In the ever-evolving landscape of hip-hop, where authenticity is often overshadowed by fleeting trends, there’s a name that resonates with raw talent and an unapologetic commitment to the craft: Bizzy Crook.

Born as Lazaro Camejo, this Miami native is more than just a rapper; he’s a musical entrepreneur. With a knack for spinning gripping narratives and cultivating unparalleled businesses, Bizzy Crook has been crafting his own path in the hip-hop world.

All photos by Chris Moreno.

Bizzy’s journey through the rap scene began in the underground, where he planted the seeds of his artistry. First writing poems to self-express, Bizzy’s rhymes quickly transformed into verses which bloomed into songs. Mixtapes like “84” and “84: Off Season” became his canvas, allowing him to paint vivid pictures for listeners to immerse themselves in. These tapes along with No Hard Feelings paved the way for him to open for both Kid Ink and Wale.

We interviewed Bizzy about his upbringing, how he got his name, favorite inspirations, being a music entrepreneur while owning businesses, and more!

Where’s home?

I moved around a lot, so it gets complicated. People be like “Yo what part of Florida you actually from”.  I was born in Miami. Then I moved to Egypt. Then I moved back to Miramar which is in Broward County. And then I moved to an area called Cape Coral, which is in Lee County, Southwest Florida. So I represent Miami. I feel like they had the most influence on me growing up.

How did you find your stage name “Bizzy Crook”? 

So growing up, I was into things I shouldn’t have been into. I grew up around older Brooklyn guys. So I was into like credit card scams and all that and I was always getting busy, crooked. And even when I changed my ways, I aint gon lie, for a couple of years, I’ve been like, “I gotta change my name” because I feel like I don’t represent that no more. But over recently, I feel like I take wisdom. I take wisdom from people up here and I bring it to people down here. So I feel like I’m still Bizzy Cook, just differently, in a different way.

What was the defining moment you realized you wanted to make music? Was that always your plan? How long have you been making music for?

I started off with poetry at a young age because I used to be really shy and quiet. Poetry was like my way of expression. I started off writing poetry and then it transitioned to verses. And then I was like, man, I didn’t know that I can make a living off of this eventually. I feel like this is just what I do, put words together and make people feel.

I’ve been writing music my entire life. I will say when things kind of started picking up for me, I was about maybe 18 years old. I had like a little viral mixtape run when all the mixtapes was still out, kind of like at the end of the mixtape era. You know, I went on tour with Kid Ink, Wale. I dropped the project called No Hard Feelings that really opened doors to me. And then life happens, you know?

The Fox Magazine is all about inspiration. Who or what inspires you the most?

My daughter. I have two kids now. I just had my son about two weeks ago. I feel like having children makes you look at life from a different perspective. I feel like I didn’t begin living until they was born and everything gotta count, every second matters now.

Music is just something that I can’t shut off. No matter if I’m up here, if I’m down there, I’m always gonna write and record music. It’s just like breathing.

Recently in June, you released your latest single Love Language. What was your creative process like behind creating this song? 

You know, we get drunk, we start talking to girls like “Yeah I’m gonna buy you a house, I’m gonna buy you a car. Yo, let’s get a jet”. So that’s what it is. I’m gonna put you on some money, that’s my love language. I’m gonna promise you a condo when I’m in the moment and forget it in the morning. So yes, that’s what that was. Being toxic.

What’s something someone would be surprised to learn about you?

I’m an R&B songwriter. I don’t think people understand my pen. But it’s happening, real soon. They gonna know.

Are you gonna drop anything more in that genre?

Yeah, well I can’t sing, so I have to song write. I tried. I wish God let me sing. But yeah I got a lot of dope records that I’ve been a part of that are starting to come out.

What’s a piece of advice you’d give to someone who is just starting to make music?

You got to accept failure before you win. And I feel like in life, you’ll get whatever you’re willing to fail over and over and get back up on.

It’s not gonna be easy. It’s not meant to be easy. Nothing in life is meant to be easy.

And that’s not just for musicians. I feel like if you want to start a business, if you want to start a clothing line if you want to be an athlete, it’s meant to be hard. If it was easy, everybody would be successful, you know? And stop listening to people. You have to listen to your intuition. Listen to your intuition, people only project.

Can you tell me a little bit about your business? 

I have a distribution company that I started. It’s called Floor 13. As of right now, it’s just a distribution company. But we’re working on a tech that’s gonna give power to a lot of independent artists. It’s the first music distribution company for A&R’s. So for example, if you wanted to become an A&R, even if you have zero knowledge of it, you could sign up and you can start signing people onto our platform, and you get a royalty. And if you know nothing, our team will train you on everything you need to know. So there’s also like an educational aspect to it. It’s going really, really fast. We started it in January of this year.

It’s a very powerful tool. And we’re giving away all the information to artists, in a game where it’s all about gatekeeping. Our artists don’t succeed, unless they have the information we have. And we’re not trying to sell them anything. So we’re not keeping information, we’re giving it away.

Where did the name come from?

They say, elevators, they don’t got a floor 13, right? It kind of skips it. So I’m playing into the concept like, what if it is there and they just don’t want you to know? And you know, floor 13 Is the floor where you free yourself from all the illusions and thinking that you need a record label or thinking that you need somebody.

My biggest motivation behind it, it just killed me to see people giving up on their dreams so early. And just because they don’t have the information, just because they feel like they don’t know how to use TikTok, or they don’t understand the algorithm- they’re walking away and given up on what they love for the rest of their lives, just because they felt like they couldn’t keep up with the time.

If you could go back in time and tell yourself one thing, what would it be? 

If I could go back… stop seeking validation. Stop seeking validation from people who aren’t even validated by themselves. That’s the main thing.

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