What makes the likes of Tyler, The Creator and Brockhampton so mesmerising is their refusal to adhere to the constraints of genre boundaries. Situating himself amongst those unique artists is North Carolina-based Zack Cokas with his new project WARHOL. With his beginnings on GarageBand evident through the barrage of samples and layered beats on the project, each track holds a different tone and message as we are taken on a whistle-stop tour through the worlds of rap, pop and alternative music. And, with tracks such as “CANCER” and “Y&R” showcasing the artist’s effortless rap flows while “DEMONS” ushers in a melodic manipulation of his vocals, the album is a shining example of Zack’s limitless talent.
“Now I am not afraid to take risks with my sound and music. When I was 18 or 19 years old, I was trying to appeal to what I thought was ‘mainstream’ but as I’ve grown I’ve learned to hone in my own skills and this has helped separate me from other artists,” explains Zack when talking about the nature of his work.
While WARHOL is placing Zack firmly on the map, this is not his first attention-grabbing release. From successful collaborations with his twin brother on tracks such as “TO THE GRAVE” to his debut mixtape PABLO gaining recognition from the likes of Spotify, the artist has been leaving his mark on the industry with his distinctive work. And, with the rising talent looking towards a future filled with new releases and live performances, expect more genre clashes and standout tunes from him very soon.
Check out our interview with Zack Cokas below…
Hey Zack! How are you? How has this past year been for you?
I’m doing well! This past year has been hard on me as I’m sure it’s been for everyone, though I’ve experienced a large amount of personal growth.
How did you first get into music, do you remember the first song you wrote?
I first got into music when I started taking piano lessons around age 7. I then moved to the computer and learned how to use GarageBand and started recording covers of songs like “Love Lockdown” by Kanye West and “Rock that Body” by the Black Eyed Peas.
You said you grew up infatuated with art, do you think this impacted your sound?
I do think this impacted my sound, I just don’t really know how. For every song I put out, I always get a vision in my head about how I want it portrayed to the world from the cover art to the video.
And you teamed up with your twin brother for “Out the Blue” what led to this decision and what was it like working together?
Me and Cam are twins so it has become second nature for us to work together on anything creative. When we recorded “TO THE GRAVE” there was so much energy in the room and we were really just having fun.
