2018 may have been the year that ZEKIEL introduced the world to his genre-bending charm with ‘Writing Away’, but it’s the second half of 2019 that will see the 23 year old elected class captain of a new crop of collaborative artists and songwriters.
Now based in Sydney and as in demand for lending his pop melodies to other artists songs as he is for his own hip-hop adjacent artistry, the Mackay native has just unleashed his growling follow up single ‘Skipping School’.
Deep synths build into commanding hooks in what he describes as “a metaphor for when someone is too cool for you. They’re cool and you’re school.”
Stream ‘Skipping School’ below:
When Tone Deaf sat down with ZEKIEL he revealed the inspiration behind ‘Skipping School’.
“This new girl started at our school in grade 8 and I instantly had a crush on her,” he said. “To be honest I did a lot of stupid shit to impress her, but when I finally told her I liked her in grade 10… well let’s just say I didn’t come out of that feeling like the cool guy!”
One of six children, he would day dream as a kid about pursuing a sports career (he’s wearing a red Toronto Raptors beanie when we chat to him) but quickly found music allowed him to express his feelings in a more creative way.
“I’m probably the most dramatic person I know to be honest!”
Perhaps it’s that love of team sports that led him to building a tight knit group of young artists and songwriters around him. ‘Skipping School’ was workshopped with “best mate” Jack Gray, while names like Ned Houston (also “best mate”) and the likes of Cyrus, Taka Perry, Cosmo’s Midnight and Thelma plum litter the credits of his countless demos. Two more of those demo tracks will be released by years end – each “very different but still ZEKIEL”.
But there’s no cliques in this new school, and that’s what sets this generation of musicians apart.
“We don’t look at each other as the competition. That shit’s not cool. We’re all out her grinding and we just want to make the best music possible and support each other. That’s what’s fucking cool bro.”
To be fair he’s probably less ‘class captain’ and more ‘class clown’, but either way it’s his blend of hip hop, songwriting and personal narratives that set ZEKIEL apart from the crowd.
His music “always tells a story, man” – whether that’s about his relationship with alcohol or his insecurities with mental health. Or that girl from high school who, he laughs, “I probably still kind of have a crush on”.
ZEKIEL’s new single ‘Skipping School’ is out now
