“Who’s fucking with the kid from Brooklyn who lit a torch in the culture that still shines bright to this day; AZ—the man, the myth, the legend…
For the last several years, AZ fans have dealt with the frustration of numerous false starts around the release of Doe or Die II, the long-awaited sequel to the Brooklyn rapper’s 1995 debut.
With the arrival of the Czar Keys-produced “Found My Niche,” AZ is now promising fans to enjoy this “appetizer” before a targeted summer release.
“It’s been a decade since I released a full body of work, but Doe or Die II is just what the doctor ordered,” AZ told Complex. “With the help of Pete Rock, Bink, Buckwild, Heatmakerz, Rockwilder, Baby Paul, Rick Ross, T-Pain and a few others; I’m going to deliver an entree like no other, with ‘Found My Niche’ being the appetizer.”
Clocking in right at two minutes, “Found My Niche” possesses a 90s mixtape aura with a melody reminiscent of the effects DJ Premier used for “Ten Crack Commandments.” Lyrically, AZ reflects on how the philosophy of the Nation of Gods and Earth and Hip-Hop protected him from the “plague” of drugs that razed his neighborhood. The tale down memory lane ends with AZ’s ’95 debut and “Sugar Hill,” a song that still holds emotional meaning for the veteran emcee.
“This has always been about more than music to me. I feel like I am the voice of the voiceless, giving hope to the hopeless, painting a path to success and making ‘Sugar Hill’ an accessible reality,” AZ explained.
Listen to “Found My Niche” below.
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 