Let go of the feeling of being stuck in Belly, the latest single by Floyd Zion.
It’s boy vs. the world in the latest track by genre-blender artist Floyd Zion. The LA-based singer has been known for writing, recording, and releasing tracks that blend genres — from indie to pop to alt — refusing to stay stuck under one label. Zion’s latest release embodies that mindset. It isn’t just a desire for him to break free from feeling constrained — it’s a must. With Belly, he sings about feeling stuck in relationships, jobs, and realities he wasn’t thriving in. As a nod to the ‘belly of the beast,’ Belly brings together a sonic infusion of indie-rock with catchy lyrics that have a powerful underlying message: break away and find freedom.
1883 Magazine chats with Floyd Zion about the creation of Belly, his music process, and more.
You’re from Houston, Tx and now you live in LA. How have the two places shaped you as an artist and influenced your sound?
See, the thing is, LA is fast, but Houston is slow and for me, it’s the mix of the two tempos. This is an advantage and it helps me, as you can hear within my music… finding the perfect balance within the tempo because that’s where music starts, with the BPM. Then you have the dark, chopped and screwed tone, and that real fearless hip-hop sound coming from Houston mixed with the free, breezy summer, nostalgic indie sound within LA, you know.
How would you describe the way you’ve grown as an artist since first choosing to be one?
I think that I’ve grown tremendously just because of how fearless and confident I’ve become in making the decisions that I do, with my music. I’m really in a place that I’ve always wanted to be in as an artist, and the fact that I am creating this music at this stage, just shows me I’m very close to where and who I want to be as an artist.
Your new single “Belly” is inspired by feeling stuck — whether that’s feeling stuck in a relationship, a job, or feeling stagnant in life. What was the writing process like for this song?
The writing process was interesting. I actually came up with the title first, which then inspired the instrumental, and then the music inspired the words. I usually don’t write like that. I kind of come up with a melody, and then from there I essentially visualize a story, or life situations that go along with the colors of the beat, and then I kind of just speak to that story and almost narrate it. Sometimes from a character’s perspective, or from a third person perspective. It’s all organic. That’s what I did with this song.
Did writing it feel like a cathartic experience?
Did writing it feel cathartic? Oh, well, I feel like while thinking it, I felt positive about what I was thinking, but more so recording it, or actually like performing it, singing it, is what I feel gives me more of a cathartic feeling, yeah.
Was there anything that you did differently while recording “Belly” that you hadn’t done prior?
This is a funny question because for this song in particular, I actually did do something different while recording. I was wearing this Freshiam Skimask, when I walked in the studio and decided to just record with it. It kind of filtered out my vocal a bit and gave it a natural mono whisper and kind of distortion.
Production-wise, it sounds like one of your biggest to date. Who did you work on this song with?
Yeah, I’m glad that you noticed the production on it. It’s always been a big part of my work because I’m a producer myself, but I have been blessed to work with my brother, Kayhan Azadi on this record and on Black Hoodie, and yeah, we just have great chemistry and we’re able to bring out the best within each other. He’s such a talented guitarist and instrumentalist, and he’s able to translate the things that I describe I want to hear within music perfectly and then take it to worlds that, you know, I could never!
Was there something in particular that surprised you about writing and/or recording the song?
I think the only thing that really surprised me was seeing how the production, the words, and the influence all married and meshed so beautifully, and then also all of the different dynamic vocals that I was able to put on one record and the way that they evenly sat.
Your sound is unrestrictive; it dances between genres. Has it always been important to not be confined to a specific genre or type of music?
I think it’s important to not be confined, but not in an arrogant way! More so in a way that I feel every artist, and true creative wants; to have that freedom and to create what we feel in the moment. We all feel different on different days, and those changes in emotion is what you hear in my music. And so I think it’s more important for me to try and pave this path where artists can create and release the music that they feel when they feel it, while still having success.
What 3 songs would you choose to soundtrack your perfect day?
This answer will forever change but for now I’ll say, Future – Forever Eva, Jay z- Dead Presidents II, and BELLY duhhh!
What next can fans expect from you?
Fans can expect a lot more music from me. My EP ‘Pink by Floyd’, they can expect me to keep pushing the boundary and more live performances and being outside!
Lastly, if you could manifest something for yourself this year, what would it be?
If I could manifest something for myself it would be a tour that included me going overseas, yeah!
Belly is out now.
