack talking about like, oh, my family.
17:54
Joey Zen
I'm not like that, but I still get lit. Like, I'm doing me. I'm a producer. I'm somewhat of a nerd almost and like did that. So I really have always just like that difference aspect that he came into the game, like, yo, I'm different, but I'm still that person. I'm still him. Like, I'm still up. So that's like some. Another big ass influence. And then just for the sake of like other influences besides Joey Badass and Kanye west, you can, you know, I gotta say, J. Cole, man. Shout out to North Carolina. Shout out to North Carolina. I spent like so many sleepless nights just in my bed like, oh my gosh, how did I not think of that? Bar listening to Cole's music like, oh my gosh, this dude is goade. But those are the three. Those are the big three.
18:40
DJ Whippopatomus
Hell yeah. Hell yeah. Now we got to talk about Your last project you just dropped on 4 7.
18:47
Joey Zen
Yes, sir.
18:47
DJ Whippopatomus
2022.
18:48
Joey Zen
Yes, sir. April 7, a 47 day.
18:51
DJ Whippopatomus
A journey to Realize, sir. Yeah, so you want to talk about that title?
18:56
Joey Zen
Yeah. Okay. So it's an ep. And A Journey to Realize is setting up for the first 47 albums, which is called Realize. So it's like this is A Journey to realize because eventually we will get to the full album. But we wanted to sprinkle a little something out there for the people to like. And this is the first release by 47, Eyez On Me. Because the record label doubles as a music collective.
19:20
DJ Whippopatomus
Right, Right.
19:20
Joey Zen
So it's like almost like Dreamville or almost like more specifically Wu Tang or like the new Wu Tang, because everyone in Wu Tang was still popping individually. Like, you had Ghostface Killa, RZA, you had GZA, you had Method Man. You had all these acts that were good by themselves, but together the track ridiculous. So everyone in 47 is like same exact vibe. Like by ourselves, we obviously can do it. But together, man, we make magic. So the EP itself, we wanted to give them three songs and these were all songs we cooked up within two weeks of each other.
19:51
DJ Whippopatomus
Okay.
19:51
Joey Zen
My cousin Jacob, Shout out jrc, he's on the project as well. He mix and mastered the whole thing. He dropped verses on all three songs. He produced one of the beats on there. I produced one of the beats on there. Our producer, our producer Willie do, he's in 47 Eyez On Me as well. He produced one of the tracks on there. So it really was just sprinkling, like everyone in their talents within there. Obviously not all members were present on the project more. So to give people just a taste, a sample of what is to come. And this one was definitely heavily rap. But moving forward in the future, like the Realize album will definitely have like literally a showcase of 47. So we'll have like some experimental Saturnalia stuff.
20:36
Joey Zen
We'll have some smooth Latin jazz stuff by a duo in our 47 group called Stan and Denghy. Okay, Shout out. Stan and Dengue, that's Luca Issa. They're guitarist and drumming duo.
20:48
Saturn Alias
Nice. Fun fact. Real quick.
20:49
Joey Zen
Yeah.
20:50
Saturn Alias
You met them at a guitar center.
20:52
Joey Zen
We met Luca, the guitarist.
20:55
Saturn Alias
Some. Some 18 year old kids from Venezuela.
20:58
Joey Zen
Yes.
20:58
Saturn Alias
Met them at a guitar.
20:59
Joey Zen
At a guitar.
21:00
Saturn Alias
They came back to my apartment and jam with us later that day.
21:04
Joey Zen
That day.
21:04
Saturn Alias
Same. That same night.
21:06
DJ Whippopatomus
And that's amazing.
21:07
Saturn Alias
It sounded. It's. We just started jamming.
21:09
Joey Zen
We were off the top. We were dumbfounded.
21:13
Saturn Alias
Yeah. And now we're about to Play a show this Friday with him.
21:15
Joey Zen
Yeah. Now we're about to play a show this Friday.
21:17
DJ Whippopatomus
That's amazing.
21:17
Joey Zen
It's, like, so crazy because, like, literally, it's. It's funny and ironic how you would meet a guitarist at Guitar center and, like, it's like, you can't be this good. Right? And he was that good.
21:28
DJ Whippopatomus
Yeah.
21:29
Joey Zen
And so he invited his. It was just him at the Guitar center and our boy Omid, who we mentioned before, he's a bassist. He was going there to, I think.
21:38
Saturn Alias
Get, like, getting some cables.
21:39
Joey Zen
Getting some cables or something. Not even there for, like, anything, like, super substantial. Yeah. And just saw him jamming. It was like, yo, what are you doing?
21:47
DJ Whippopatomus
Oh, like, in the guitar.
21:48
Joey Zen
Yes, in the Guitar center, jamming, like, yo, what are you doing? That sounds good. And he was like, I'm not doing anything. What's up? Where can I go? What's up? I just got here. And he literally had just moved to America from Venezuela a month and a half before, so it was like, perfect. Divine timing.
22:05
Saturn Alias
They're also in Saturn Divine.
22:07
Joey Zen
And the two of them are in Saturnalia as well.
22:09
Saturn Alias
Issa is the drummer, and Luca is one of our guitarists.
22:13
Joey Zen
Yeah. So really, it's. It's crazy, but, yeah. A journey to realize. Bringing it back real quick. That's just. That's just a setup and a taste. A sample of what is to come from 47 in terms of where we're going. And I think it was beautifully done. There's also a music video for the intro song, which is called Theme Song, that's out on YouTube. You all can find the music video theme song on YouTube.
22:37
DJ Whippopatomus
Oh, damn, I missed that.
22:38
Joey Zen
Okay. Yeah, tap in. Yeah, it's released. We don't have a 47 Eyez On Me YouTube page just yet.
22:44
DJ Whippopatomus
Okay.
22:44
Joey Zen
But our main digital artist, and honestly, he's just our main content creator, Shout Out Austin Sellers.
22:52
DJ Whippopatomus
I was about to ask you about him later, sir.
22:53
Joey Zen
We gonna get to him. But he did the music video. He's done all my music videos. He did the COVID as well. But he did that music video literally in one day. Because we had a show that night at Bowstring with Late Notice. Shout out to the folks at Late Notice. Okay. We were opening for them, and I was like, I want a music video for the ep. Pick whatever song you want it. You want out these three. He chose that one. And then I was like, all right, just spend the whole day recording. And so he just spent the whole day recording. Okay. And then literally just like, clipped up the best parts and turned it into a music video. And then there was like one or two scenes where we like actually rapping along on camera and everything.
23:33
Joey Zen
But besides that, everything is just like basically B roll. But it looks so cohesive and good.
23:39
Saturn Alias
Day and a half.
23:40
Joey Zen
Yes. He literally said he sent us the final version of the music video two days afterwards. So it was like bro saw this and was like, all right, bet I'm going to do it now. Yeah. And that's what I love about bro. He's so like quick to it.
23:53
DJ Whippopatomus
For real quick. How many members is in 47 eyes?
23:58
Joey Zen
I'm gonna list them.
23:59
DJ Whippopatomus
All right.
23:59
Saturn Alias
Many to count.
24:00
DJ Whippopatomus
Now.
24:00
Joey Zen
Now really for real. Alright, so you got me, Joey Zen. You got Saturn Alias. You got. Oh, he's a bassist, makes music of his own. Shout out. You can find his music on Spotify and on 47 you will quickly. You can find everyone's music on 47 Eyez On Me dot com. Okay, there we go.
24:17
DJ Whippopatomus
Yeah.
24:18
Joey Zen
Now let me redo this list. Joey Zen, Saturn Alias. Oh, Issa, Luca Finesse, the Phantom, Jacob or jrc. Nikias, Zion, Reyna Gothesha, Willie Do, Austin Sellers and did I say Zion?
24:43
Saturn Alias
Yes, you did.
24:44
Joey Zen
All right.
24:45
DJ Whippopatomus
How many people was that?
24:47
Joey Zen
I think it's up to 5. 15. I think it's 14 or 15.
24:51
DJ Whippopatomus
That's dope.
24:51
Joey Zen
But yeah, so it's a independent record label and doubles as a music collective. So eventually, at one point, not anytime soon, but we will have a song with every single member on it. But the album. The album will have everybody in it in some capacity.
25:08
DJ Whippopatomus
Odd Future did that. What song was that? Yeah, of the. Is it the initial?
25:14
Joey Zen
Yeah, I think it's Odd Future Wolfgang killed them all. Yeah, I think they did it on their.
25:19
Saturn Alias
I think.
25:19
Joey Zen
I think that's just what the freestyle was called. Was just the letters. Yeah, yeah. Because Frank was on there and everything. Oh, Deep. That is the song. Oldie Odie is one where they're like having the music video where the photo shoots going on and they're just standing there. All of them.
25:34
DJ Whippopatomus
Yeah, look at that again.
25:35
Joey Zen
Yeah. Shout out to Odie, man. I literally. I was hanging with Aiden of Late Notice. He's the lead singer of Late Notice at his place and he has a picture of that. Literally a picture from that video shoot of Tyler, Frank Ocean and Earl Sweatshirt and the three of them like all young. And I was like, that's so wild. That like they knew each other all like while they were young, came up together and then like branched out and like Are all the, like, kind of the three biggest in their own little sub genres, like Frank of R B and, like, just Frank. Frank's music in itself is a genre of its own.
26:10
DJ Whippopatomus
Timeless.
26:11
Joey Zen
Literally timeless music. And then you got Earl, who's like the goat right now of, like, lyrical, conscious rap. And then you got Tyler, who does everything and more, bruh. So it's like, I literally look at that picture, and I'm like, yeah, that's us. Like, we have so many different talents in here. That's, like, it's bound to, like, one of us just go, okay. All the way.
26:33
DJ Whippopatomus
Hell, yeah. Yes. I want to talk about your music videos now.
26:38
Joey Zen
Yeah.
26:39
DJ Whippopatomus
Valero Pharaoh. I love that video. And I actually. The first time I saw that video, actually, I was in Boone, and I was at a BNB with Austin Fire. And he was running that. I was like, who shot this? This is nice.
26:55
Saturn Alias
He's like, I did.
26:57
Joey Zen
It was so good.
26:59
DJ Whippopatomus
He didn't even have to put any effects in or anything. Just know his takes, his angle literally, his cuts.
27:03
Joey Zen
He's so. He's so smooth with it. He's the person who shot my very first music video and the person who has shot my very last music video. Like, out of all my. I've only had one video done by somebody else, and it was directed by me and basically shot by me. I just had somebody else hold the camera, and that was my cousin Jacob. So, like, I literally have not had anybody else do my music videos. But that video specifically is, like, so special because it's like, I think that was me and Austin's first video in which were like, this is what we want to do. This is like, here's the storyboard. This is how I want you to come in. This is how I want you to exit this transition. Blah, blah.
27:42
Joey Zen
And it was like, the first time we had, like, a plan, because all my other music videos beforehand are just like, all right, let's go to this location. Yeah, stand right there. Yeah, that's fine. Yeah. But this one is like, yo, we're going here to get this one scene. We're going here to get this one scene. And it was so dope because it was like. It was during quarantine, and it was during. When Greensboro was. Had a. What's it called? Oh, when you can't go out past a certain time. Oh, curfew. Yeah, had a curfew. We had, like.
28:12
DJ Whippopatomus
God, it was like, yes, bro.
28:14
Joey Zen
Like, the whole city had a curfew of, like. I want to say, like, Nine o' clock or something like that. And were out there past 9 o', clock, and I remember my mom. My mom blowing my phone up. Like, oh, I'm not pressed. But if you get caught by the cops, like, that's on you. Types type stuff like, don't. Don't do that. So the best part about it, that music video, the streets were barren. Nobody was out there. No cars.
28:37
DJ Whippopatomus
That's perfect, though.
28:38
Joey Zen
Perfect. Yeah, it was amazing. Because literally, if you watch the music video, which you all can find on YouTube, search up. If you search up Valero Pharoah, Joey Zen, Good Enough Forever Shadow, Austin Sellers. In the video, I have multiple scenes where I'm just in the middle of the street. Like, in the middle of the street. Lights are behind me. They switched to green and no cars are going. Oh, it's beautiful. It's beautiful. It was in downtown Greensboro where we shot it out. Like I said, where I'm from, me and Austin are both from there.
29:08
DJ Whippopatomus
Okay.
29:08
Joey Zen
But literally, like, nobody was out there, so we didn't have no trouble, like, running into people. Like, there was no people, like, messing up any of the shots because there was just no people out there to begin with. Yes. And. And the best part is there's lightning in the background. Yeah, I was about to tell about that. Oh, my God.
29:26
DJ Whippopatomus
He said, y'all didn't plan that.
29:28
Joey Zen
Just had no planning, no plan.
29:30
DJ Whippopatomus
Divine.
29:30
Joey Zen
Again, divine. Literally, like, it's in the background, and we're on top of this parking garage. And I'm like, yo, get this scene. Because there's lightning in those clouds, like, miles away. And I know it'll look hard. And then we got it. And then when I saw it, every. Every time I show it to people, they're like, yo, is that edited? Like, yo, how did you do that? What effect did you use? I'm like, that's God. Like, it's just him. It's just the nature. It's just the storm at the time. Literally. Literally. But yeah, no, that video is probably one of my favorite videos that we have done so far. It's super up there. He does all my videos. Like I said, he's super talented.
30:08
DJ Whippopatomus
I really like the. The angle he got in the ATM mirror.
30:11
Joey Zen
Yes.
30:11
DJ Whippopatomus
Oh, my God. That's.
30:12
Joey Zen
That's actually. That was impromptu. That was. He wanted me. He wanted a shot of me at this atm. And then when I walked up, I saw the little glass part, and I was like, wait, hold up. See if you can get behind there. And the camera gets you. Without the camera Being actually in the frame. And he was like, bro, this is ridiculous. Yeah. And I was like, let's go, let's do this. Take it one take all the way through. Through of me just wrapping into this small little frame. And, like, it looks super clear and edited, but it's just the. This literally just the camera on that little small mirror at the atm, which is so hard.
30:46
DJ Whippopatomus
So hard. It was, bro. I was a little geeked up seeing that too. But it was nice. Yeah, it was even nicer seeing that. Like, wow.
30:55
Joey Zen
Yeah. But he needs. He needs a. What is it? An Oscar for the film stuff? He's a Sundance film. Something, something.
31:06
DJ Whippopatomus
When you are making music, do you pick the beat first, then write the lyrics, or do you write lyrics, then beat or a little bit of both.
31:15
Joey Zen
Nowadays, it's super organic.
31:17
DJ Whippopatomus
Yeah.
31:17
Joey Zen
So usually I'm with either Alex, not so much, because he don't be liking to jam with me. But I be with. We be jamming, barely. Not enough. Not enough. But I usually am with O once again. Or I'm with Bear or, excuse me, Gothasia. I'm with oh. Or Gotha. Those are the bass and keyboardists. Or I'm with Stan and Dengue. Luka and Issa, we're at. We practice at Issa's place, her house. We call it the Milky Way. We just practice in the garage. So I'm either there and, like, we'll just be jamming. We'll do a regular jam where everybody's freestyling, whatever, and, like, something will stick and I'll be like, yo, let's keep that going.
32:02
Joey Zen
And so we'll go back to either O's place or my place, and we'll just like, record whatever we did live, like, try to replicate it, and then we'll just work off of that. But a lot of times now it's either like, somebody makes the drums and then, oh, we'll start playing bass, or Gatesha will start playing keys, and then me or whoever I'm working with at the time. So if it's my cousin Jacob or my cousin Finesse or some other 47 Eyez On Members will just be freestyling to whatever they're playing as well. So it's super organic and, like, in the moment creation, I rarely ever write lyrics down and then put them on. Like. Like, I never write a whole song and then look for a beat, because I used to do that, but I could never get it to flow correctly.
32:48
Joey Zen
I can never get it to, like, mesh very well. So that's why I love making music organically because it's like in the moment. That's what I'm hearing. So I'm gonna ride whatever you're playing and it's gonna fit perfectly and it's gonna mesh together and blend really good. If I just write a song, I'll have already a flow and structure that I want, but I can't replicate because I'm not the best producer yet. So I can't necessarily replicate it to exactly how I've structured it. Writing wise, lyrically wise. But I have. If I don't make it in the moment with everyone, then I'm listening to a beat that somebody has sent me and then I'm writing a song to. Okay, but I never do lyrics then.
33:25
DJ Whippopatomus
Then sure.
33:26
Saturn Alias
I don't really do that very often.
33:28
Joey Zen
What do you. You usually just beat first, right?
33:30
Saturn Alias
Yeah, I'll usually make the song first and then I'll just come up with the lyrics while I'm listening to it. The. On the daw.
33:38
Joey Zen
Fire. Fire.
33:39
DJ Whippopatomus
Oh, yeah. So since you have so many instrumentalists and 47 Eyes, do you ever incorporate that in your beats?
33:45
Joey Zen
Yes, all the time. Nowadays it's all the time. Like, literally. Yeah, that's pretty much the only thing we do.
33:52
DJ Whippopatomus
Amazing.
33:52
Joey Zen
Literally, if, like I said, we'll just start with the digital drums on Ableton, on like a midi, somebody will tap in some drums. Maybe we'll just do it. Midi, click them in. And then that's immediate. That's basically as digital as it gets. Like just the drums and then everything else is either on the MIDI keyboard or it's on like a live instrument, like the guitar or the bass. And then we'll start freestyling. And there's been multiple times where, like my favorite example, actually, it will never be released, but we have a song. It was called Peace of Mind. And then literally, my cousin Jacob jrc, he took the live. It was made completely live. The piece of meat, piece of me. The Peace of Mind song was made completely live with all live instruments.
34:38
Joey Zen
And then he took that and chopped it up and sampled it into a brand new trap beat. So it's like nowadays we like start using our old songs and like flip.
34:47
Saturn Alias
I did that?
34:48
Joey Zen
Yes.
34:50
Saturn Alias
What are you talking about?
34:50
Joey Zen
Oh, my gosh. See, Alex was the one who originally did the idea on the beat pad, but Jacob was the one who recorded it and then went ahead and did all the excess things to it. You had the initial idea.
35:03
Saturn Alias
We're about to have a moment here.
35:06
Joey Zen
You had the Initial idea. I will give you that. Yes. Well, I didn't just do the idea.
35:12
DJ Whippopatomus
On that note, we're gonna take a quick break to play y'all: Valero Pharoah by Joey Zen. Y'all stay tuned. We'll be right back.
35:34
Music
[Joey Zen - Valero Pharoah]
37:47
DJ Whippopatomus
And we are back again. I am DJ Whippopatomus. This is local Industry talks. And I'm still here with Joey Zen.
37:56
Saturn Alias
Saturn Alias.
37:57
DJ Whippopatomus
Yes, sir. So now we gotta get into your performance. So, the only time. The last time I seen you perform was in Greensboro for. In the fest.
38:06
Joey Zen
Yeah.
38:06
DJ Whippopatomus
And I loved how you presented that with 47 eyes.
38:09
Joey Zen
Yeah.
38:09
DJ Whippopatomus
You talked the crowd through it. And yeah, I really love. Can. You can tell the listeners what that's all about.
38:16
Joey Zen
So I really. Anytime we perform, I want people to know what they're watching. Especially when it's at like a festival or like, other people are there other acts and whatnot. And the biggest thing for me is making sure everybody has recognition because, like, I hate going somewhere or, like, because this has happened. Like, when I've gone to see big artists, they've had an opener or they've had a feature come out, and they never say. They say their name. And I'm like, who is that? Like, that sounds good. I want to know more. Where can I find them at? Blah, blah. And so anytime I'm on stage, I make the. I make it a point to be like, yo, this is who I am. This is who we are collectively. We do this together, but individually we do our own things.
38:57
Joey Zen
So, like, you can find. If somebody. If you're really rocking with somebody, you can find more of their music elsewhere. If you're really thinking, like, yo, this is good as a group together. You can find all of our music as a group together as well. So it's like making sure people know. Like, we don't just. How do I say this? We don't aimlessly just do stuff. We always have intent behind what we're doing and whatnot. So I want to make sure that everyone is, like, given their recognition, especially the instrumentalists who don't say a word the whole time. You know what I mean? Somebody's just like, yo, that person on the mic was so good. Well, my most popular song isn't even my song. Like, it's my boy, oh, song. Okay, who made the whole beat. And Alex did the drums over here.
39:39
Joey Zen
But like, I'm the only vocalist on there besides a former member of ours. Mezzi Shout out to her. She did some background vocals on there as well. But it's like somebody would give that to be like, yo, Joey, you did such a good song. Good job. That's your song. Like, I really like that. And like, no, it's not my song though. It's like, it's their Song like, yeah, I did my part, and I'm, like, the only vocalist on there. But it's like, it's bigger than that. There's more to it. So I want to make sure that everyone gets equally represented while we're all up on there. So, like, if it's just me performing, then it's Joey Zen who can get all the credit. But as soon as anybody else steps on the stage, everybody else has to get credit for it.
40:17
Joey Zen
So I even had a performance, like, two weeks ago where Alex was the headliner. He was. We did a show at the Ruby Deluxe.
40:24
Saturn Alias
Shout out to the Ruby Deluxe.
40:26
Joey Zen
Shout out to the Ruby Deluxe. I did a show there, and I was playing an unreleased song, and it was just me. Like, the band hadn't came up there yet, and it was just me rapping over a song over the PA system. And the person who made the beat shout out. Cal Merch, man. He's in Canada. And, like, I've never met this dude ever in my life, but I've talked to him so many times, and he sends me beats all the time. And I was like, I want to take the time so that he can see this, because he's never had anybody perform his music live. So I literally was like, I want y' all on the count of three to say, hey, Cal. So I recorded it, and everybody said, hey, Cal. And then I had somebody from. I actually had Abe.
41:04
Joey Zen
Abe was there. So I had him hold my phone and record the video, and then I sent it to him. And Bro was, like, so joyful about that. He was like, bro, I've never had something like this. I could. I couldn't experience it because I live in Canada. Like, I would never. Well, eventually I'll come down there and see a show and whatnot. But at the time, I didn't even know you were gonna do this blase blah. Like, it means so much. And that's, like, the reason I do it, because, like, the reason I do anything is just so people can be happy as much as possible. Yeah. And, like, giving people the recognition starts that happiness, and he deserves it. And everybody who. Everybody who implements anything deserves their credit. And that's why 47 is so good. Because, like.
41:43
Joey Zen
Like, we pay all of our artists everything they're entitled to, they own. So Facts. They own their masters, they own their copyright, their own their publishing. Okay. So all the artists in 47 make their money.
41:54
DJ Whippopatomus
Y' all got it down.
41:55
Joey Zen
Yeah.
41:55
DJ Whippopatomus
Okay.
41:56
Saturn Alias
We pay all of our members equally from shows, too, as well.
42:01
DJ Whippopatomus
Nice.
42:01
Joey Zen
Yeah. So if it's like, for instance, it was me and Alex headlining, so it was Joey's End and Saturn Alias. But all the bandmates got paid what we got paid, so it was like we broke it down evenly.
42:11
DJ Whippopatomus
Oh, yeah.
42:11
Joey Zen
Into everything.
42:12
DJ Whippopatomus
Yeah. That's dope. Yeah. I love to shout out the people behind the scenes.
42:16
Joey Zen
Yeah.
42:16
DJ Whippopatomus
You know, there's a whole lot of people behind.
42:18
Joey Zen
Yeah.
42:18
DJ Whippopatomus
Even a single artist.
42:19
Joey Zen
Yeah. And I think not enough people get their recognition because it's never one person. It's never one person.
42:25
DJ Whippopatomus
Oh, yeah.
42:26
Joey Zen
Even though your favorite artist in the world has a team, like, full on, like, small corporation behind him, a whole department, literally. There's probably. There's probably labels out there that have a department just for drinks. They have a department just for blase blah. Like what? Nah, nah.
42:45
DJ Whippopatomus
Of course. Of course. Yeah. So I see you'd be doing a lot of shows, actually. That's. That's dope.
42:52
Joey Zen
Yeah.
42:52
DJ Whippopatomus
That's smart.
42:53
Joey Zen
Now we are. Yeah.
42:54
DJ Whippopatomus
When's your. Your next show?
42:56
Joey Zen
All right, so next show in three days.
43:00
DJ Whippopatomus
Yeah, Friday.
43:01
Joey Zen
Three days. Friday. Earth Night, we have a little house show. It's a live performance going on at a friend of our. Her name's Claire. This will. This show will have already happened by the time this gets air, so.
43:13
Saturn Alias
Shout out to Claire.
43:14
Joey Zen
Shout out to Claire. So she's allowing us to come throw a little show in her backyard. There's gonna be live music. Bring whatever you want to bring. Just no guns. Bring whatever you want to bring. Just no hard drugs or guns. And then only good vibes, no negative vibes. And literally, it's just gonna be in the backyard. Lights up people for the people. Sadly, I cannot disclose this address on air, but if you would like to come. You all can find out where to come by looking on 47 Eyez On Me or 47 Eyez On Me's Instagram page and DMing us. I'm not going to tell you to DM us, but if you would like to DM us, then you could find out where the address is.
43:58
DJ Whippopatomus
Y' all know where to find them?
43:59
Joey Zen
Yes, sir. 47 Eyez On Me with a Z. I have not said that this whole time because I think just people know, but I emphasize eyes with a Z. 47 Eyez On Me.
44:08
DJ Whippopatomus
I'll have some links in the description, too, for the podcast.
44:11
Joey Zen
But. But that's. That's our very next show. But actually, what's definitely going to be more. A little bit more prominent folks.
44:19
Saturn Alias
Catch us at Wolf Stock.
44:20
Joey Zen
Catch us at Wolfstock next Monday. Next Monday.
44:23
DJ Whippopatomus
That's right.
44:24
Joey Zen
We're going to be at the student showcase on Harris Field behind Carmichael. Okay. So shout out to all the NC State folks listening in, tuning in. But I go on three. 35. Alex goes on 410.
44:37
Saturn Alias
Yes.
44:37
Joey Zen
Yes. The sad thing is, bro, I have a 30 minute set. And as soon as those 30 minutes are done at 405, I have to immediately go into Carmichael and take a yoga exam. I have my final yoga exam on that day, literally. So I really, really am hoping that UAB is running on time and that the whole show is running on time. Because I do not want to miss my yoga exam because then I'll fail the class.
45:07
DJ Whippopatomus
Yeah. Yeah.
45:09
Joey Zen
And I don't want to miss my performance because I'm just not going to be running. Yes. Literally, I was like. I was like, bro, I don't know, I should like, FaceTime, my teacher, my instructor, something. Like, somebody needs to give me VIP access back to the Carmichael. But nah. So that'll be super fun. It'll be super dope. Those are the only two shows we have right now officially lined up. We're trying to work to get a show at this place called Lucky Tree.
45:34
DJ Whippopatomus
Okay. Yeah, yeah.
45:36
Joey Zen
Right off of Hillsboro, next to the Ben and Jerry's and all that. Yeah, we actually do. Look, we do their open mic quite frequently. Okay. So they have an open mic there. It's called Free the Mic. It's every second and fourth Monday. But I've been working soundboard with one of their owners and engineers there, like the sound engineer there for the event. So I also work there and do that with them. So we're trying to get it to be every week, every Monday. But we're gonna get a show there first week in June, first weekend in June. So more information can be found at 47eyes onme.com.
46:12
Saturn Alias
Yeah, if you just follow us on Instagram, we. We will always be posting details about our shows. Yeah.
46:19
DJ Whippopatomus
Y' all are on it.
46:19
Joey Zen
Yeah. 100.
46:22
DJ Whippopatomus
Are there any rituals you practice before your shows?
46:24
Joey Zen
I meditate.
46:25
DJ Whippopatomus
Hell, yeah.
46:26
Joey Zen
I always meditate. Either, like, I try to do it discreetly in like a room separate to myself, but there's been some times where I just haven't been able to do so. So I've literally just closed my eyes.
46:40
Saturn Alias
Yeah. Just like do it in the garage.
46:42
Joey Zen
Yeah.
46:43
Saturn Alias
While we're rehearsing.
46:44
Joey Zen
Yeah. Literally before the show. Yeah. There's been. There's been multiple times where, like, it just helps ground myself because, like, I meditate every day. Right. And it's Something that, like, I need to do to, like, make sure that I do it to my best capacity. Because there's always, like, ang. I don't think I get anxious or fearful or nervous about a show. I just get anticipation. Like, I just started anticipating it so much, and I'm like, I just want to be on stage so I can just finally be on stage. Like, I'm not even nervous of, like, how it'll go because I already know it's gonna go perfect. I already know it's gonna go amazing and perfect every time. Just because we practice and put so much time in to make sure that it goes that way.
47:23
Joey Zen
It's just, like, there's little thoughts beforehand that just, like, kind of steer that away. And if my mind is running too much, that can affect my performance. So I always try to take the time to meditate beforehand. Besides that, I don't do any. Yeah, don't do anything else. But then afterwards, I just go off the rail and I like, nice. Like. Like, just vibe out for the rest of night. Because then I'm like, yo, I did my thing. I bet. Where the drinks at?
47:52
DJ Whippopatomus
Yes, sir. Yeah. So I like to get to know the person behind the artist as well. So you mentioned earlier you're from Greensboro, but do you have roots anywhere else?
48:01
Joey Zen
So originally, I was born in Florida.
48:03
DJ Whippopatomus
Okay.
48:04
Joey Zen
I was born in Florida in Fort Lauderdale, right outside of Miami, in Broward County. Shout out. Broward county, man. 9, 5, 4. But I was born there. Moved to North Carolina when I was like, five or six in that area. Moved to Greensboro, had stayed there ever since, and then moved to Raleigh, obviously, like three years ago. But I have family in New York, in Florida, and then in the Dominican Republic. Oh, yeah. So I'm Dominican and Puerto Rican.
48:32
DJ Whippopatomus
Okay.
48:32
Joey Zen
Shout out to my boriquas.
48:35
DJ Whippopatomus
Amazing. So, yeah, we mentioned. I think we mentioned this earlier, but yeah, you are a student at NC State.
48:40
Joey Zen
Yeah.
48:40
DJ Whippopatomus
And yeah, I love to see the representation. You also used to work in student media.
48:44
Joey Zen
I did. I did. I was the general manager of the business and marketing team.
48:48
DJ Whippopatomus
Hell, yeah.
48:49
Joey Zen
Shout out to them all. Love over there, man. I've actually literally worked there since I came to NC State. So, like, I've known about WKNC so much, but it's just like, in my head, I was just like, yeah, I work here. Why should I send my music here? But then I was like, no, I need to.
49:08
DJ Whippopatomus
Yeah.
49:08
Joey Zen
And then did that, and now we're here.
49:10
DJ Whippopatomus
Yes, sir.
49:11
Joey Zen
So, yeah.
49:12
DJ Whippopatomus
What are you studying?
49:13
Joey Zen
I am studying marketing.
49:15
DJ Whippopatomus
Okay.
49:15
Joey Zen
Majoring in marketing and minoring in arts entrepreneurship.
49:19
DJ Whippopatomus
Shout out Gary.
49:20
Joey Zen
Shout out Gary.
49:21
DJ Whippopatomus
Dr. Beckman.
49:22
Joey Zen
Dr. B.
49:23
DJ Whippopatomus
He's my next interview.
49:24
Joey Zen
Hey, for real?
49:25
DJ Whippopatomus
Yeah, I gotta interview him. Dude. He's got so much game.
49:27
Joey Zen
Oh, way too much, bro. He's giving me books, bro. On music industries, like, helped me so much. He's like a mentor, man.
49:34
DJ Whippopatomus
For real, though.
49:34
Joey Zen
For real.
49:35
DJ Whippopatomus
And like, there's a lot of people that. That he's touched and touched with his knowledge.
49:41
Joey Zen
Yes.
49:42
DJ Whippopatomus
Like, there's some WKNC alumni that. That went to his class and they were cooking it up and they're still doing their thing out here too.
49:48
Joey Zen
Yeah, he's got. He's got so much knowledge. But yeah, I really came to school with the idea of I always want to do music, but in case music doesn't work out, these are routes that I could take. But as being at NC State and meeting the people I met because half of the collective came from folks here at NC State. So I really appreciate a lot of creators. Oh, so much. So much. That's why it's important to have people here that go to school being highlighted on WBC and other places around from the school because it's like, yo, we're putting on for a lot of folks at NC State right now. But the reason I chose marketing and arts entrepreneurship is like, if music doesn't work out, which it will if it didn't, I have a backup plan.
50:34
Joey Zen
But at the same time, what I'm doing still correlates to what I'm trying to do. So, like, that's why the marketing aspect is so important. Because nowadays, man, you don't need no record label at all. That's why I've made my own record label. To show people that you don't need all their help. Like, literally, if you just market yourself correctly and know how to market your product and your value, that's the only thing that you need to learn how to do.
50:58
DJ Whippopatomus
Make or break.
50:59
Joey Zen
You make or break. So what? 47 Eyez On Me. Honestly, some would say that we're not even a record label. We're just like a marketing agency.
51:06
DJ Whippopatomus
Yeah.
51:06
Joey Zen
Because literally what we do is like market people's releases for the artists and whatnot. So marketing and then arts entrepreneurship, obviously that I'm. I'm an entrepreneur right now doing arts dope minor. So, yeah, super dope. I love that. So everything that I'm doing at NC State correlates to what I'm trying to do in music moving forward. Okay. So yeah.
51:29
DJ Whippopatomus
Ask you A few more questions. People get really excited about this one. What's your favorite local restaurant here? Greensboro, Wherever. Really?
51:37
Joey Zen
Let me. Let me plug y' all in. Plug y'. All family ties right here. You've been. There was family ties. I have a restaurant in. Well, not mine. I don't. But my. My cousin finesse his grandfather.
51:54
DJ Whippopatomus
Yeah.
51:55
Joey Zen
Which is my mom's stepdad. He is Italian, Straight from Sicily. Italy. This man has an Italian restaurant in Burlington in between Greensboro and Raleigh. In Burlington called Ferrara's. Best pizza I've ever had in my life, hands down. And that's no bias. No bias. Bro knows what he's doing, man.
52:18
Saturn Alias
He has the pasta, too.
52:19
Joey Zen
By the pasta too. Like, best Italian food that you can get so hard. So good. So Ferrara's. That's in Burlington. That's my favorite spot to go to while I'm here in Raleigh. Let me give you a Raleigh spot that I go to a lot.
52:35
DJ Whippopatomus
My stomach's growling now.
52:36
Joey Zen
Oh, man. So many different options. I really. I really like lime and lemon. The Indian place right next to Zaxby on Hillsboro.
52:44
Saturn Alias
Shout out kebab and curry. On Hillsboro.
52:46
Joey Zen
Shout out kebab and curry. Yes. Hillsboro got some gems that people just sleep on, and they'll just go to, like, Chipotle. And I'll be like, bro. I'll be like, bro, stop. Don't do it.
52:56
Saturn Alias
Don't do curry. Knee. Asian kitchen.
52:59
Joey Zen
Ooh.
53:00
Saturn Alias
This place is, like, far up in north Raleigh, so it's kind of a drive. But if you ever are in north Raleigh, New Asian kitchen.
53:07
Joey Zen
Knee. Asian kitchen.
53:09
Saturn Alias
Yeah. A lot of Chinese food, but it's. It's like Asian fusion.
53:12
Joey Zen
How do you spell that?
53:13
Saturn Alias
N I. Asian kitchen.
53:15
Joey Zen
Asian kitchen.
53:15
Saturn Alias
Fire.
53:16
Joey Zen
I'm going to tap in. I love Asian food.
53:18
DJ Whippopatomus
Me too.
53:19
Joey Zen
I love. I love anything but American food.
53:22
DJ Whippopatomus
I feel you.
53:23
Joey Zen
Honestly, like any, like, ethnic food or out there, like, any food that's just not American. Gar. I love you.
53:30
DJ Whippopatomus
I feel once in a while, I'll mess with the burger. You feel me? Like. Like, if it's made right. Not just no fast food.
53:36
Joey Zen
Yeah, yeah. You can't have no McDonald's, no burgers. No, no. I actually try to, like.
53:42
Saturn Alias
So true.
53:43
Joey Zen
I try not to eat any fast food.
53:44
DJ Whippopatomus
Yeah.
53:45
Joey Zen
Just because, like, I'll fold and I'll have some chick fil A. I'm not going to lie. But like, fast food, like, if I'm not making my own food, I want somebody else to make it and make it good. Like, I had, like, A shawarma last night. Okay. Yeah, I love shawarmas. I love bruh. And it's honestly, that brings me back. Quick little fun fact. Quick little fun fact though. The way I met Alex. Wait, were you there that night? Yeah, the way I met Alex. Yeah. Yeah, the way I met Alex And Omid and our friends, they make music too. He's not in 47, but he makes music. And he goes to NC State. Shout out to Zayden.
54:24
Saturn Alias
His music is so good.
54:24
Joey Zen
So good. Shout out to Zayridge. But I met Alex and Omid at the same place and it was a hookah place. It was a hookah spot. And they were serving shawarmas outside of the food truck right in front. And like, it was just so wild because I was there to meet another friend of mine and she introduced me to all three of them. And it's funny because, like, I hang out with them way more than I hang out with the friend that introduced me to them. Yeah, it's like, thank you for introducing me to them. I'm only hanging out with them now. Shout out to her, though, but not shawarmas food. Mediterranean food. My favorite type of food is Indian food, though. That's why I said lime and lemon. Just because I love that.
55:02
Saturn Alias
Facts.
55:02
Joey Zen
I love. I love Indian food, bro. Yeah. Masala curry.
55:08
DJ Whippopatomus
Yeah.
55:12
Joey Zen
Oh, yes. I could go on about Indian food and na bread. I'm a carb hoe man. I love carbs, but get off food before I get hungry. For real though.
55:22
DJ Whippopatomus
So, yeah, my next question. Are you a cat person? Dog person. You prefer another animal completely.
55:27
Joey Zen
I used to hate cats. Yeah, I'm not gonna lie.
55:29
Saturn Alias
I used to hate cats.
55:30
Joey Zen
Cats, you said what?
55:31
Saturn Alias
Same, same.
55:32
Joey Zen
I used to hate cats. And I was super dog only person.
55:36
DJ Whippopatomus
Yeah, yeah.
55:36
Joey Zen
But then one of my ex girlfriends had a cat and I was just like, oh, yeah, you're pretty cute. And then I've always heard that like, cats are super spiritual and like very knowing and just like their eyes and they only vibe out with people who are like, viable. And this cat was loving me more than her. And I was like, oh, maybe cats aren't that bad. Maybe. And I had like, never touched a cat. Cuz like, my dad's allergic to cats. So like, my sister always wanted a cat as a younger, when were younger, but my family just wouldn't do it because my dad's allergic. And so like any form of cat talk when were younger is like, shut down immediately. So like, I had Never even touched a cat until like two, three years ago.
56:19
Joey Zen
And then, like, I finally touched it and I was like, yo, that's not that bad. But then I sneezed right afterwards and I was like, hold up, am I allergic?
56:26
DJ Whippopatomus
Who are you?
56:26
Joey Zen
I don't know.
56:28
Saturn Alias
I mean, I am, but I just.
56:30
DJ Whippopatomus
Like, there's a lot of people allergic to cats. Low key.
56:32
Joey Zen
Yeah. That's why Shadow the felines, man. Do you still hang out with cats? Doesn't. Doesn't what's been called Sophie.
56:39
Saturn Alias
Yeah, well, she doesn't have a cat, but there's like tons of strays that, like, live at the apartment complex that she lives at, so. Yeah. Oh, shout out to the raccoon that visits us every night at 9pm on the balcony.
56:52
DJ Whippopatomus
That's literally. I love raccoons.
56:54
Saturn Alias
He's. He's sick, right? He's out of the compost bin.
56:57
Joey Zen
Rack a cooney.
56:58
DJ Whippopatomus
Okay. All right, I'm about to start closing things out. Is there anything else you want to let the listeners know? Let them know where your social medias are?
57:06
Saturn Alias
Absolutely.
57:07
Joey Zen
Joey zen on Instagram, joeyzen underscore. On Twitter, 47 Eyez On Me. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook. All that with the Z at the end of eyes. Joey's in on YouTube. Good enough. Forever on YouTube. Yeah. Everything can be found at 47 Eyez On Me Calm. And then Saturnalias plugin.
57:34
Saturn Alias
All right, so on Instagram, you can find me at saturnalias66669.
57:41
DJ Whippopatomus
How do you spell Saturn?
57:42
Saturn Alias
Alias S A T, U R N A L, I, A, S. There we go. Six thousand, six hundred and sixty nine.
57:52
Joey Zen
You just won the spelling bee.
57:55
Saturn Alias
And you know, I'm on pretty much every music platform. And yeah, check out our shows that we play. Very high energy.
58:04
Joey Zen
Yes.
58:04
Saturn Alias
You'll love them.
58:05
DJ Whippopatomus
I'm gonna be there on Friday.
58:06
Joey Zen
There we go. There we go. Hopefully it's still going. There may be or may not be a little tentative. Okay.
58:12
DJ Whippopatomus
Okay.
58:13
Saturn Alias
But fingers crossed if worst case scenario just gets postponed a week.
58:18
Joey Zen
Yeah.
58:18
Saturn Alias
So don't worry about it.
58:19
Joey Zen
But it's happening.
58:20
DJ Whippopatomus
Yeah.
58:20
Saturn Alias
Either way, it will be happening, though.
58:22
Joey Zen
Earth Night 47 Eyez On Me. Joey Zen. Shout out Whippo.
58:27
Saturn Alias
Whipple Potter.
58:27
Joey Zen
Mr. Goat.
58:28
Saturn Alias
Shout out Whippo.
58:29
DJ Whippopatomus
Thank you. Hey, Shout out, y'. All.
58:31
Joey Zen
It's love, it's love.
58:32
DJ Whippopatomus
Shout outs all around.
58:33
Joey Zen
Hey, shout out. Wknc.
58:35
DJ Whippopatomus
For real. For real.
58:36
Joey Zen
Shout out Jamie. I miss my shout out Jamie.
58:41
DJ Whippopatomus
All right, y'all, it's been a pleasure. I really appreciate y'all for sharing with us. And yeah, I Appreciate each and every single one of you for tuning in. You can check out the interviews I've done with other local artists at wknc.org/podcast and click on off the Record again. I am DJ Whippopatomus. This is local Industry talks and I was here with…
59:02
Saturn Alias
Joey Zen & Saturn Alias.
59:06
DJ Whippopatomus
On WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1 Raleigh. I'm gonna send y'all off with one more song by 47 Eyez On Me called Theme song off of their latest EP a journey to realize don't forget we are stronger together so show each other some love y'all be easy.
59:37
Music
[47 Eyez On Me – Theme Song]