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Ha Sizzle is the same person in real life as in his music: relatable, funny, friendly, joyful and a walking boombox. When explaining his music during our interview, he effortlessly broke out in his signature call and responses, tongue trills and a twerk or two while making a desk beat with his fist. Music oozes out of Hasan “HaSizzle” Matthews. The New Orleans native attributes his talents to a divine dancing spirit that comes over him during performances, allowing movement-provoking words, catchy phrases and unique sounds to flow naturally out of his body and make people dance. “I want to make nonstop booty-shaking music,” he tells GU. “Everywhere in the world, I don’t care what your race or religion is. We all want to twerk, shake, dance, gyrate or do something.”
His distinct voice has been sampled by chart-topping artists like Drake, City Girls, Lil Wayne, Sexyy Red, Megan the Stallion, 2 Chainz, Kelly Rowland and Jason Derulo. As a New Orleans bounce veteran of 20 years, he created classics like “Bounce It Biggity Bounce It,” “She Rode that D*** Like a Soldier,” and “Getcha Sum.” HaSizzle’s voice is like a hot pot of New Orleans gumbo, everybody wants a taste. His voice not only makes people dance, but it carries the freedom of expression, carefreeness and rich Black culture that could only be rooted in the Big Easy.
This summer, he plans to take his music to new levels with two album releases on the way. On June 11, he released his live album It’s Only Ya Booty, a collection of energetic performances recorded live at New Orleans and Texas bars and nightclubs. Then on July 4, people can shake and bounce for the red, white and blue to his studio album Brass and Ass. The eight-track album will feature songs with brass bands and musicians like TBC Brass Band, Irvin Mayfield and Kermit Ruffins. Features include New Orleans artists like Partners N Crime, Mia X, PoppyH, Brandon Terrell, Da Real Jo Jackson and Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph.
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“I have no bounce beats on there,” he says about Brass and Ass. “My voice is the beat. It’s going to be a culture album. If you like Second Line, bounce, Mardi Gras Indians, Super Sunday, you’re going to love this album.”
The optimistic artist is manifesting a Grammy nomination with his July album. Brass and Ass showcases his versatility and growth in a new way, he says. He was encouraged by hip-hop royalty Missy Elliott to experiment with different genres outside of bounce music. As a wise man would do, he listened to the music icon with a brass album coming up first and a funk record up next.
It’s no surprise the powerhouse musician grew up singing in a Baptist church. When he encourages audience members to “look at somebody and say,” or “tap somebody and say,” he channels the traditional Black pastor sayings we know and love. Similarly to a lively worship team, he takes people to church and stretches out songs with extended runs, freestyles and unpredictable breakdowns designed for releasing and rump shaking. His free spirit, high energy and authenticity is contagious, spreading everywhere he performs.
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While he has become a household name in New Orleans, the 36-year-old is eager to elevate globally. He has visions of filling stadiums with thousands of people “letting the beat use them.” He wants to be like peak Lil Wayne in 2007, with songs and features playing on every radio station.
“There’s a documentary I watched about Little Richard and it brought me to tears because me being who I am, a creator of my own style, the first to ever do what I do, I don’t want them to Little Richard me,” he says. “I want everything that I deserve. I want every award. I want to hit every stage. I want to travel the world and perform. I want everything.”
The King of Bounce deserves his flowers. For the last two decades, his voice has been the soundtrack to hot girl nights out, twerk sessions in front of the mirror, house parties, Mardi Gras parades and local block parties under the Claiborne overpass in New Orleans. Rolling through Crescent City on any given day, you’ll hear HaSizzle’s incomparable tongue roll, high-pitched squeak or dancing commands booming from someone’s car speakers. Every weekend, there’s bound to be a bar in the French Quarter with women bent over, hands on their knees or the wall, shaking their money maker.
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“I love to see people express themselves in that way,” he says about twerking. “Our ancestors in Africa, they’ve been shaking their buttons. I shake my ass and I get talked about so much. You think I care? I’m gonna shake my ass again the next week. Because that’s our culture. That’s what I grew up on.”
The world can expect a lot more back-arching bounce music. In addition to the release of his two albums this summer, Ha Sizzle plans to bring a little piece of New Orleans to Europe with a European tour in 2025. As he expands outside traditional bounce beats and fuses his unique sound with other genres, he hopes to bring more respect and appreciation to bounce artists and New Orleans culture.
“Bounce music is so important that the world even wants it to be important,” he says. “That’s why people love New Orleans. It’s not just our food. It’s our dancing. No matter where you’re at in the world, girls can twerk, dance, whatever, but nobody can dance like a New Orleans woman or a man. We got our own style, baby.”
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About the Author: Cynthea Corfah is a contributing writer for Essence GU telling the stories of today’s history makers, culture bearers, artists, entertainers and business professionals. Based in New Orleans with Liberian heritage, she is especially passionate about highlighting Black culture, flavorful food, art with African roots and Southern creatives.