Meet Zay Liege: Brooklyn-born, Queens-raised, melody in his chest and bars in his back pocket. The type of artist who can slide on a love joint one week, drop an anthem the next, and have the whole timeline calling him a problem by the weekend.
He been in motion. “GameTime” and “No Felony” both crossed 100K views — numbers don’t lie, and the fanbase is locking in. “Vaddie” opened up his love era, “She Wanna” (cooked up with producer Benji and a clutch verse from Chubby Blanco) gave the streets a slick, seductive bounce, and “GameTime” is straight pregame fuel — the type of record that makes you wanna run through a wall before you tie your sneakers.
Independent. Self-made. Built from chorus class harmonies, late-night freestyle ciphers with the bros, and a mama in his ear telling him to lock in on himself before anybody else. No gimmicks, no shortcuts — just a kid from two boroughs turning real-life experience into records that hit different.
We pulled up with Zay Liege to talk the new wave — the love era, the studio stories behind “She Wanna,” the mindset behind “GameTime,” and what it really takes to build something undeniable from the ground up. Pay attention. He is just getting warm.
Zay Liege, good to have you with us! Things have been moving fast for you lately — how are you feeling right now at this point in your career?
Zay Liege: I’m feeling chill and relaxed as of right now but I am also ready for most things that come my way. I’m also feeling excited that I levelled up my craft.
“Vaddie,” “She Wanna,” and “GameTime” all have very different vibes — how did you decide to drop all three together as one campaign, and what did you want listeners to take away from hearing them as a package?
Zay Liege: Well the lover songs such as “Vaddie” and “She Wanna” were to seek attention for women especially when it’s that type of season like Valentine’s Day or even Mother’s Day. Those songs were dropped either on the day of or close to those days. As far as “GameTime,” it shows a lot of motivation and energy to people who want to win in life or competition.
“Vaddie” is described as your love era — was it a conscious decision to show that softer, more romantic side, or did the song just come out that way naturally?
Zay Liege: I feel like this came out naturally because I have always been a melodic artist, so when that beat came about, I was just vibing to it heavily. Sometimes when I get excellent beats I start finding a valid flow instantly, so it didn’t take me long to figure out a flow.
On “She Wanna,” you linked up with producer Benji and Chubby Blanco — how did that collaboration come together, and what does Chubby Blanco bring to the record that you felt it needed?
Zay Liege: When it comes to linking with Benji, I always knew him since I was a kid because Benji and my big brother would always hang out. When it came to finding that beat, I came home at night time. There were already people over at the house and Benji was showing beats he already made, and the beat I found valid was the beat for the “She Wanna” song.
Everybody was trying to freestyle while it was playing. I told Benji I will work on this one in the studio. The day before the studio session Chubby Blanco came over to the house, and I was playing some beats for him. Once I played that beat he wanted to be on it too, and the next day we made it. When it came to Chubby Blanco, he wanted to be versatile and that beat had the flow he was looking for. His verse came out crispy and fire with no hesitation. He definitely had a good flow on the beat.
“GameTime” already crossed 100,000 views — when you wrote it, did it feel like a breakout record, or did the response surprise you?
Zay Liege: The response surprised me because that was fast. Even though I switched the flow, I didn’t expect that. I was happy because I accomplished something.
The hook on “GameTime” sounds like a pregame speech. Are you actually a sports fan, or is the competitive energy more about life and hustle than any specific sport?
Zay Liege: I’m not a huge fan of sports, but basketball is my main sport. I would always play basketball as a kid. GameTime is more about life and hustle, but it also plays a role in sports too. The main thing about that song is (Never Give Up, Prizes Later).
You started in elementary school chorus and then learned lyricism watching your brothers freestyle — how did those two worlds, singing and rapping, eventually merge into the sound you have now?
Zay Liege: I learned from those events as a kid and had a little bit of a singer’s voice, thanks to doing chorus because it made me utilize it more. My brothers were rapping before me, so I learned from them a little. I started figuring out the right pattern by rapping over beats with harmony until I found the right voice, which is a little high pitch but smooth at the same time.
Your debut “She Getting Dough” was recorded almost entirely in one take. Is that still how you approach recording, and what does that process demand from you mentally?
Zay Liege: I do approach recording that way, but only sometimes, because to me it is not easy to continue like that without any takes. This gives an idea of how I wanted my tracks to be, so it could sound a certain way.
Growing up between Brooklyn and Queens — do you feel like both boroughs shaped you differently, and does that tension or balance show up in your music?
Zay Liege: Growing up in both boroughs showed the same structure of living but different interests, and it shows up in my music because I talk about stuff that comes from experience from being from these places.
You’ve said your family and the people around you inspire you daily. Can you talk about a specific moment or person that pushed you to keep going when things got hard?
Zay Liege: My parents inspire me mostly. I remember the time when I was devastated because people, I mean for years, couldn’t be around no more, and my mom would say, “Don’t worry about anybody not helping you with your craft. You are your only character.” And also my Dad, he would be like, “This generation now is the time to shine. I will be right beside you — focus on you.” And also my brothers too. To summarise their statements, they would tell me, “The stuff that you bring to the table others can’t, so always maintain that.”
You’re independent, building everything from the ground up — what does success look like for Zay Liege at this stage, and what’s the one thing you want the industry to know about you?
Zay Liege: Getting every type of musician and audience attention to my songs, and to not only vibe to it but to get the messages from it, and probably seek a relaxing vibe to it.
