“It’s an anomaly—educated black man doing music. It shows that

not everyone in Hip Hop came from a decrepit background.”

 

 

The whole left brain/right brain debate has finally been resolved in the form of Chicago-based Hip Hop artist, Nizm. When he’s not busy with his own graphic design firm, attending classes towards his masters degree at Roosevelt University, mentoring children, or satisfying his skating hobby that he’s been involved with since his adolescent years, Nizm is creating lyrical masterpieces infused with humor, sarcasm, and knowledge.

“Art should imitate life and daily experience,” says Nizm who introduced himself as Leroy Stewart when he approached me at Borders. We were scheduled for an interview, which became more of a conversation with this witty 27-year-old. Apparent in our conversation was Leroy’s ability to soak in the world around him, which often provides the lyrical content for Nizm. This self-proclaimed lyricist focuses on the content as much as he does on the production of his music…something rare to find in a world where “a lot of people write music on a mainstream level just to sell.” A fusion between jazz, hip hop, and alternative styles can be detected throughout his songs. Beyond creating the music, however, Nizm is a performer.

He described the stage as a very addictive space to express his music. “On stage you command where the audience goes and you make or break a potential customer” he says as an analogy to graphic design clients. Leroy had been accepted to the University of Toronto’s infamous architecture program a few years ago where he sought to escape the crabs in a barrel culture he felt was crowding his creativity in Chicago. This love/hate relationship with the city is in full thrust on his third album The Exodus. With the news of a mother whose health was failing, a broken engagement, and feelings of alienation in a new culture Leroy returned to Chicago with a new perspective on music and life. The “world felt a little colder” when his mother passed, but it also caused him to take a step back from his goal driven nature and find solace in the things he enjoyed—making music for the purpose of making music.

“Everyone loves artists like Mary J. The album people love was when she was going through the epitome of personal hell. People don’t realize that the soul music they love comes at a cost to an artist” Leroy says to the idea of his mother’s passing influencing his music. In order to preserve himself he steals himself away from the music at times. “The beauty of going to sleep is that you have to stop everything. It forces you to be in touch with yourself at the end of the day.”

While Leroy sleeps, Nizm is available online with his unique perspective on the world around him. “The music was him and he was himself regardless” is the final thought Leroy left me with regarding his compositions. He, himself, and Nizm will next perform on December 18th in Evanston, IL. He’ll be running to Bill’s Blues the day before his graduation, after taking his accounting final, and working—just one more thing for Leroy to write about between clients.

 

You can catch Nizm  March 14th @ Northeastern and March 19th @ The Darkroom