Call Me Karizma, a new signee of the recently relaunched Arista Records, is tackling mental health with his moody new song and video release “Serotonin,”
The 23-year-old’s sharp track fuses together hip-hop and punk influences to create his impactful mediation on anxiety and depression. Karizma, known as Riz, raps the song’s self-deprecating lyrics about a chemical imbalance in the brain over a slowly strummed guitar, as “Serotonin” eventually builds to a more urgent beat. Riz conveys the unstable lyrics with a sensitive fury, as he poignantly admits, “All I ever wanted was someone to love me.” His vocals never lose their emotional punch as he effortlessly alternates from a restrained shout to a raspy whisper.
Karizma translates the powerful message of “Serotonin” into an equally impactful music video. The video alternates between two different versions of Riz, one who sits in an empty prison cell, and one who is in room covered in graffiti. “‘Serotonin’ is about my struggle with anxiety and depression and I wanted the video to show that,” Karizma tells Billboard. “It gives a look into the 2 different worlds that someone who deals with mental illness lives in.”
“Serotonin” is Riz’s first release with Arista Records. “Call Me Karizma is one of the most prolific songwriters I have ever met,” David Massey, president/ceo of Arista, tells Billboard. “He is that rare type of artist who possesses both a completely unique voice and an undeniable presence.”
The Minneapolis, Minn. native started writing songs at age 12, and debuted his first full length album, Uninvited, in 2016. He previously toured with Mod Sun and blackbear on a 35-date run. Karizma has been working on his three-EP series The Gloomy Tapes, with Vol.2 set for release February of next year.
Listen to “Serotonin” here and watch the music video below.
