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Nazo Bravo Discusses Music, Movies & More

Nazo Bravo
Image Credit- Nazo Bravo

Nazo Bravo is a man that wears many hats in the entertainment industry. He is an artist, actor, and producer from Los Angeles, California. As an artist, he was given the opportunity to perform at venues such as the Troubadour and The House of Blues Sunset. He also opened for Bay native E-40 and has been co-signed by Big Boy of Real 92.3’s Big Boys Neighborhood. In addition, he has singles featuring E-40 and Mr. “Who Booty” Jonn Hart.

Nazo has shared the big screen with some of Hollywood elites such as Lucy Liu, Michael Jai White and Michael Madsen. Just this year, he has been featured in Lion Gates’ 2016, The Mason Brothers, and Dead on Arrival — the latter of which will be premiering today, November 4th, 2017, at the historic Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles.

Nazo is currently working on several other projects in both music and in film. He is quickly becoming a major player in the state of California. With all this, RESPECT. is very fortunate to be able to lock in with the multi-talent for our latest interview (below).

Image Credit- Nazo Bravo

RESPECT.: You co-produced and will be starring in your upcoming film Dead on Arrival. Can you tell us about your character Detective Naroyan?

I play a detective alongside D.B. Sweeney. He has been featured in Taken 2 and Chi-Raq. I had a lot of fun working with him and I play an Armenian–American detective. So, there is a lot of entertaining dialogue between the two of us. He busts my balls because of my culture and he is an older southern detective. He is not familiar with the culture, but like I said we are able to create a semi-comedic dialogue given some relief in an otherwise dark story.  Our roles are to track down the trail of dead bodies that appear throughout this story.

Image Credit – Nazo Bravo

RESPECT.: Can you tell us what it was like working with Scottie Thompson on this project?

It was an amazing experience working with Scottie [Thompson]. She is a great actress, very talented individual, and we were excited that she wanted to be a part of this project.  Scottie has had the opportunity to be a part of a variety of different projects throughout her career and it is hard to imagine anyone else playing the role of Bonnie.

RESPECT.: You have some other film projects in works can you tell us about those?

I have several projects that I am developing with my producing partner Stephen C. Sepher, who also writes and directed Dead on Arrival. I was working on this project with him pretty much since inception, from pre-production to getting the film screened at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood…a historic venue and the perfect place to have our west coast premiere. The ARAP International Film Festival has shown me love in the past with a short film that I was involved in, but this will be the first time that a project that I was involved with will be the featured film. We have been nominated in three categories: Best Feature Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay.

RESPECT.: You have recently released a music project. Can you tell us why you decided to entitle your project, Young Lion?

My birth last name, Aslanian, in Armenian means ‘lion’, and my company logo is a lion. So, it was just part of the branding and with this being my debut EP I felt that it made sense from that perspective. The young lion comes into the kingdom and is ready to conquer and this is the type of personality that I have. That is why I decided to name my debut EP Young Lion.

RESPECT.: Two singles that stood out to me the most were “Baddest Chick (featuring Jonn Hart) and “Put It In Reverse” with E-40, both being amazing club singles. Can you take us through the creative process of those singles and did you intend for the music to specifically target the female audience?

Both of those singles were targeted towards the female audience, clubs, and radio.  I would say “Baddest Chick” is aimed towards the top 40 and as far as the creation process, “Put It In Reverse,” I had the concept and felt that E-40 was a great fit for the single. So, I reached out to him through my contacts and I happen to meet him several years earlier when I opened for him. It was a normal fit. “Baddest Chick,” I met Jonn Hart at a radio interview. We were doing separate interviews at the time and started networking and decided to work together. I sent him the song with the hook I wanted to use as a reference and he took it and added his personal touch to it, turned out great.  With both songs, I had the concepts in place with the hook and I feel that is when you approach an established artist with a vision that is already there. It makes it easier for them to see if they want to be a part of the project or not.

RESPECT.: If you could name one single off the Young Lion EP that you considered your favorite, which one would it be and why?

That’s Tough! Right now, because I have listened to “Baddest Chick” and “Put It In Reverse” so much, I would have to pick “Survivor Mode” or “Ayo.” I would probably go with “Ayo” because of branding and it is a trademark word of mine. It translates to ‘yeah’ in Armenian. The approach that I take in the creation of the song is different and it is a good song to vibe to.

RESPECT.: When can we expect Nazo Bravo to release a 20-track album?

It funny you say that I do have an album ready to go. I originally planned on releasing Young Lion as a full album and call it Mighty Hye, but with the current landscape and where I am as an artist, I felt it was better to release an EP instead. I’m working on some new music and I have unreleased songs in the vault. I am currently working on expanding my sound, that way I do not have to recruit a singer each time to create my vision and I can be self-efficient on my own. I have been working on improving my singing and developing that side of my game as well. It is coming along very well and it might change the songs on my album. So, I might release another single this year, we will have to see. As far as releasing a full album, we will have to see how the public reacts to the EP and if the people are demanding one I’ll drop an album. Right now, that climate is not asking for one and I’m focusing on getting a single to pop now.

RESPECT.: You did a freestyle to “Pound Cake” a couple years ago. What are your thoughts about working with Drake or Kendrick?

I’d love to work with either of those artists, with my creativity I would have to bring my ‘A’ game. To be honest, it would be really dope to just get Kendrick [Lamar] on a hook. His last album really had some dope hooks and as for Drake, he can do pretty much anything and I would collaborate with both talented artists. I really look up to them and I had the opportunity to meet Kendrick before he blew up as an artist and dropped Section 80. He is down to earth and I could have a great conversation with him for about an hour and share a lot of great advice.

RESPECT.: You wear many different hats in the entertainment business, is it because of the change in times or is it truly a passion of yours?

It is really both and I have been forced to not depend on anyone other than myself, that is not to say no one has helped me along the way. In this business, your vision does not move forward unless you are at the forefront pushing the thing through and no one is going to care about your career more than you do. My mentality was not always like that, but has been developed over time. So, you must adapt to make sure photography, image, and your brand is the way you want it to be at the end of the day.

RESPECT.: Who is an actor or actress that you have not worked with that you would like to?

Denzel Washington is starring in the upcoming film called Roman J. Israel, Esq. I had an opportunity to read the script beforehand. I was trying to get the opportunity to work with Denzel, but there are a lot of great actors and actress that I would love to work within the future. For me also, directors because they are the individuals that push films and other projects in the right direction. They are [akin to] the producers in the music industry. Individuals like Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino is like working with Dr. Dre or Quincy Jones. They are not going to release a project with their names attached to it if the project is not a great product. All the top talent in both industries, I would like to work with the best directors and producers. Everyone has his or her own style of conducting their projects and delivering it to the public. You know when you work with them their project will be the top of the line in quality over quantity.

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