Interview: ZENCII
ZENCII is the musical alias of Abdul Clark based in based in northeast Alabama. Clark produces his own experimental rap/hip hop music and accompanying social media content.
Jesse Norris: How long have you been making music? And how long as ZENCII if you have used
any previous monikers?
ZENCII: Freestyling with the boys at middle school lunch tables definitely started it but I realized I had something to say when I was about 17. I had 1000 other names and ideas for projects but when I landed on “ZENCII”, that word felt it would fit wherever my sound went. A name like “maya bandsjalou” felt like a box on the sound even though I might pull that one back out one day. I still think it’s dope.
JN: What are your main influences when you sit down to work on a new track? Your influences don’t have to just be musical artists.
ZENCII: Musical influences: Young Thug, Dylan Brady, Danny Brown, and Busta Rhymes.
Non musical influences: Eddy Murphy, George Carlin, Dashiexp, and Leo DiCaprio (all legends of making a point and saying exactly what they think/feel)
JN: Did you have future goals when you released your debut single ‘nostrils’?
ZENCII: My only goal with ‘nostrils’ was to fuck somebody’s day up in 2 minutes. Bonus points if they wanted to hear it again.
JN: Your musical output as of late differs greatly from your initial releases. What would you say caused the shift in style?
ZENCII: More input. A huge problem in hip hop right now is 70-80% of artists sound like they’re pulling influence from the same 4-5 artists. It all feels like recycled mush with a few omnisphere presets slapped on to save it. My approach is sound design heavy. If I have colors no one else has, nobody can recreate my paintings. I’m also a slut for novelty so I’m always trying to make sure tomorrow doesn’t sound like yesterday.
JN: How has your taste and style changed between when your first started making beats and now?
ZENCII: I really just opened up my ears to more music. Starting out I really just wanted to make noise and yell about my problems and weed on top of it. When I was 18 putting out ‘nostrils’ and ‘I n22d it’, I was literally throwing shit at a wall and seeing what stuck. Now I got more shit and I can “see the finished wall” before I throw.
JN: What gear/DAW do you use in the studio?
ZENCII: Ableton Live 11, Focusrite 2i2, Korg Minilogue, Roland fp30x, Boss RC-5 loop pedal, and a lot of thinking out loud.
JN: I’ve seen you perform live probably around a dozen times at this point. Your setlists are almost always different. Recently, you performed a mostly improv set with only a couple polished songs that featured vocals. What’s your approach to figuring out which songs you’ll play when you’re preparing for a show?
ZENCII: It’s all about the day. I do set lists the day of or the night before. If it’s a day that I wanna jump around and yell shit, I’m playing loud and short. I want the performance to hit like meth. If I’m hanging out, it’s more groove or rap heavy longer songs.
JN: What are your goals for the future of this project?
ZENCII: A lot. 2026 is looking like a lot if I can stop watching goddamn YouTube reels. Me and my boy Blake Walch have been working on some visuals that I’m attaching some music to. A few slow cooker projects are almost there. There’s like 4 singles I’ve made over and over again at this point because I can’t land 'em so my real future goal is these 4 singles coming out whenever I get them made.
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