Over the past two years, Dizzy Wright has written and recorded more music than some musicians create in an entire decade. His latest releases—The Golden Age 2 and State of Mind 2, follow-ups to 2013 and 2014 albums, respectively—are grounded in conscious, thought-provoking perspectives shaped by his upbringing in the desert, an affinity for smoking weed and passionate, personal-is-political lyrics.
Wright says his back-to-back LPs are his way of helping people find their footing after a daunting year. “It’s about understanding yourself,” Wright says on the phone from Austin, Texas. “We’re all going through this universal transition of waking up and understanding things a little better.”
Combining mindfulness with soulful beats and a casual delivery, Wright has become one of the most recognizable MCs in hip-hop’s underground, but he’s still famously anti-major label. “I’m not willing to make the kind of music other people want me to make,” he says. He spent most of this year on tour and in the studio, and 2018 is setting up for more of the same. But first, he’ll wrap up a recording session in Austin—for a collaboration tentatively known as One Week Notice—and enjoy a homecoming of sorts at Brooklyn Bowl before hitting Colorado’s Magness Arena for New Year’s Eve. That will be followed by a 27-date winter tour.
“There’s nothing like being in a room full of creative people and coming up with a masterpiece. That feeling is amazing,” Wright says. “I just want to get the city involved and let them know this music is coming from a spirit that was raised in the city we all love.” Dizzy Wright at Brooklyn Bowl at the Linq Promenade, December 29.
