Photo Credit: Aaron Diaz and Jordan Mason

Written By: Chelsea Samuel | @opn.5ea

zi starchild is filled with interstellar soul and boundless creativity. Rooted in ancestral wisdom and cosmic wonder, zi embodies the essence of light and interconnectedness. The multi-talented artist shares how he’s crafted an otherworldly sound that has become a retreat for his listeners, facilitating space as an offering to his community, and what he’s most excited about building upon in the near future.

The name zi starchild, derived from "zi," meaning light, and "starchild," was detailed as a gift from ancestors. He describes it as a convergence of many lineages and a boundless creativity that spans galaxies.

“A child of the stars,” zi describes how their ancestors influenced their artist name. “We are born of many stars and represent the influence of the many that came before us.”

zi is made up of several gifts. From artist, community leader and healer, they have created a world that spans across the galaxy.

Listeners, who may come across zi’s music organically, are prioritizing healthier lives, invested in traveling out and in, seeking luxury care and creating new ways to share love and life together. Their music is inspired by life itself, with sounds of nature and uplifting frequencies that draw you closer to yourself.

“It’s been widely described as healing and refreshing for the soul,” zi shares of their sound. “Like a psychedelic experience of breathing and picking flowers in outer space.”

Their latest album, Inner Space, explores all the themes detailed above. It’s a complete journey of exploration and evolution to ourselves. With stand-out tracks like “Perfect As You Are” and “Care For the Land,” zi encourages listeners by sharing stories that obviously come from lived experiences.

Currently, zi is experimenting with “monk rock,” a concept as intriguing as it sounds.

This month’s Next Wave theme is “Give Back,” which simply means voluntarily providing help and usually with community in mind. For Zi, giving back is central. Through facilitating a sanctuary space that gives artists, moms and community stewards a land-based environment to just breathe, be, connect and create alone or together, they embody intentional community care.

Lately, they have also been hosting bi-weekly dinners for creators that relate to money, trust, growing together and envisioning ways to be of optimal support to each other.

“So much we could say here,” zi offers. “But I’ll just say we’re always paying attention to what’s needed and looking for ways to be of service. Most, if not all, of the service starts with confirmation from Spirit.”

zi’s journey is built on authentic connections. From volunteering at shoreline cleanups to crossing paths with mentors like Lauryn Hill’s manager in Brazil and Quincy Jones’ engineer in Hawai’i, synchronicity has played a pivotal role in their growth.

“Real life living and sharing art,” they say, is the foundation of their brand.

Their creative process is intuitive, drawing from inner and outer worlds, producing music that resets nervous systems and fosters connection. From their debut as a 17-year-old SoundCloud sensation with other 100k listens to performing at the 2024 BET Awards and Atlanta’s High Museum of Art in 2024, zi’s evolution is both inspiring and grounded.

“There were invitations to be sponsored by Karmaloop, performing as an opener for Chance the Rapper, along with label meetings and more,” zi remembers. “It’s changed so much since then. We about to start going door to door with it though and engaging our local Stone Mountain community to build up a new base. Super hype about it.”

As they pave new roads in genre and artistry, zi starchild reminds us that Black artistry is foundational and limitless.

Continuing to reflect on their path, he adds, “Giving begets being given to. Always here to give when and as we can.”

As for artists looking to forge their own paths, zi starchild offers helpful advice.

“Trust yourself. You’ve got this—but you don’t have to do it alone,” they advised.

The starchild is reimagining music and beyond by creating a brand-new wave yet again. They have hopes to make music especially for their family.

“I’d like to make music my 3 year-old baby brother, Zen, my brothers Daylen and Destin, and my sisters, Yahya, Yasata, Yanaiya, Diara, Dayah, would all love,” zi shared.

They also added that they’re excited to grow as a man and reach the entire globe with the emergent genres they’re creating.

“We paving entirely new roads with genre and all,” zi shared.

To support zi starchild and the children of the stars’ community, be sure to follow their movement here.

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