Smoke DZA

Sean Joseph Pompey (born February 8, 1984), better known by his stage name Smoke DZA, is an American rapper and songwriter.

Smoke DZA
Smoke DZA performing at Smoker's Club Tour in 2010
Smoke DZA performing at Smoker's Club Tour in 2010
Background information
Birth nameSean Joseph Pompey[1]
Born (1984-02-08) February 8, 1984
New York City, New York, U.S.
GenresHip hop
Occupation(s)
  • Rapper
  • songwriter
Years active2002–present
Labels
Websitewww.smokedza.net

Biography

1984–2007: Early life and career beginnings

Smoke DZA was born February 8, 1984, at Harlem Hospital in New York City and has lived in New York all his life. The son of two Guyanese immigrants, Smoke was exposed to music at home by his father and fell in love with hip hop at a young age.[2] He grew up listening to and emulating fellow New Yorkers Jay-Z and Notorious BIG.[3] After dropping out of high school to pursue his music career, DZA began battle rapping and has battled fellow Harlem-based rapper J.R. Writer.[4] Smoke DZA decided on his moniker after being influenced by Chris Tucker's character Smokey from the movie Friday and the acronym DZA stands for "Dream Zone Achieve".[5] He was discovered by Jonny Shipes of Cinematic Music Group in 2002 and went on to ghostwrite for numerous rappers, including Hi-Tek.[6] In 2002, he partnered to become one half of the group Smoke & Numbers, until going solo in 2008.[7]

2008–2016: Rugby Thompson, Dream.Zone.Achieve and Don't Smoke Rock

Since splitting from Smoke & Numbers to pursue a solo career,[7] DZA has released a string of mixtapes including Substance Abuse, Substance Abuse 1.5, George Kush The Button, Rolling Stoned, Sweet Baby Kushed God, Cuz I Felt Like It and K.O.N.Y. He has worked with Big K.R.I.T., Wiz Khalifa, and ASAP Rocky among others and is a founding member of the Smokers Club.[8] His album, Rolling Stoned was awarded the High Times Doobie Award for Hip Hop album of the year for 2011.[9] DZA latest album Rugby Thompson was released in June 2012 by High Times and Cinematic Music Group. The album was produced entirely by Harry Fraud.[10] The album features numerous artists including Action Bronson, Currensy, Domo Genesis, Schoolboy Q and ASAP Twelvyy.[11]

On April 1, 2014, Smoke DZA released Dream.Zone.Achieve, his third studio album. The album consisted of 21 songs broken down into three sections, Dream, Zone and Achieve, each with 7 tracks. Features included fellow Harlem native Cam'ron, Joey Bada$, Ab-Soul, Wiz Khalifa and Curren$y.[12]

On April 6, 2014, in the midst of WrestleMania XXX, Smoke DZA released a mixtape titled Ringside 2, the second installment in his wrestling-inspired Ringside EP series. Production was handled his by fellow R.F.C. member 183rd, with features from Peter Rosenberg, then WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E Langston, Aston Matthews and Flatbush Zombies.[13]

On December 2, 2016, he and Pete Rock released "Don't Smoke Rock", featuring 13 songs with guest appearances from Rick Ross, Dave East, Cam'ron, Big K.R.I.T. and Mac Miller.[14]

Smoke DZA released his eight album, Homegrown, on October 2, 2020. It marks his fourth project of the year, following the acclaimed A Closed Mouth Don't Get Fed, Ringside 8 and The Smokers Club Presents: Smoke DZA's Worldwide Smoke Session, the latter of which was released on April 20. Homegrown is an ode to his native New York City.[15]

Musical style and influences

Smoke cites fellow New York natives Jay-Z and Notorious B.I.G. as his main influences. As an adolescent he would use their songs and write his own lyrics, helping him learn rhyming patterns."I used to re-write Biggie. It started with 'Mo Money, Mo Problems.' I would switch up the words, make it my own."[16] He has also cited fellow Harlem rappers like Mase, Big L and Dipset as influences and inspiration.[17] Though he is often mistakenly classified as a weed rapper, Smoke considers himself a lifestyle rapper and prefers not to be confined to one genre of rap.[18] DZA's albums and mixtapes often feature many collaborative tracks. DZA says he enjoys collaborating with fellow artists like Dom Kennedy and Kendrick Lamar as he feels it helps him "step his ball game up" in terms of his craft.[19]

Personal life

In 2016, Smoke endorsed Bernie Sanders' presidential bid.[20]

Discography
Main article: Smoke DZA discography

References
  1. "ACHIEVE". ASCAP. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  2. KingVanGogh. "Digiwaxx TV and @PhotosbyRome Present: A Conversation with @SmokeDZA". Video. The Blast By DIGWAXX. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
  3. Pomellis, Ayarra. "Smoke DZA Interview: "Rolling Stoned"". Raw Roots. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  4. "Video: Smoke DZA Interview with Angela Yee". Nah Right. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  5. Thisis50Tv. "TI50: Smoke DZA Says His Name Came From The Movie "Friday" & LA Has The Best Weed". Thisis50.com. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  6. Marrack, Peter. "Interview: Smoke DZA". The Marrack. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  7. Marrack, Peter. "The Interview with Smoke DZA". Respect Magazine. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  8. Markman, Rob. "Fire Starter: Smoke DZA". MTV. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  9. Black, Bobby. "2011 Doobie Awards Round Up". High Times. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  10. Diep, Eric. "Album Stream:Smoke DZA "Rugby Thompson"". Complex Magazine. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  11. Badami, Anthony (18 June 2012). "Discovery Smoke DZA". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  12. Hardy, Jasmine (4 March 2014). "Smoke DZA "Dream.ZONE.Achieve" Release Date, Cover Art & Tracklist". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Retrieved 2014-03-06.
  13. James, Nicolas (6 April 2014). "Smoke DZA - Ringside 2 EP (Prod. By 183rd)". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  14. Don't Smoke Rock
  15. Grant, Shawn (September 3, 2020). "Smoke DZA Announces 'Homegrown' Album for October". The Source. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  16. Badami, Anthony (18 June 2012). "Discovery: Smoke DZA". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  17. Copastetik, Cris. "Smoke DZA Talks "Rolling Stoned" Reviews". Deal with No Deal. Archived from the original on 3 February 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  18. "Smoke DZA Interview with Good*Fella Media". video. FreshGrind.com. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  19. Meara, Paul (15 August 2011). "Smoke DZA Interview". TheMearaBlog.com. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  20. Camp, Zoe (2016-04-19). "Smoke DZA Endorses Bernie Sanders on Flying-Lotus Produced Track: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  21. "He Has Risen by Smoke DZA on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
  22. "Don't Smoke Rock by Smoke DZA & Pete Rock on Apple Music". Itunes.apple.com. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  23. "Not for Sale by Smoke DZA on Apple Music". Itunes.apple.com. 20 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-20.
  24. "A Closed Mouth Don't Get Fed by Smoke DZA on Apple Music". Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  25. Callender, Brandon (March 9, 2022). "Girl Talk, Wiz Khalifa, Big K.R.I.T., and Smoke DZA team up for new album Full Court Press". The Fader. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
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