Conversations with Lenny & Lisa Israel

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lenny & Lisa Israel.

Hi Lenny & Lisa, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
We met in San Diego, CA at Full Clip Studios in 2005. We got married in Montecito, CA in 2012. When we 1st met, Crazy8/Lenny Israel was already well established in his music career & record label, Unstable Records, since the inception of the record label in 1994. The independent rap label, Unstable Records, is actually a r.a.p label, which means Rhythmic American Poetry. Serving our country for 20 years in The United States Navy & mastering his craft, at the same time, deserves a standing ovation, honestly.

After the completion of his first 2 albums “Handle Mine” & “Opportunity Motif & Method” & attaining some spiritual clarity, Crazy8 transformed himself into Lenny Israel. He felt that he’d surpassed a certain level of maturity with his music & refused to be a part of the destruction of the art form of Hip-Hop, itself, which he held so dear. He had, actually, stopped doing music altogether for quite a few years until one day in Feb. of 2020. I was rifling through some of his beats and I heard something I liked. He asked what it was & I told him it was something he’d produced. I spit something that he’d written & The Musical Mastermind was awakened. It warms my heart to know that I was a part of rekindling his flame & true passion for music. We’ve been making music ever since.

We are a faith-based Hip-Hop group. We’re partners in music, life, & love. We have come together as a musical match made in heaven in a punchline-packed powerhouse of an album. The original infectious beats & dope lyrics that we’ve poured into this project are unforgettable, to say the least.

Lenny Israel was born & raised in Omaha, NE. living & breathing music as early as he could remember spinning records for his mom’s parties; gradually becoming a sought-after DJ for house parties all over the city. He started rapping when he was 10 years old & he’s been at it ever since. Having traveled the world from the West Coast to Europe and back to the U.S., he was able to hone his skills & build an international fanbase before returning stateside. Lenny is a verbal force to be reckoned with in his charismatic delivery of prose & poetic prowess. He has a way of skillfully weaving words together like stitches on the finest garments. Brightness & potency with a no holds barred direct approach are a part of his supercharged style.

I, Lisa Israel, was born & raised in Atlanta, GA, at the height of some of the greatest music being produced. I started writing poetry at the age of 12 as an outlet for being so quiet. I grew up extremely sheltered with no T.V. until I was 10 & never the cable. It was a little different for me moving into the lyrical side of it all, but Lenny kept working with me every chance he got. Under his keen ear & watchful eye, I’ve blossomed into a wordsmith in my own right. Sometimes it was a battling struggle, but it was worth it. I, quickly, developed my own style taking heed to my teacher. He taught me not to sound like anyone else and be able to create my own method of execution.

He encouraged me to not be afraid of my gift of lyrical knife skills. He saw an untapped fountain of spoken wordplay wrapped in colorful metaphors under a Southern West Coast delivery. I started feeling myself when a fan from Washington, D.C. told me I reminded him of Lauryn Hill. I devised the part of myself that is the “California Georgia Peach” not too long after that. Our 1st project, “Looking Good, Feeling Good” was a sensation & had folks all over Las Vegas begging for more. After the completion of that record, while being compared to “Tobe & Fat” & “OutKast,” we were told, “There is nothing like you & the world needs to hear you.” We took that to heart & started working on our 1st album, “Down by Law”, which is currently available on all platforms.

The record concepts & ideas just started pouring out like a flood after that. We had so many musical blueprints, that before we knew it we’d already fallen into the planning stages of our 2nd album. We’ve, recently, been crowned The King & Queen of Hip Hop of Omaha. The Jay-Z & Beyoncé of Omaha. Some fans have, even, said we’re better than the rulers of Roc Nation. As the new Royal Couple, we are ready to take the world by storm with our love, divine lyricism, high vibrations & explosive energy.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The most difficult thing for us to overcome was being able to work together with such different styles of writing.

Lenny is more hands-on in the sense that he gets vibes from working with a group & bouncing ideas back and forth in the midst of beats flowing. I, Lisa, am more of an individualist working on my own with no beats in my ears or uttering a word until I’m finished. It drove Lenny insane, but we overcame it with diligence & dedication.

We had to figure out the best way to balance our developing styles because they were so far from each other on the creative spectrum. He loved what came out of it, but my process drove him nuts. We were able to mesh together creating a musical work of art. We became even stronger as a team through it all & now it’s easier because of the trials & tribulations. Nothing worth having is ever easy.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We believe in the upliftment of people by solving communal issues holding up the mirror to yourself in the face of adversity & bettering the person you see. We sing & use their voices for good & positivity and not defamation, degradation, & destruction.

We believe in the healing power of music & use our talents to benefit all who hear it. The music we create is energetic, soul-shaking, honest, good vibe music that can be played on every music outlet from mainstream radio & movie soundtracks to the family BBQ where everyone of all ages can sing along. We use our voices to speak & reap life as reflective of our music.

Lenny is a phenomenal producer with 2 other complete albums under his belt. Those two albums, “Handle Mine” & “Opportunity Motif & Method”, both self-produced by Lenny under Clownface Music, are two of the most undeniably dope & artistic pieces of independent rap/hip-hop albums to come out of Omaha, NE. The album Opportunity Motif & Method is the 1st album to be confiscated by the U.S. government. Everyone can read the full story about that on our website at unstablerecords.com. He hears all of the pieces of musical production just like a conductor in an orchestra. Lenny’s gift of lyricism is unparalleled & he uses it to deliver his message flawlessly. I, Lisa, am a poet at heart & Lenny has been able to help me develop into a verbal femme fatale.

I enjoy learning all of the integral parts of the production & I’ve been able to arrange a few of our records. When I have an idea, Lenny takes the time to foster it & help bring it to life. I can never thank him enough, at least until I overcome my hurdle of the freestyling superpower. Lenny freestyles like he’s breathing and I am in awe every time I see or hear him do it.

What do you think about happiness?
What makes me happy is creating music from scratch. From the idea concept, being inspired by life, someone else’s song, beat, or rhythm. It’s like giving birth, watching the first steps, to then nurturing it into something complete. Then getting the reaction from listeners. – Lenny Israel

What makes me happy is being able to have the freedom to use my voice & talent to create something beautiful & amazing. It makes me happy when I build something & it has a positive effect on my listeners or it helps them in some way. I absolutely love being able to make people smile & see them happy. – Lisa Israel

• Website: unstablerecords.com
• Unstable Records IG: https://instagram.com/therealunstablerecords?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Lenny & Lisa Israel IG: https://instagram.com/lennyandlisaisrael?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Unstable Records FB: https://www.facebook.com/appearill
• Lenny Israel FB: https://rb.gy/zasagt
• Lisa Israel FB: https://rb.gy/8wuehp
• Unstable Records Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-PrcnPSGOfVgpLL_sETlvg
• Lenny & Lisa Israel Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thelennylisaisraelshow1718
• Unstable Records TikTok: https://rb.gy/gw5rve
• Lisa Israel TikTok: https://rb.gy/xj61fb
• Other: https://lennyandlisaisrael.hearnow.com
• https://crazy8.hearnow.com/handle-mine
• https://crazy8.hearnow.com/opportunity-motif-and-method 
• https://crazy8.hearnow.com/crazy-world

Image Credits
Paul James and Andrew Moss