Victor Isaiah Candelario who goes by his stage name Zay Greedo or originally Isaiah Soprano is a Brooklyn native. Zay got his first stage name Isaiah Soprano from a combination of his parents habitual viewing of The Sopranos & his middle name Isaiah; Isaiah Soprano being his conscious alias. Zay Greedo is another play on words, Zay being short for Isaiah and Greedo, based on the Star Wars character; Zay Greedo being his more experimental/hype alias.
Zay has lived in New York his whole life and says that will never change. As a child, 50 Cent was the foremost artist played by Zay’s parents; although his parents weren’t musicians his uncles Jesse & Raymond were. In his Sophomore year in high school Zay wrote his first song, after transitioning from only freestyling to actual song writing. When asked who his influences were, Zay gave a list of them as well as a break down of what he liked from each one: “Hov's Adaptability, Kendrick's Complexity, Nas's delivery/realness, Drake's flow, Cole's Simplicity & Pun's breath control”.
Outside of mainstream artist, Zay has personal influences as well. He credits only a couple of friends for impacting his independent music career but says there is one who has had a huge impact; “..my boy Raul has got to be one of the biggest influences, he always gives me feedback for everything. I don't like yes men; he plays that no guy. He’ll be the first to tell me if something I recorded is trash, and I feel like we need that to get better; we need that honest opinion / constructive criticism. People think I'm just a critic to other artists, I'm also a critic of myself.. The same way I criticize others music, I criticize my own.“
Strong self criticism is one of many devices that differentiates Zay from from his peers along with his desire to be great. Zay said, “I don't wanna be around for one song then vanish, I want to drop great song after great song & take my time with my work. I'm very poised & patient when it comes to my music. Everything has to be on point”. Zay currently has no mentor or manager but says he wouldn’t mind one as long as it is someone who actually see’s his potential and isn’t just looking to throw the title around. In addition to music Zay has other artistic ambitions and business ventures but none currently taking priority over music. When asked if he would take a label deal if offered one he had this to say, “A couple years back when I didn't have a son or heavy responsibility, no. Today (if the deal was a good one) I would. Don't get me wrong, I would much rather be successful on my own without a label, but it's a very different situation when you have a baby boy to take care of.”
With his sophomoric EP dropping, he may be considering label offers soon enough. Don't wait to jump on the bandwagon, check out the first single released leading up to Zay Greedo's sophomoric album,"Truth Be Told":
"In anticipation of the release of ZAY GREEDO's sophomore EP Truth Be Told (Coming Soon) he releases a single titled "Don't Play" ripping radios for not supporting the indie & digging at artists more invested in their image then their music. All while struggling to answer, whether he's searching for hits or making the music he truly wants to make."
“I think doing what you love to do should always be the master plan”
- Zay Greedo