Izza digs deep into LA culture, must-try food spots, her low-key love for hip-hop and more

West Coast pop star Izza is giving vintage Gwen Stefani vibes in 2023 and there’s no doubt she’s pushing to collect her flowers now - and I’m not just talking about this week’s Valentine’s Day ones. After first getting my attention courtesy of her ‘Naughty or Nice’ holiday anthem and now putting out her ‘Going Rogue’ single to the masses, it was only right to secure the Los Angeles native for a quirky, fun and signature conversation.

From talking about her City of Angels roots to going vegan for a legit five-year time span, it’s all things Izza. Check out some of the highlights below and keep scrolling for over 20 minutes of the blonde beauty being herself.

I want to make sure I’m properly pronouncing it, how do we say your name properly?

Izza: It’s ‘Iz-za’ My real name is Isabella so it’s just Izza. It’s just the first half of it.

What was the thought process going with that alias?

Izza: I used to dance classes when I was younger and I remember this one girl came up to me and my family calls me Bella, my childhood friends call me Bella but this one girl came up to me and asked if I ever go by Izza and I said, ‘No, I never heard that. That’s so cool.’ I always had that in the back of my mind and when I was trying to come up with an artist name - because my name is so long - I knew people weren’t going to want to pronounce my whole name, so I said, 'Izza would be a really good fit.’

I’ve gotta ask, are you full-blown LA-based or in recent years you kind of got transplanted there and just claim LA all-day?

Izza: I’m from Los Angeles. Born and raised here. I’m an LA girl. I grew up in the Valley. It’s my home. It’s so nice to live here and just be familiar with the city. I know a lot of people come out here to pursue music or pursue the entertainment industry. I have my family close by and I have my friends and I just love it here.

Can we go super crazy with In-N-Out burger or are you super vegan? I’ve seen your body and I’m like, ‘Wow. Is she like a vegan and super healthy? If there was any place to live at it would be LA with the vegan lifestyle.’ Can you cheat and have meat or no?’

Izza: So I was vegan for actually five years. I drank the LA Jungle Juice and I was vegan, all that stuff. I just found that it didn’t really work for me. I love eating healthy but I love In-N-Out. You cannot ‘not’ have In-N-Out.

It’s very rare for me to have a very Christmas-y sounding song that lasts past Christmas. There’s maybe like two or three. I think ‘Last Christmas’ by Wham! There’s one or two others and yours is one I can listen to in July. September. It’s kind of your signature sound. Girl power. Ferocious. Fun.

Izza: I love Lil Nas X’s ‘Holiday’ - I listen to that song even though it’s not Christmas. It’s the production. It’s so good you want to listen to it past the holiday time. I had so much fun writing that track. I love writing about certain themes. A lot of my music has very specific themes.

I have a song called ‘Love Bracelets’ and that’s about material items and love bracelets. I find it really easy to write about a specific topic. ‘Nintendo Bitch.’ That was really fun to write about. I want to continue to write songs with really strong themes.

How are social media and you going hand in hand? It feels like there’s so much of an emphasis at this point in your career where you’re blossoming and you want to touch all facets of the music biz.

Izza: I think social media is one of the most important things for artists, especially TikTok. I think that’s where new music gets discovered these days. I know the importance of it. I also genuinely like doing it. It’s fun for me. It’s another outlet for me to showcase my music. I just want to show that to people and try to connect.

I’ve connected with so many fans on social media and it’s so cool to talk to them about music and to hear their stories and how they relate to my songs. I think it’s the most rewarding thing you can do as an artist.

Do we still rely on Yelp or do you just kind of go with your gut feeling for trying out restaurants?

Izza: We need to cancel Yelp. Yelp does not need to be a thing anymore. I think that it’s so outdated and it’s just also so unfair to the restaurants because Yelp charges the restaurants to get reviews. It’s so bias. It’s not legit. I just rely on social media and Instagram and my friends to give me recommendations.

After you’re released new music and you need to exhale, are you on Paramount+? Disney? What are we watching?

Izza: I’m such a cliché because I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m always in the studio.’ I actually love ‘Yellowstone’ and I’m not caught up to the current season but that’s a really good show. I love putting stuff on in the background and I’ll watch more leisure shows when I’m doing work and editing.

I love ‘Stranger Things.’ I love really good TV and whatever is popular. I like ‘White Lotus.’ ‘White Lotus’ is really amazing.

Kick back and check out Izza’s full interview to see her talk about her hip-hop inspirations, new ‘Going Rogue’ song and what LA restaurants she’s rocking with these days.