His chanted refrain «Stay, the nights without you hurt» has been one of the phenomena of the summer, omnipresent in discos, beach bars or party squares. Born in Buenos Aires only 24 years ago, Bizarrap (or BZRP, the logo that appears on its inseparable cap) has become one of the most influential and interesting electronic music producers in the business, with volume figures on YouTube or Spotify of planetary success.
Although he is on tour, as it has happened throughout this summer in our country, the Argentine electronic music producer Bizarrap does not neglect his inspiration. Every time he gets a chance to take a second breath, he finds a gap and looks for a studio to hang out with other artists. Pure creativity. “ In the suitcase I carry my controller to make music. Also some synthesizers that I use a lot and with which I feel that I get sounds that already give my own signature to the songs . I use them since the song I recorded with Nathy Peluso, since then they always appear”.
He is referring to Bzrp Music Sessions #36 , released less than two years ago, one of those songs whose videos accumulate millions of views on YouTube and have made Bizarrap a star . Perhaps that creative need that is impossible to put a stop to and his innate musical talent to surprise serve to explain his success on a planetary level. To which we must also add his ability to anticipate and connect with the taste of the public.
He is one of the latest and most powerful global phenomena in the music industry. “ Before I tried to make beats (rhythms) all the time, but now I try to only produce music that is going to come out . I make complete songs, when I used to make ten beats a day. Now I get together with live artists and it comes up in the moment. If I get to Madrid and I want to collaborate with someone, I just call him and we do it”, he acknowledges during the photo session in which he poses for the cover of Forbes .
The concerts of the Argentine have been one of the summer phenomena, a boom at the height of those carried out by the tours of Rosalía or El Madrileño (C. Tangana) at the level of response from the fans. Although his live proposal is dance-oriented, his performances end up becoming a true musical communion with his fans. While crossing out dates on his calendar, Bizarrap found out in July that his song with the Canarian artist Quevedo had reached global number one on Spotify .
The refrain “Stay, the nights without you hurt” has been chanted in discos, beach bars, parties, collective karaokes turned into viral videos and, of course, in streaming reproductions . With his BZRP Music Sessions #52 , Bizarrap has managed to go beyond the environment of his music – that of his natural followers, the young people who pack his concerts – to reach all kinds of audiences (the mainstream ). Becoming what is traditionally known as the ‘song of the summer’, but in reality it is nothing more than the culmination of years of work in the studio and the accumulation of great songs.
“ I was just talking about it with Quevedo when we heard the news, we couldn’t believe it . There were songs that had created more stir before coming out… For example, with Paulo Londra we reached second place in the world and I had been left with that thorn (laughs). And this one she knew could go well, because I love the song, but it had an impressive reception from the people. I did not expect it, but the music surprises, “he tells Forbes .
«I TRY NOT TO ANALYZE THE SUCCESS NOR DO I TAKE A LOOK AT HOW PEOPLE SEE ME, I GET TOGETHER WITH THE ARTISTS I WANT LIVE AND EVERYTHING COMES AT THE MOMENT»
Accustomed to breaking records, Bizarrap (known as BZRP, the brand that appears on his inseparable cap, and born Gonzalo in Buenos Aires in 1998) thus took another step forward in his career, full of dizzying numbers of views on platforms, which transcends beyond the hype to represent, at 24 years old, the current essence of the music producer .
“I try not to analyze success. I don’t pay much attention to how people see me. There are colleagues who thank me for helping the figure of the producer to grow. It makes me happy that people see me as a reference, I cannot deny that I am very grateful ”, he confesses with his innate and sweet shyness, always behind those sunglasses that have become part of the very recognizable iconography. of the.
The Argentine does not downplay what he is achieving, although he does not consider himself a pioneer, but part of a movement started by other producers to whom he shows the utmost respect . “The recognition of electronic music has been around for a long time. I always admired artists like Skrillex or Flume who put out their own albums with guests. I don’t know if it’s because of the moment or because of the sessions in which I invite artists, people began to find out what the work of a producer is like. I feel that I was not the first to do that, but I am glad that many people know the role of the producer through my work and also through many others in Argentina”.
Before becoming Bizarrap, he was 14 years old and a fan of music due to family influence. He could have tried another artistic discipline, as a child he loved to draw, but he turned his talent towards composition in a natural way. “ In my house there was always music . Just the other day I was listening to Juana La Loca with my parents, which is a band that I like from Argentina, and they told me that before I was born they took me to a recital of theirs and from the belly I was already kicking (laughs). Afterwards I always listened to a lot of music, my dad liked having records”.
He took the first steps on his own, a way of working with which he continues to identify. He got a program (which he still uses to this day) to produce, tested his talents with friends, and then went on his own way until he found a sound of his own . The one that is now so easy to identify and immediately sounds like BZRP. He was just a teenager and what he had in his hands was aiming high.
“I really liked rap and electronic music and I downloaded the software to produce it. I started learning on my own . I took songs that I liked, extracted them ‘a cappella’ and mixed them. They were years in which I made music without recording voices, only remixes . A couple of friends from school also started using it and we learned to produce together. Then I continued, watching YouTube tutorials.”
Until 2018 he did not start creating his own music and then he understood what it meant to produce a song beyond making the beat (rhythm) or the instrumental. “ It’s also about understanding the structure of the song, it’s the composition from scratch . Because when they send you a voice, you already have a guide. But in the production you are the one who has to guide the singer. And this happened four years ago, I began to mark my style and now I have it formed”.
«I STILL THINK THAT MY PLACE IS TO BE THERE, BEHIND THE COMPUTER, PRODUCING, AND THAT IT IS THE ARTIST WHO HAS TO SHOW UP»
That’s what he began to do with what he musically hallowed as Bzrp Music Sessions, perhaps the biggest whirlwind platforms (and music) have had to deal with in recent months . It is about collaborating with the great representatives of today’s urban music with a creative method that is based on complicity.
“ I like to work at the same time with the artist who comes to the studio. I’m not one to prepare the beat beforehand . I prefer to talk, see what situation he is in. I ask him to show me music what he is doing at that moment. And then I give my point of view and say: ‘With me I think you should do this kind of song’. I like to connect before starting work.” As Don Patricio, also from the Canary Islands, says in his session: “I just wanted one song. And I got together with the Biza ”. So simple and complex at once.
“ The lyrics are almost never written. Generally, you write at the moment or you have an idea and take the beat with you to continue writing at home. For example, Villano Antillano had some bars (rhymes), but most of them were written at the time. With Quevedo too, in one night it was written. With those who do freestyle , they improvise on the spot and that remains. But others take several months to finish writing.”
Artists like Residente, Cazzu, Nicki Nicole, Bejo, Trueno, Morad… And those who are yet to come and join the more than fifty sessions that are posted and reproduced on YouTube accompanied by videos with an aesthetic that is already a BZRP brand. .
“ I like to put the artist in front of me, even his name comes before mine . I don’t know, I feel that from my place as a producer I can place the artist showing his face and, nevertheless, have my leading role. I guess it’s something that comes from my shyness, from my personality. But I also still think that my place is to be there, behind the computer producing, and that the artist is the one who has to show his face and rap. In addition, it is an aesthetic that I like how it looks and there is also the message that it is not necessary to show yourself all the time so that people listen to you.
And Bizarrap knows what he is talking about, being a producer (with) a star and that he has already positioned himself beyond the rhythms .
