Do you know who ItsBizkit is? Even if the name doesn't ring an instant bell, you've probably encountered one of his memes or his social media accounts in general. It's hard to put a specific title on his role within the industry, as he does so many things, but if we want to encompass it in a word, as corny/cliche as it sounds, it would probably be: influencer. He's the man behind the website, itsbizkit.com (duh), however on top of being a regular ol blogger, he also has helped many a rap career from a publicity standpoint, has gone viral once or twice (probably more), and is known for an affiliation with Drake and the OVO camp.
However, how did it all start? The mixtape era.
"I was looking at what Envy was doing, Clue was doing, and I was always a fan of the culture, and I wanted to do my little thing," Bizkit tells us of his come-up. "I would sell mixtapes, a lot of people knew me from selling CDs, so I started putting together my own mixes... My name started getting real heavy with the mixtapes, I started getting exclusives, doing mixtapes with Whoo Kid and working with Green Lantern. I was blessed to be in that era."
The Drake connection came about from one moment of virality, when Bizkit became a meme thanks to the ridiculous antics of Funkmaster Flex. As he explains it, "Basically, I was out in a club, Jadakiss was performing, Funk Flex was DJing...And Flex went ham, he went crazy, he said 'f*ck this Canadian n*gga,' and when he said it, I looked back, like, 'hold on, am I hearing things?'"
He continued the story, "I knew just off him saying that, that clip is gunna go viral. So I went to my cameraman and said, 'I might not ever talk to you in life again if you didn't get that.' And he was like, 'nah, I got it, and I actually got you in the clip.' I'm the guy like, I don't need to be in front of the camera, I could be behind the camera, I'll play my position. He sent it to me at five in the morning, I posted it on twitter...I woke up, and I was getting ready to start posting it and sharing it, and it was already on every platform you could name, including HotNewHipHop, and then Drake started following me." The rest is history. That's how the two started working together, and now texting Drake is a commonplace thing for Bizkit. He also gives this gem during the story: "A meme or going viral is lowkey a hit record."
As for why artists fuck with him so heavily? Because if he doesn't fuck with them, he's honest about it.
"A lot of people come to me cause I'm not a yes man...If I'm in the studio and I'm working with an artist, and they let me hear something, I don't care who it is, I'm not gunna be like 'oh this is fire.' If it's trash, it's trash. I'm always gunna be someone that voice my opinion, and I'm different from everyone else in the room because my pay check, the way I live, doesn't depend on that person giving me a check."
Although he ends the interview with his personal career goals in the next few months (stay tuned for Bizkits and Blunts) as well as some word of advice, he also speaks about his Washed movement/brand, which has been picking up steam even prior to a Drizzy shout out.
"At first it was like nah that's not gunna work, nobody's gunna buy a t-shirt that says 'Washed,' now I'm at that point where Drake said it on More Life, and those same people want a shirt," Bizkit says. The circle of life.
After a brief suspension, ItsBizkit is back on twitter. Follow him @itsbizkit.
This interview is part of a series we're doing with industry persons of all walks of life. Previously, we spoke with ATL photographer of rap stars, Cam Kirk, which you can check out here if you missed it, and Shade 45 DJ, Gray Rizzy. Up next will be DJ Envy. Stay tuned.