Finals week hasn’t landed yet, but for Weinberg freshman and rapper Zhaire Easley — known musically as ZYNITH — the pressure is building. Easley has kept busy by turning a dorm-room hobby into an opportunity to redefine the college rap aesthetic with his original compositions.
Easley began writing songs at 16, and by the age of 17, he was recording. He released his first track the same year, discovering his distinct sound. Influenced by legends like Drake and J. Cole, Easley’s storytelling mirrors hybrids of pop-rap, R&B and neosoul genres.
“Hearing someone mix R&B and rap together always impressed me,” Easley said.
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Easley said his hometown shaped his outlook on the music industry as a whole.
Easley said he makes music to give back to the Black community, his family, his friends and the city that raised him. He hopes to return to his hometown one day and play for the Xfinity Center in Philadelphia or Madison Square Garden in New York City, he said.
“My hometown is very important to me,” Easley said. “It did provide me with the experiences that ultimately shape who I am today.”
In addition to drawing influence from his hometown, Easley keeps a notebook with him, jotting down song ideas or just single lines to develop later.
It takes around two weeks for Easley to write a song because he returns to the music repeatedly, rewriting until he feels like the lyrics match the idea in his head, he said.
“I’m always nitpicking lyrics,” he said. “(I’m) trying to make sure I’m making a clever-sounding song.”
When he came to Northwestern, Easley said he had to adjust to being a full-time student and still pursuing a rap career.
Easley wanted to grow in his sound and his fanbase at NU, he said. One “meet-and-greet” following an A&O Productions concert with A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie changed everything.
What began as a joke with his friends turned into a crowd event of fans eager to meet the “ZYNITH” they’ve seen plastered across social media.
“Some people printed out pictures of me. I did end up giving autographs,” Easley said.
Before coming to NU, Easley wrote an original song with his hometown friend Kyle Scott.
Working with Scott on their song, “Do Not Disturb,” allowed Easley to practice blending styles and collaborating with another artist.
“I am more of a sing-y rapper. I like to be more melodic, while he is really bar-heavy,” Scott said. “I learned there are many ways to express yourself musically, and he had a totally different perspective, which was cool to see.”
While at NU, Easley has continued to find different ways to express himself and even found a producer.
Bienen freshman Andrew Schreiber met Easley during Wildcat Welcome. They create, record and produce songs in Schreiber’s dorm room together.
“Zhaire will send me a word or a feeling that he wants a new track to center around, then we just see what ideas come into his head and how the sound can contribute to the flow,” Schreiber said.
Schreiber owns his own production equipment, which the duo used to create their first song together. Their song “NONCHALANT” was released on Nov. 14.
While Easley chooses to integrate rap and R&B instrumentals into his music, Schreiber’s background is in jazz music. Schreiber said he hopes to bring a new sound to Easley’s discography, including the usage of real instruments.
With the release of each song, Easley said he has learned quickly that success does not come without long nights, criticism and a willingness to push through uncertainty.
Schreiber said the dynamic between him and Easley has only strengthened due to this mindset, developing a space where ideas are nurtured naturally and each lyric steps towards something larger than itself.
“There really is no shortcut to being good at what you do and getting better,” Schreiber said. “The only way you’re going to be a better musician is if you lock yourself in a room and practice.”
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Email: [email protected]
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‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source dailynorthwestern.com ’
