PRISM MEDIA

After the successful mid-pandemic release of his debut EP, Stages, Ewing has rallied off an electric rollout for his W.W.Y.D video, unlike anything this side of Tampa has seen. With a concurrent manga/merch drop, it sets Zae apart as a talent to watch, not only for the quality of the music, but the mastermind vision behind it all. All that being said, that wasn’t the only thing Ewing had in store for 2020. Pope is a luxurious, grand reawakening for Zae Ewing — and it wasn’t he who was asleep, it was us. 

Zae was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, so there’s a definite east coast flair to his cadence and delivery. He came to Tampa in 2006 and has been here ever since. His presence on the mic is formidable and ferocious, and he lets us know what he’s repping  off rip. “813, stand the fuck up!” The piano loop is menacing and cold, perfect for the recent and uncharacteristic change of weather here in Tampa Bay. The hook is an earworm, for sure, with a quotable every bar, well suited for IG captions everywhere. 

Music has always been in Zae’s life. He’s played drums since he was about 5 years old. "My family has deep musical roots. However, close to about two years ago I decided to start working towards things with a purpose. Recording and allowing my creativity to create concert through music as well.” I had the chance to talk further with him about his beginnings and his vision for the future for Fresh N Up, which originally started out as a weekly podcast that Zae created alongside his brother Gabe, and producer/host Serg Bonilla.

“The inspiration behind Fresh N Up was to provide a platform and outlet that artists locally and outside of our area could have a voice & show who they were. The honest conversations held in those interviews allowed a closer look into who that artist was. From then we created FNUP records which we have myself,  kobefreshouttshighschool and Jayoh.”

He’s set the foundation for something grand and with debut albums from both Zae and kobe slated to release in 2021, this next chapter is looking to be FNUP’s most accomplished yet.

FRESH N UP and THE 9LAYGROUND are producing together a show with over a dozen acts from all over Tampa Bay on December 19th, at Aqua Lounge in Tampa.

Tickets are available here.

Pope is available on all streaming platforms.

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