Yannick "Thurz" Koffi is a successful and wildly ambitious hip hop artist who hails from Los Angeles, a city of legends,too gratuitous to name them. But unlike most artists from the City of Angels, Thurz won't let hip hop be the only thing that defines him. There's too much world to conquer. Thurz is a descendant of both the Ivory Coast and Belize, giving him two very distinct cultural traditions to draw from and a perspective that would be unique in any field of work, let alone the music industry. He is also a father, a husband, a general manager at Holy Grail, a staple in the L.A. sneaker community, and a bonafide baller. We caught up with Thurz to talk hip hop, discipline, dedication and how he manages to spread himself so thin while reaching so high. 
1. Los Angeles has always held such an important place in the history of hip hop. What do you think makes people from LA so attracted to and so successful in the hip hop scene? What makes people so attracted to the LA scene starts with the "Nothin But a G Thang" video. The video showcased Kenneth Hahn park, women in bathing suits, house parties, lowriders and 40s. I've traveled to a few places and nowhere in the world is quite like Los Angeles. What makes people so successful is being able to embody and sell LA culture in their music. Everybody wants to live here or at least visit. 2. What is the one thing you hope people will say about your legacy, and what's the one thing you know they will? I'd hope that people would note me for being an independent trendsetter who pushed the envelope on soundscapes and lyricism for my community and culture. I know people will note me for being an independent artist with great visuals to match my music and staying on the cusp of innovation with ever-evolving technology. 3. How do you Undo ordinary? I undo ordinary by not listening to too much radio and throwing cool house parties called #PartyInMyLivingRoom with all my dope ass friends who make dope ass music. With that said, I contribute music and curate events for my supporters to get the full experience of how music should be received. 4. What is your biggest accomplishment, inside and outside of hip hop? My biggest accomplishment inside hip hop would probably be surviving as an independent artist in Los Angeles. This is an expensive ass city and I'm fortunate to still do what I love and survive by the grace of God. My biggest accomplishment outside of hip hop would be my progression as a person and purpose as a father. 5. How many hours a night do you sleep? If I'm lucky I'll get 4 hours of sleep between sessions and getting my daughter to school on time. 6. What gets you up every morning? What piece of advice would you give to anyone who lacks the motivation to follow their dreams? Having to get my daughter to school on time and knowing that I need to make some type of profit off of every recording to eat and invest in more sources of income. Every song has to be perfected and made available for sync and licensing purposes with ideas for merchandise. My piece of advice would simply be, "you're gonna give your all to reach your goals or not do this at all." 7. Do you think self discipline is something innate or something that can be learned? Self discipline is a variable. It all depends on the person. My parents are foreigners and were strict with my upbringing. Wanting to be independent of anyone telling me what do is what drives my self-discipline to go get it. Anything can be learned, and hunger is what usually pushes application of what's learned. 
8. What's your go-to karaoke song? "Mary Jane" by Rick James. 9. You have heritage from both Central America and Africa. Do you feel that this gives you a unique perspective and how would you describe it? Yes, this gives me a unique perspective with the gumbo pot of music that was played in my household ranging from Punta, Soca, Reggae, Soul, etc. With these different genres you learn that the world wants to move when they hear music no matter the soundscape 10. What does fitness really mean to you in your daily life? What would you say to someone who lacks to discipline to get in shape? Fitness is key and I get my main source of cardio running a few games of basketball at least three days out the week. It's pretty much therapy to get any stress out. To perform at a high level on the court, I have to eat well and not take in too much alcohol at my studio sessions. Health is definitely wealth, and anyone who lacks discipline to get in shape, I'd recommend them rethinking their eating habits and sweating a few times in the week to feel like a newer person. Find out more about Thurz on his instagram. Images by Rudy Widjaja Story by Dan Asulin
1. Los Angeles has always held such an important place in the history of hip hop. What do you think makes people from LA so attracted to and so successful in the hip hop scene? What makes people so attracted to the LA scene starts with the "Nothin But a G Thang" video. The video showcased Kenneth Hahn park, women in bathing suits, house parties, lowriders and 40s. I've traveled to a few places and nowhere in the world is quite like Los Angeles. What makes people so successful is being able to embody and sell LA culture in their music. Everybody wants to live here or at least visit. 2. What is the one thing you hope people will say about your legacy, and what's the one thing you know they will? I'd hope that people would note me for being an independent trendsetter who pushed the envelope on soundscapes and lyricism for my community and culture. I know people will note me for being an independent artist with great visuals to match my music and staying on the cusp of innovation with ever-evolving technology. 3. How do you Undo ordinary? I undo ordinary by not listening to too much radio and throwing cool house parties called #PartyInMyLivingRoom with all my dope ass friends who make dope ass music. With that said, I contribute music and curate events for my supporters to get the full experience of how music should be received. 4. What is your biggest accomplishment, inside and outside of hip hop? My biggest accomplishment inside hip hop would probably be surviving as an independent artist in Los Angeles. This is an expensive ass city and I'm fortunate to still do what I love and survive by the grace of God. My biggest accomplishment outside of hip hop would be my progression as a person and purpose as a father. 5. How many hours a night do you sleep? If I'm lucky I'll get 4 hours of sleep between sessions and getting my daughter to school on time. 6. What gets you up every morning? What piece of advice would you give to anyone who lacks the motivation to follow their dreams? Having to get my daughter to school on time and knowing that I need to make some type of profit off of every recording to eat and invest in more sources of income. Every song has to be perfected and made available for sync and licensing purposes with ideas for merchandise. My piece of advice would simply be, "you're gonna give your all to reach your goals or not do this at all." 7. Do you think self discipline is something innate or something that can be learned? Self discipline is a variable. It all depends on the person. My parents are foreigners and were strict with my upbringing. Wanting to be independent of anyone telling me what do is what drives my self-discipline to go get it. Anything can be learned, and hunger is what usually pushes application of what's learned. 8. What's your go-to karaoke song? "Mary Jane" by Rick James. 9. You have heritage from both Central America and Africa. Do you feel that this gives you a unique perspective and how would you describe it? Yes, this gives me a unique perspective with the gumbo pot of music that was played in my household ranging from Punta, Soca, Reggae, Soul, etc. With these different genres you learn that the world wants to move when they hear music no matter the soundscape 10. What does fitness really mean to you in your daily life? What would you say to someone who lacks to discipline to get in shape? Fitness is key and I get my main source of cardio running a few games of basketball at least three days out the week. It's pretty much therapy to get any stress out. To perform at a high level on the court, I have to eat well and not take in too much alcohol at my studio sessions. Health is definitely wealth, and anyone who lacks discipline to get in shape, I'd recommend them rethinking their eating habits and sweating a few times in the week to feel like a newer person. Find out more about Thurz on his instagram. Images by Rudy Widjaja Story by Dan Asulin
