For years, Zack Bia‘s unspecified role in the hip-hop industry has always been up for debate. Now, it’s become clear that it isn’t due to a lack of clarity, but a lack of a box to place him in.
Simply put, the man does it all.
Growing up in the Manhattan and Brooklyn areas of New York City — then moving to Los Angeles as a teen — the 26-year-old multi-hyphenate has since become a jack-of-all-trades in the creative scene.
His story started in the many clubs and bars that socialites and celebrities frequent in the city of Angels. As a college student at USC, being on campus at the same time as fellow creatives like FaZe Kaysan, Zack’s first job as a club promoter opened the door for him to be a fly on the wall at events and parties. As he eventually became a fixture at these venues, his face became more recognizable for superstars like Drake, who began chatting it up with Bia at the nightly functions he would host.
Drizzy becoming a “big bro” for Zack would pay dividends, as he not only began repping his streetwear brand PSYCHWORLD, but also shouted him out in his 2018 RIAA Platinum single “No Stylist” with French Montana. All the while, Bia was beginning to jumpstart his DJ career, exposing him even more to the extravagant nightlife in his hometown.
With Zack, every creative pursuit inevitably ends up being a gateway to another avenue. This became evident when his DJ pursuits led to him founding his record label Field Trip Recordings, which stemmed from his high quality set lists and the diverse group of artists he would bring out during his DJ performances.
Fast-forward to present day, his extensive list of cosigns is almost unimaginable. Whether it be DJ-ing birthday and album release parties for The Weeknd, Baby Keem, Doja Cat, Brent Faiyaz and Jack Harlow, touring with Post Malone currently or having Yeat, SSGKobe, Slump6s and more sign with Field Trip, Zack is one of the most beloved personalities in the industry.
“To me, all these things are the same thing,” he said. “Even though they may have different actual jurisdictions, all these things feed into each other. Running a label has to do with DJ-ing, has to do with finding music, has to do with whatever. First and foremost I’m a record label founder and DJ, everything else is secondary.”
With all these incredible connections, his skills as a liaison have led him to even more opportunities, such as a brand deal with Asics or an alcohol brand named Sunny Vodka. But, of all the tangible successes he’s achieved, what is most impressive about Bia is his composure and maturity. In order to carve his way into the forefront of the music business, Zack constantly reiterates how essential it is to walk the walk instead of talking the talk.
“A lot of the sh*t I got to do, I got to do because I never talked about it,” he said. “A lot of the access and relationships I was able to build were over the course of years, and if I was the person who was like, ‘Hey I’m friends with this person’ or ‘Hey I’m this,’ it would have immediately broken the trust.”
Now that he has an entire metaphorical rolodex of marquee names he can call, and a continually growing skill behind the DJ table, Zack’s biggest plan moving forward is to put out a project. Stemming from his spontaneous SoundCloud remixes of TikTok hits like “Bad Habit,” “Sticky” and “Glimpse of Us,” he hopes to put together a DJ tape that brings some of his favorite producers together and has them try new things.
“I’ve done a lot of the things I wanted to do DJing, and it was always a dream of mine to produce a tape,” he said. “(I’ll) bring in producers that I really like that might make one genre and kind of push them in another direction. Like, ‘You make these kind of beats, I love your sounds, what if we took them to this genre?’”
Although he has not revealed a cover art, title, track list or release date for the project, Bia confirmed that he will drop “a song or two” before the end of the year. For now, Zack is content maintaining the fascinating juxtaposition of staying low-key while doing the most eye-opening things possible.
During early September’s New York Fashion Week, Zack took time out of his wildly busy schedule to link up with OGM host Hakeem Rowe. For his Our Generation Music exclusive interview, Bia divulged many of the details regarding his project, his upbringing, his relationships with Drake, Yeat, Virgil Abloh and Lil Yachty, his love for skating growing up, being on tour, his label, his family and much more.
Check out Zack Bia’s exclusive interview below!
