Izza Kizza (born Terry Davis in 1981) is an American

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

recording artist and MC, currently signed to

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer and rapper. Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, he is widely acclaimed for his distinctive production work and "stuttering" rhythm ...

Mosley Music Group Mosley Music Group (MMG) is a record label founded and formed by producer Timbaland, Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley in 2006. A successor to his previous label Beat Club, it has operated as an imprint of Def Jam Recordings since 2019. Previously, the ...

label. He is known for creating mixes with an eclectic flow and versatile style, recalling some of hip-hop's most playful moments.

Biography

Born and raised in

Valdosta, Georgia Valdosta is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, Lowndes County in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As the principal city of the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area, Valdosta metropolitan statistical area, ...

, Terry started performing at the age of twelve in a singing group that consisted of his older brother and his two godbrothers. Later, influenced by appearance of emerging acts such as

Kris Kross Kris Kross were an American hip hop duo, composed of rappers Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith, formed by record producer Jermaine Dupri. They were the youngest hip-hop group to gain commercial success, charting releases by t ...

, he started his own career as an MC, adopting the stage name of Izza Kizza and gaining a significant local following. This brought him to the attention of the production duo Soul Diggaz. Following their invite, he relocated to

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

in order to further his music career. There he collaborated with renowned hip-hop artists such as

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971), also known as Misdemeanor, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She began her musical career as a member of the Contemporary R&B, R&B girl group 4 All the Sistas Arou ...

(resulting in the song "Walk The Dawg", which samples singer Shirley Ellis' " The Clapping Song"), and ultimately accepted the offer to sign for

's record label, Mosley Music/

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

. He has since left Timbaland's MMG citing that Timbaland was too busy with his solo album, Shock Value II, and didn't want to wait for him to finish with his other obligations. They are still friends. Izza's first

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

, " Kizzaland", mixed by Nick Catchdubs, was made available as a free download in 2008 via his weblog, sporting mixes by

, Soul Diggaz and Koolade. One of the songs from the mixtape, "Red Wine", was featured as the opening track of

Paste Magazine ''Paste'' is an American monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publi ...

's June 2008 New-Music Sampler CD. The song "Millionaire" was included in the soundtrack for the

Madden NFL 09 ''Madden NFL 09'' is an American football video game based on the NFL that was published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon. It is the 20th annual installment in the ''Madden NFL'' video game franchise. The game was released for the Ninten ...

video game, as well as his song "They're Everywhere" being included on the NBA 2K10 video game soundtrack. "They're Everywhere" also appeared on the 5th season of the popular FOX dance competition

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...

in a hip-hop routine danced by 4th-place finisher Kayla Radomski and 7th-place finisher Jason Glover, it was choreographed by Shane Sparks.

Discography

Albums

*2008: '' Kizzaland'' (mixtape) *2009: '' The Wizard of Iz'' (mixtape) *2010: '' 10:15 (mixtape)

Compilation appearances

*'' The New Deal'', 2008 – presented by 10 Deep, mixed by DJ Benzi; contributed "Back To Miami" (prod. Koolade)

As featured artist

*2007: "Happy Birthday" presented by So Def and

*2008: "Murder" presented by

Ashlee Simpson Ashley Nicolle Ross-Næss ( Simpson; born October 3, 1984), also known as Ashlee Simpson, is an American singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. The younger sister of singer and actress Jessica Simpson, she began her career as ...

on her album '' Bittersweet World'' *2009: "Worst Day" presented by

Calvin Harris Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris (and sometimes under the stage name Love Regenerator), is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter. His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'' (2007 ...

on his album '' Ready for the Weekend'' *2009: "What Up Y'all" presented by

Crookers Crookers is the musical project of Italian DJ and producer Francesco "Phra" Barbaglia. Crookers was originally a duo consisting of Phra and fellow producer Bot, who worked together from 2003 to 2012. When the two artists met, both were trying to ...

on his album ''Tons of Friends'' *2011: "Fucked Up" presented by Ultraviolet Sound on their album ''Ultraviolet Sound'' *2015: "Bruh" Presented by Jordyn Jones

External links

*
An interview with Izza Kizza conducted in May 2009

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kizza, Izza Living people African-American rappers 1981 births Rappers from Georgia (U.S. state) 21st-century American rappers 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians