Brampton artist Ziyaad Luceō just released a new track titled “Tranquility Continuum” in celebration of the two-year anniversary of his debut mixtape, The Tranquility EP-ish (which is still available for listening via DatPiff).
Utilizing production from Whoarei (who produced a lot for The Tranquility EP-ish) and Medasin, Ziyaad delivers “Tranquility Continuum” as more-or-less of a rap lullaby. The song itself was actually written three different times before Ziyaad finally wrote this version (which strategically incorporates the names of all the songs from The Tranquility EP-ish).
What’s so interesting about the release of “Tranquility Continuum” is that Ziyaad is actually trying to draw attention to his debut mixtape. Guys will often do everything they can to bury their debut projects and cover their footprints.
As artists progress and improve, they get embarrassed by their early work. So guys will change their stage names, and remove all of their early work off the internet in hopes of making their debut material untraceable. But Ziyaad is doing the exact opposite, here.
According to Ziyaad, “Tranquility Continuum” is a celebration of imperfections. Which is probably why it makes for such a proper nod to The Tranquility EP-ish. It is the most anticlimactic song Ziyaad has released. And that’s completely intentional. As the song’s title implies, it’s simply a continuum of the tranquility. Don’t expect monstrous beat drops or switch-ups or anything like that. Take a listen to “Tranquility Continuum” and check out our in-depth interview with Ziyaad below.
Q&A: Ziyaad Luceō
HipHopCanada: Start off by telling me what this track means to you on a personal level.
Ziyaad Luceō: “Tranquility Continuum” is probably one of my most inspiring record I’ve released to date. It has so many meanings, both personal and public. Publicly, it’s the celebration of my second year anniversary of my debut mixtape [and] where I showcase how far I’ve grown since its release; internally and externally. For my fans who loved the project and showed me love and support literally from day one… I wanted to give them a salute for being so welcoming of myself and my story. On the other hand… personally, “Tranquility Continuum” is also a celebration of my imperfections – how I f**ked up in life and the mistakes I’ve made along the way. I communicate sorrow in [the] forms of heartbreak, disconnecting socially and insecurities about myself and my music. But with all this being said (like what you hinted at before) the underlying message is that joy can grow from the most depressing situations. You can’t help where you come from. But you create an alternative reality through positivity and persistence.
HipHopCanada: This is the most anticlimactic song I’ve heard from you. I think we’re in an era where people feel like music needs to go through this roller coaster of beat drops, and emotions, and switch-ups, and constant stimulation. And I feel like you literally tried to create a continuum of the tranquility here. Talk to me about that.
Ziyaad Luceō: I completely agree with your logic. This generation seems complex when it comes to how people create and interpret music. Even though I thoroughly enjoy this rise of experimentally stimulating creativity, I feel like it’s more important to create music that is completely opposite or unrelated. I say this because I feel it shows a sense of maturity and artistic growth to consciously try to be different. To be different, but not be a contrarian. But to be different so you can live with yourself. The chilled and relaxed vibe was a central component on The Tranquility EP-ish and in my life. So to re-create that feeling was somewhat effortless to me because that’s something that comes completely natural. When I first heard the instrumental it truly spoke to me on the fact it was so consistently chilled. The tribute factor was bred from that. HipHopCanada: Tell me the story behind how all the producers came together to collaborate on this beat.
Ziyaad Luceō: Medasin created the instrumental with my vocals on it. And Whoarei created the snippet at the end. The reason why I blended both was because I used a lot of Whoarei production on The Tranquility EP-ish. So I just wanted to create a connection.
HipHopCanada: Talk to me about the biggest changes (both personal and artistic) that have occurred for you since the release of The Tranquility EP-ish.
Ziyaad Luceō: I guess I’d like to say that I matured. I’ve grown wiser, stronger, more compassionate and understanding. I’m an adult now. When I created my mixtape, I was a teenager; drunk with naïvity. I feel that I’m growing into myself and who I always wanted to be. And all of this because of my love of music. Music really moulded me and taught me about the world around me and abroad. On the topic of artistic growth, I guess I can be a bit biased. I feel that I’ve grown through the strength of my voice and songwriting ability. My mixing and mastering abilities are greatly improved as well. Yet with all this said, I still feel like I’m not even close to the capabilites I know I can reach. My friends poke a little fun at me when I continue to say “this is only the beginning” because it really is only the beginning.
HipHopCanada: I find it very interesting that you made this track to draw attention to your debut mixtape. Because a lot of guys try to bury their first projects. Like… as guys improve their artistry, they get embarrassed about their early work and delete it off the Internet and change their stage names so their old work becomes untraceable. But you’re actually trying to promote it again, two years after-the-fact… and I sense you still are very proud of the mixtape.
Ziyaad Luceō: I am very proud of my tape. It cemented my beginning as an artist, audio engineer, producer and a public figure. I’m proud of my courage to put myself out there for the world to see. I’m not ashamed of my imperfections. Rather I’d like to celebrate them. I choose to celebrate them because it marks where I need to work on to improve as a human being and as an artist.
HipHopCanada: Which song on The Tranquility EP-ish means the most to you and why?
Ziyaad Luceō: I’ve been asked this quesiton multiple times but I could never find an answer. All my songs are something special to me. When I create a song, I put the same amount of work into all of them. It’s like when you have a family with more than one kid, you love all your children equally and fairly. Kind of a weird analogy, but that’s what helps me understand my work a little bit more.
HipHopCanada: I’m very curious about the process for making this song (and where the idea for a “Continuum” track came from), and why you opted to incorporate The Tranquility EP-ish song titles into your lyrics for this.
Ziyaad Luceō: I always wanted to be more lyrical with my work (having a message deeper than what the ear can hear). I don’t ever want to “half-ass” my lyrics and say something that doesn’t have a meaning to me. I wrote like three different versions to this song but all of them didn’t feel right to me. It just dawned on me to incorpate my titles of my tape to really ring true to the tribute factor. “Continuum” was just a cool way of me saying that I’ll never forget where I started and The Tranquility EP-ish‘s message will live on forever. Interview conducted by Sarah Jay for HipHopCanada
