Phaze Gawd

Phaze Gawd takes home "Best Male Hip Hop Video" at the 2017 Carolina Music Video awards! Click link to read the full Recap - Janelle Het-Heru Glenn

Charlotte-based hip hop artist PHAZE GAWD (Tony Potts) hit my radar a little over a month ago when I stumbled upon his new EP, Definitive Theosis, through a series of shared Facebook posts. The EP is a collaboration between PHAZE GAWD and recently deceased NC producer DFLN (Dreams From Last Night, aka Derrick Curtis), and PHAZE GAWD will be performing some of the tracks live at the upcoming BEATLIFE show, which honors the late producer's work, happening September 17th at the Mothlight beginning at 9 pm.

The product that these two artists created hooked me on a deep level, so much so that I immediately reached out to Tony (the PHAZE GAWD himself) for an interview. He's got a couple of releases under his belt at this point, but this particular combination is solid gold. Definitive Theosis is a very strong entry into hip hop generally, with the creative, innovative beats from DFLN supporting the politically-charged verbal acrobatics of PHAZE GAWD.

The EP opens with the title track, and right from the start the electric energy of the songs is obvious. PHAZE GAWD goes straight to the heart of the matter, tackling issues of racism, police brutality, and the challenges of being black in our current cultural moment. He moves between dropping rhymes into moments of song that bring a softness to the harder message of the lyrics themselves as DFLN's rhythms cascade through the background. The EP is also about claiming power, for PHAZE GAWD and for his audience. It's a call to action on a personal and a human level. "Guns Up," the second track, is a particularly powerful example of this, and the hard edges of its chorus are impossible to ignore.

Every song on the EP is strong. It's not only incredibly intelligent music, it's also damn catchy. PHAZE GAWD exudes an assured, steady energy, but he also isn't afraid of stepping fully into the fire and taking us there with him. - Ali McGhee

Blacksburg's own Multi media Journalist Dylan Holliday sat down with Phaze Gawd after his debut show in Virginia at "The Litterbox". - Dylan Holliday

I’ve known Tony P. since around the time that I started ATL almost two years ago and that was because I found out about the group that he’s a part of, Phazer Gang.

The thing that I love about Phazer Gang, and yes this relates to Tony, is that they all have their individual projects and they also have the ability to be powerful together as a unit. So even though I met them as a unit, I have had the opportunity to listen to their separate work and it’s always left me wanting more.

Now onto the GAWD EP. This project was released in November of last year, but like with any of my reviews I want to take the time to properly sit down and listen to the tape fully instead of listening to a few tracks here and there.

Starting off with Feeling Like A Gawd, I was a bit confused in the beginning when it started off with two different people speaking in a foreign language, I’m thinking arabic but correct me if I’m wrong, and then that leads to Tony P’s verse which is full of his signature flow, which I was so excited about. The similes that he skillfully uses, “givin up that brain like organ donors at a crash site”, definitely give some umph to the track however at times I feel like they’re used a bit too close together. Adding in the famous Kanye clip in which he’s speaking about him being a god, was a nice touch and definitely brought the message full circle. Next up, Tanx along with Feeling Like A Gawd include many references to Phazer Gang which is something that I really didn’t expect, especially with this being Tony’s debut EP. Link Up would be the song that I would have to play if I want to turn-up or if I’m just trying to get my mind off of a few things. Done Deal, the longest track on the EP, starts with a brief skit, which leads into the same trap vibe that’s present in Link Up, but with more lyricism. I had “done deal” stuck in my head after the song went off; I would call that a success. With Billy Gram$, the change of instrumentals a little over half way in was my favorite part of this track, not to say the rest of the track was bad at all, I just felt like I got a piece of all the facets that were included through the previous four tracks. When listening to Rollin, I had to go back to the beginning to try to figure out what the song was actually about initially and try to tie that into what was being said towards the middle about police brutality. I’m guessing it all ties into “and I been gettin into my emotions, steady mixin liquor like it’s potion…” part of the chorus that ties into finding a way to deal with everything going on around him. Finally, Phaze Gawd ends the album with the same flow that brought it in, and that I appreciated.

Overall the tracks on GAWD have a trap aspect to them, which I knew would be present going to the EP, whether that be through the instrumentals (Link Up and Billy Gram$ especially) or through the actual content in the lyrics. I enjoyed what Tony P’s flow did to the instrumental in every single song, and I could definitely tell that he put his all into each and every track. If I had to pick a favorite it would have to be Billy Gram$, even though I did give it a bit of a dig above.

Make sure to give the GAWD EP a listen.. - All The Legends; Jelecia Stanton

Tony P aka Phaze Gawd of Phazer Gang has released his debut beat tape for all of Charlotte and the world to enjoy. Deldequadus is a step inside of Phaze Gawd’s personal artistic style of who he is as a producer. The tape is very laid back but also has an undoubted sound of a space theme. I got some details behind DelDequadus from the Gawd himself. Read what he has to say and listen to the debut after the jump.

1. Where did you get the name DelDequadus?

I actually got the name DelDequadus (Dell-Deck-kwa-dis) from my friend and personal trainer, Sterling West, while we were making jokes on crazy names black people have. He blurted out “Deldequadus” and I thought it sounded dope and wanted to use it. He was so pissed but its all love!

2. What all went into making your debut? What type of feel did you want to give everyone?

I’ve only been producing CONSISTENTLY for about 2-3 months so I just played around and let all the music flow and come together naturally. The feel started taking a nice intergalactic space twist to it that I wanted to keep throughout the tape since I have such a deep interest in space exploration and astrology. That’s why I sampled poems and lectures connecting with space travel (i.e. Ray Bradbury’s poem and V Sauce lecture on traveling through black holes). Even the character DelDequadus himself is made up of space for those who didn’t catch the story set up on the 1st track. I wanted to create something people could listen to and just drift off into space or deep thought.

3. Did you get frustrated when making the tape and did you ever have to step back at any point?

I don’t think I got frustrated while making the tape. I was more confused on if/when I should drop it. Nobody really knows me for actual music production so this is brand new territory and when your coming on to the scene with the likes of producers like Axnt, LTheBeatChemist and Simon SMTHNG it’s a little intimidating to say the least.

4. How much support did you have backing you for the debut? Did you ever feel like giving up or pushing back the date?

I got a lot of support from my family while creating the tape. I was producing on my dad’s set up located in his room so my parents were usually there while I was creating and saw the progression and were so proud. Outside of family I didn’t get too much support but that was because I kept the project so hush… I like to consider myself a man of secrets and surprises! I never considered moving the date-I figured dropping the tape on my birthday would be pretty cool to give it more significance!

5. You were somewhat under wraps and just hopping on singles, now you have released this tape. What is next?

ALOT MORE MUSIC! Looking to drop the Phazer Gang EP in December then turn around and start work on Phaze 2 for Phazer Gang AND my solo album I’m looking to drop at the end of 2015. I REALLY enjoyed producing so Im definitely going to be doing a lot more and not just for myself but for other artists in the city and I’m also looking forward to the upcoming film projects I’m taking part of, not just as an actor but a video producer as well. So yeah I’m definitely trying to stay creative and busy! - Touch of Daz; Darien Talley