DZA Starts New Label So Miami Artists Don't "Have to Go to New York or L.A. to Exist"

When DJ DZA, who you probably know from The Garret's now extinct Peachfuzz party, listens to fellow local Kodiak Fur's “I'll Be Waiting,” he feels some type of way.

“The song basically makes you feel like you're driving home at 6 a.m. after a night of just bullshit trying to figure out what you're doing with your life,” he says. “You're looking through your rearview, the sun is coming up, and you're just like, 'Fuck, this sucks – but this is also tight.'”

It's a real sexy number, the kind of jam that haunts your bed and touches your soul. DZA gives it the seal of approval, and if there's anything he knows, it's a good tune. That's why, together with a small tag-team and his buddy Rees Escobar, he's created his own label. It's called Rear View Records, and it's his means to release Kodiak Fur and other Miami-made joints that deserve recognition.

“I'm a DJ, so I don't really make music, I just think I have a good ear for what's good or not,” he says. “I don't want to disrespect the art of making music by making wack music like a lot of other people do. I would rather put myself in a position where I can help people who make really good music.”

It's an idea he and Rees have been throwing around for about a year. At first, they thought they might call the label Peachfuzz and piggy-back off the hip-hop night's established success, but that idea ultimately felt lame.

“I didn't want to mix the two,” DZA says. “I don't want to confuse people thinking one moment it's a party you go to and listen to Ja Rule, and the next moment, it's a label putting out Kodiak Fur which doesn't sound like anything that's going on at the party.”
Instead, Rear View took its name from a photo zine DZA created composed of pics he snapped of friends with his rearview camera. That coupled with his personal interpretation of “I'll Be Waiting” inspired the final name. Everyone vibed with it, and so it was done.

The first release drops Friday, November 20, from Miami duo LTENGHT featuring 305-er B.Wav. It's a hot party track, a futuristic twist on hype '90s house tracks a la Technotronic's “Pump the Jam.” It's dark, it bumps, and it's immediately catchy. It's the perfect foot forward.

“I think what we're looking for, what we're looking to establish more than anything, is consistency in Miami,” he says. “We want to be welcoming and open to every single kind of genre of music. The only thing that we require is that they're as goal and team oriented as we are, (the goal being) to put Miami on the map. That's my goal for almost everything I do. I want to have the branding really on point, have it be Miami-centric, hand have it be a true outlet for Miami people to express themselves.”

Soon to follow is “I'll Be Waiting” from Kodiak Fur, as long as some more singles which will lead into an EP, and ultimately an album. Rear View has more musical goodies from a variety of artists ranging in sound and style to round out the 2016 year. DZA, Escobar and the rest of the team are stoked on it. They can't wait to show what the 305 has to offer.

“This little generation of kids that we have is mad special,” DZA says. “I want to give them homes so they can have a place to put stuff out, so they can feel like they belong to something, so that they don't feel like they have to go to New York or L.A. to exist. I want to give them a base here so they can try to exist in Miami and America.”