Photo Credit: Power 106
Icewear Vezzo carries the nickname the “Mayor of Detroit”… which gives you insight on the type of impact he has on his city. Currently signed to Motown Records, real name Chivez Smith made a name for himself as the King of contemporary Detroit rap, paving the way for all the young, up and coming artists who came after him. In 2018, he released “The Drank God Back Freestyle” after a one-year stint behind bars. To this day, he has very strong opinions on prison reform and doing everything he can to give back to the community.
Most recently on the heels of his new mixtape Drank Baby, Vezzo stops by Power 106 for an exclusive interview with DJ Felli Fel.
Rapping since he was a youngin’, Vezzo was in the studio at 12 years old. His previous rap name was Lil C, but as he gained more attention, they began calling him his Instagram and Twitter name. He states, “Vito was my name in the hood. Everybody close to me called me that, my family members. Vezzo was Vito and Vez, that was my regular name. Icewear happened by mistake. I dropped a mixtape called Icewear, and changed my Twitter name to promote the tape. I fucked around and got popular by mistake. I didn’t expect to light up like that. I end up getting locked in Detroit all the way, to where you didn’t hear nothing but me!”
Getting money at the age of 19 and 21, Icewear is a proud businessman/entrepreneur. He also goes into how vital the strip club scene is in the D, and what it meant to play his records. But the entire thing is a process, which has now lead to his own indie label titled IUR Records (Iced Up Records). He states, “That took like 4 years, but then it took another 3, 4 years for everything to be locked and loaded as far as the business. For me to even understand how to have a label as far as the requirements. Everything took time.”
Speaking on the “How I’m Coming” challenge, Icewear explains how he got a free verse from G Herbo. “I recorded ‘How I’m Coming’ in LA, at Paramount Studios. That challenge happened organically. I shot the video, put the song out. A couple people in my comments like “man this beat hard! This how you coming, let me tell you how I’m coming.’ I guess every time I rap, I say ‘I come this’ or ‘I been came that.’ One dude comment like ‘man I feel that verse, but I can’t relate. What about how I’m coming?’ I’m like ”you know what, I’ma give you that opportunity.’ And it took off.”
G Herbo ended up adding his verse, for the free. Following suit, Nicki Minaj came with her #MegatronChallenge. Watch above as Vezzo explains Detroit slang terms “on the flo” and “I’m sick,” and touches on the recent Coronavirus craze.
ICYMI, peep our Now You Know with Icewear Vezzo!
