TAPZ is turning on the airwaves
Rmike.alexander@fairfaxmedia.co.nz AUSTRALIA-BASED record company Mushroom has signed Kiwi artist TAPZ (fka Young Tapz) to its imprint 100s + 1000s and also inked a deal with him to represent his songs through Mushroom Music Publishing.
Overnight, both the airwaves and internet were lit up by TAPZ’s freshest joint – his new single Run Don’t Run.
Triple J’s Linda Marigliano premiered the track in Australia on Good Nights last week, with a barrage of positive feedback flooding in on the text line.
International tastemakers Highsnobiety got the first run of the clip for Run Don’t Run.
‘‘The video is a visual representation of my journey to find fearlessness in a system where we are taught to run and act without question,’’ TAPZ says.
Run Don’t Run follows TAPZ’s feature on Hermitude’s colossal 2015 crossover hit The Buzz, which has gone on to amass in excess of 40 million plays on Spotify alone The Buzz also landed at #8 in the year’s Triple J Hottest 100.
Later that year, TAPZ went on to self-release his debut solo single Killa, which received international attention via fellow Kiwi Zane Lowe on Beats 1.
Killa currently sits on close to two million plays on Spotify.
Run Don’t Run further acquaints us with TAPZ’s unique brand of forward-thinking noir’n’b. Crunching, sinister production laced by TAPZ’s uncompromising energy course through the track. Supplied
The pedigree of TAPZ’s management team should provide some insight into how far the young man is predicted to go – a collaborative arrangement between Winterman & Goldstein (Empire of the Sun, The Avalanches), G.O.O.D. Management (Kanye West’s management label headed up by Grammy Award-winning producer Che Pope), and Control Music Group (Phoenix, Hudson Mohawke).
TAPZ is currently based in Wellington, where he moved after leaving his birthplace of Zimbabwe at age eight.
TAPZ describes growing up in post-colonial Wedza, a rural district of Zimbabwe, as a ‘‘beautiful nightmare’’.
‘‘I don’t remember sitting down playing video games because there was so much to do,’’ explains TAPZ. There wasn’t much access to music, either. On rare occasions, his family would gather around TV to see Michael Jackson.
‘‘He was like a superhero to me!’’ TAPZ says.
In addition to his blooming musical pursuits, the 21-year-old is a genuine multidisciplinary creative. A true millennial, TAPZ also has a burgeoning modelling career, moonlights as a graphic artist and is beginning to make waves as a fashion designer. With that knowledge, it should come as no surprise that the visual accompaniment for Run Don’t Run is a stunning, stylish piece that sets an extremely high bar for an emerging artist.
TAPZ has already brought his electrifying energy to the same stage as heavy-hitters like A$AP Ferg, Jeremih, Tinie Tempah, Hermitude, G-Eazy and Danny Brown.
He plays several live sets early next month – Auckland’s REC on Friday, May 5 and Wellington’s Meow on Saturday, May 6.