1- Who is DNZ? Can you tell us about yourself?
My real name is Deniz. DNZ is an abbreviation I use when making music because it sounds nice to me. I'm 20 years old and studying journalism. After spending a long time on the listener side of music, I wanted to be on the producer side, so I took 2 months of electronic music production training from Levent Lodos, 1 month of DJ training from Rıza Göbelez, and most recently 1 month of launchpad training from Halil Sensei. After completing the training, I continuously produced music and released three albums in a row, receiving positive feedback. I'm continuing in the same way.

2. Why did you choose to create rap instrumentals and electronic music instead of rapping?
I actually did rap before. My nickname back then was Delta. I even had two tracks. I was even part of the Bigpunch team affiliated with Kadıköy Acil. I deleted both tracks because I found the lyrics I wrote in my adolescence childish. I don't regret it. Being behind the scenes is more fun and more satisfying for me now. For example, I don't even feel like writing lyrics over the beats I make anymore, that's how far removed I am from that work, but of course I still spend most of my day listening to rap. Everyone should do what they're good at.

3. Who is your target audience for your music?
I started this to write down and listen to the melodies I had in my head. The arrangement is in the hip-hop format; lyrics can be written over it, but it's not essential. I never create any track just for the sake of having a "backing track." I've never made beats thinking about how they would sound if sung over them. They can all be listened to on their own. So I don't have a specific target audience. I think rock listeners, rap listeners, and alternative music listeners will all like my music if our mindsets and tastes align. Besides, I don't only listen to rap.

4- Does being in a place like Kadıköy, where the heart of rap beats, benefit you?
It doesn't benefit me because I haven't made that effort; I want to move forward on my own, but if I did, of course it would. In that respect, I'm lucky.

5. Are there any individuals within this environment that you would like to work with?
I would like to work with anyone whose music I enjoy listening to.

6. Can you tell us a little about your latest album?
Masterpiece is a 23-minute album consisting of 7 tracks. Compared to my previous two albums, I can say it's the one I'm most satisfied with. That's why I named it Masterpiece, meaning "Masterpiece." There are no filler tracks. There's a small scratch at the beginning of the first track. It's an album with more aggressive tracks compared to my previous albums. The track "Always Try" has a slightly different mood; I can't quite put my finger on it. Only the last two tracks can be described as "emotional beats," but they are definitely not "melancholy." Especially not "Dark Room." And here's an interesting piece of information about the album: I've listed the tracks in chronological order.

7. Are you working on a new solo album or a collaborative project with MCs?
The first three tracks of my new solo album are ready. Mixing and mastering are all finished. I'll release it when it's 7. Besides that, I'll be producing Old G's new album and providing five instrumentals. I've already released the first one, by the way. I'm also planning to do something with Lord Ills, who was a guest on Sagopa Kajmer's Ahmak Islatan album, a mix of smooth jazz and hip-hop, but it's not finalized yet. There's also a surprise project. I'll be collaborating with Cosef, whom you know from Kadıköy Acil, who later decided to quit rap, and who has supported me for years with genuine friendship, not just a transactional relationship. If things go well, it will be a great album, closer to R&B than straight hip-hop, with lower BPMs. And finally, I want to gather my tracks from different moods, which are categorized as "ambient music," into an album. I'll probably release that when all of these are finished. Two tracks from that are already done.

8. What are your future goals?
I leave these things to my habits. My current habit is to finish a track whenever inspiration strikes, regardless of genre. So my current goal is to produce as much as possible and release a new album. I also have a fascination with techno music, which I think comes from my DJ teacher Rıza Göbelez (you can listen to his latest techno album, Lagoon Nebula, on Spotify or Apple Music, by the way). So making a techno album is also among my special goals.

9. What are your thoughts on the divisions within rap music?
I don't know if there's a split right now. There was a rivalry between newschool MCs, one in Izmir and one in Istanbul. Enes Alper even stayed at my house when he came to Istanbul. He and Stallker made up the next day. I think that's how it should be. If two people can't get along, they just don't see each other again, and that's that. Pac dissed Biggie because he thought Biggie had him shot, not because he was annoyed. Of course, there have been people who dissed just for the sake of it. It depends on who you take as an example, who you feel suits you.

10. What are your thoughts on old school rap? What are the differences between new school rap and old school rap in your opinion?
If old-school music is still so popular and talked about today, we need to consider what they achieved using only 10% of our resources. Technique is one thing, music is another. In art, feeling is more important than technique. You can mix as well as you want. For example, has an album like "A Pessimist's Tears" ever been released in Türkiye again? Sagopa himself says he didn't use a compressor on that album because he didn't know how. You can find the instrumental version of Pac's "Ambitionz az a Ridah" without vocals on YouTube; the lead melody only has three notes. Those three notes keep repeating. It doesn't have the ups and downs, the complex structure of today's music. It continues monotonously. But can any other song give the same feeling as this one? No.

11. Who are your favorite MCs or producers?
When it comes to production in Turkish rap, Sagopa is definitely at the top for me. Besides him, I like DJ Artz's production; his track "Karma" was really good, for example. Before that, Ihtan was like that too. As for MCs, besides Sagopa, Ceza, and Fuat, I can mention Şehinşah, Kamufle, İndigo (his "Mutsuz" album is very special to me), Tepki, Ezhel, Old G, and Maestro. As for international artists, lately I've been listening to Big Pun's Capital Punishment album and, of course, Pac a lot.

12- What are your final words?
Thank you for the interview. Greetings to everyone.

Albums; Darkness To Fall (iTunes) , Darkness To Fall (Spotify ), Resurrection (iTunes) , Resurrection(Spotify) , Masterpiece (iTunes) , Masterpiece (Spotify)

Social Media; Instagram , Facebook , Twitter

Contact: denizyasayan@hotmail.com