Joe Zangie: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became An Artist
An Interview With Ming Zhao
Always show up. Half of the business is being present, no one will come looking for you.
As a part of our series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became An Artist” I had the pleasure of interviewing Joe Zangie.
Joe Zangie is an Italian- American freestyle/dance music artist born in Camden, New Jersey. Zangie signed his first single deal at 18 years of age with Philadelphia based label, Tazmania Records.
His debut single, “In My Dreams” made him a favorite in the South Jersey/Philadelphia music scene and garnered him an exclusive record deal with the label. Zangie would go on to record 9 successful singles with Tazmania/Metropolitan Records and began touring with label mates, Denine and Collage as a vocalist for Collage.
Following his years at Tazmania/Metropolitan, Zangie was approached by Robbins Entertainment recording artist, Rockell (In a Dream) to join her on her national debut tour performing the Billboard hit duet, “Can’t We Try” — a freestyle/dance remake of the Dan Hill/Vonda Shepard ballad.
Zangie would go on to release the independent album, “Timeline” and then followed with the house/dance hits, “You Remind Me” and “When the Night Comes”, produced by Mr. Mig and Mike Rizzo (NY Underground), distributed by Universal Music Group.
After spending a few years recording house and trance music, Zangie wanted to get back to his freestyle roots. He hooked up with “The Godfather of Freestyle”, Sal Abbatiello of Fever Records (The Cover Girls/Nayobe), and joined the Fever Freestyle Live Tour — a concert that showcases the biggest acts of the freestyle generation playing theaters and arenas across most of the US.
In 2020 while the pandemic put an end to live concerts, Zangie began writing new music for creative outlet. It was then when he wrote the number one freestyle/dance hit, “Love You Like Wow” (Fever Records). The track was released in May 2022 and became an instant favorite amongst his peers and fans alike. The music video, shot on the Wildwood boardwalk at the Jersey Shore, by Robert Barrera (REBolution Media) would follow.
Joe Zangie is currently on tour through the end of 2022 and will be back in the studio recording new music in 2023.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
Pleasure to be here! I grew up in South Jersey, right outside of Philadelphia. I’m the youngest of 4 kids, with two older sisters and an older brother. My parents divorced when I was young — and my mom worked a lot, so we were very independent. I played a lot of sports when I was younger, (football, baseball, basketball) — but when I got to high school I became more interested in music.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
When I was in highschool I really started listening to freestyle music. I would hang out in the clubs where the artists would come and perform, and I was inspired by them. I knew I wanted to make my own music and be a part of that scene. Not long after I met a producer, and started recording my first demo, while finishing highschool. The guys at Tazmania Records heard my demo and that led to my first single, “In My Dreams”.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Earlier this year I decided at the last minute to perform my new single, “Love You Like Wow” on the freestyle cruise, only days after I had finished the song. No one had heard it yet, but I wanted to perform it for my fans and peers. Following my performance, I received a lot of great feedback from industry legends and from Sal Abbatiello, the president of Fever Records who was also there for the show. We spoke afterward and the song was released on Fever Records a couple months after. Being a part of such an iconic label, which has been such an influential part of hip hop and freestyle culture, is something I’m extremely proud to be a part of.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
My new single, “Love You Like Wow” currently available on Fever Records. I wrote the lyrics and melody, and the track was produced by Luis Marte and Alex Baldrich. We just also released the music video which was directed by Robert Barerra on the boardwalk at the Jersey Shore.
This is the first new freestyle song that I’ve released in a long time, so it’s been exciting to see the response from the fans and my peers.
Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?
I’ve met a lot of people throughout my career, but the most interesting are always when I get to meet fans. I love hearing how they relate to songs and lyrics that I’ve written. It’s a constant reminder how music can connect people from all over.
Where do you draw inspiration from? Can you share a story about that?
I’m inspired by many things, but my music is typically inspired by personal experiences. My current single, “Love You Like Wow” is about an ex of mine that I was reunited with. I had already been writing new material when we met up, but then the song poured out of me pretty fast because I was living everything I was writing.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
Yes, I’ve been involved with many charities over the years. I’ve performed for the American Cancer Society’s “Relay for Life” (Bronx, NY) and “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” (Central Park, NYC) multiple times. This October I’ll be performing once again at the “Freestyle for a Cause” concert, supporting Autism awareness.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
1. Always show up. Half of the business is being present, no one will come looking for you.
2. There’s no such thing as luck. Luck is when opportunity meets preparation so always be prepared.
3. Stay true to yourself. Don’t let others cloud your vision.
4. Surround yourself with successful people and learn from them.
5. Don’t wait for others. Create your own opportunities because no one will want it more than yourself.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
For everyone to be more kind to all people, period. It’s not that difficult of a thought and just imagine how that would change the climate around us — it could be a movement. There’s too much negativity in this world — bullying in schools, online trolls, overall hate and violence in the world. Kindness comes in all forms too; helping others, paying it forward, even just a kind word or a smile can potentially change someone’s day.
We have been blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she just might see this.
There’s a few but if I had to pick one, I’d love to sit down with Tony Bennett. He’s one of the best that ever was, which is why his career has spanned so many decades. I’m sure he has awesome stories to tell and great advice to give!
What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?
Please follow me at: www.https://www.facebook.com/joe.zangie
www.https://www.instagram.com/joe_zangie_music/ and also visit my website www.joezangie.com
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
