Entertainment

BAZAAR OPENS A METAL GATE

GHETTO metal isn’t new, but the innovative music style is being reinvented by its self-proclaimed prince, Bazaar Royale.

No Linkin Park or Kid Rock wannabe, Bazaar is breaking the bonds of the record label’s commercial restrictions.

Once a Bloodline artist and protégé of rap superstar DMX, Bazaar found that the record label couldn’t market his new sound. So he decided to find a new home.

“I marketed myself,” he says. “And ghetto metal was created.”

Imagine George Clinton, Otis Redding, Bob Marley, Tupac Shakur, Slash and Steven Tyler all performing together onstage – that would be a sound that could compare (well, kinda) with Bazaar.

“People always said to me, ‘You’re like a ghetto Axl Rose,'” he says.

But Bazaar defines his sound as “hood rock” or “aggressive soul,” both reminiscent of tough days growing up on the streets as a ward of the state.

Ghetto metal has a growing fan base. Followers from San Francisco to St. Louis leave messages on Bazaar’s Web site lamenting the difficulty they have making the “movement” happen in their cities.

“I want my music to be a conglomerate,” Bazaar says. “Not for the money, but to have that kind of massive effect on people.”

For now, he is headquartered at Snitch, a Chelsea bar where the stage and crowd blend together in a melting pot of hipsters, Goths, tattoo addicts, preppies and hip-hoppers – a testament to the diverse following Bazaar has gathered.

“Ghetto metal is like taking a trip to the past to find the future,” says deejay and music producer Mark Ronson. “It’s not a gimmick.”

At his monthly Thursday night gathering, Bazaar features new artists, his fellow soldiers in the ghetto metal army. But when all is said and done, the crowd is really there to see Bazaar.

“Bazaar Royale is one of the most unique artists to emerge on the scene in a long time,” says Randy Acker of Epic Record’s A&R team. Acker is working with Bazaar to help him develop a new record.

“Ghetto metal is a genre with more energy than any other in recent memory. It really brings together the underground elements of music.”

For now, Bazaar believes ghetto metal has nothing to prove. “Time will tell who is who,” he says. “I’m just working hard at being the best I can be.” And just like the lyrics of his song “Danger Zone,” he continues to work at “trying to create a song that can change the world.”

Thursday is Ghetto Metal Night at Snitch, 59 W. 21st St., between Broadway and Sixth Avenue. For details, visit snitchbar.com.