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Izza Kizza

Izza Kizza has never met Kriss Kross, but the tween duo changed his life. "They were the influence that made my career happen," says the Valdosta, Georgia native (born Terry Davis), who started a local rap group at age 11 and rocked a NASA jumpsuit at his Sullivan Hall CMJ showcase. "I would walk around the 'hood doing my verse with 10 dudes behind me, clapping," he recalls. "We did a song called 'It Was the Boom in My Trunk.' We didn't even have a car!"

Now 28, Kizza — who is signed to Timbaland's Mosely Music label and has worked with Missy Elliott — is churning out slightly racier verses. (Sample lyric: "Cool as a motherfucker, I'm Kizza Gretzky/Either respect me or kiss my testes.") But he hasn't lost his playfulness: His mixtape, Kizzaland (out now), is packed with wacky homages to nursery rhymes ("Georgie Porgie"), narcolepsy ("Red Wine") and the sticky-icky ("Ooh La La"). "I used to be a weed-head," he admits.

Pot habits aside, Kizza — who has, at some point, been a crack dealer, a fugitive and a gunshot victim — mostly keeps his past out of his songs. "Why would I want to talk about those experiences?" says the rapper. "That era makes me think about the people I hurt. And getting shot? That shit sucked!"
NICOLE FREHSEE

Listen Here: "They're Everywhere"