A visionary without vision

On January 8, 1989, Cazzie Kirk was declared cancer-free at only two years of age. Diagnosed at 11 months with bilateral retinal blastoma, a rare cancer, surgery to remove his eyes and radiation therapy followed. He grew up not remembering what it was like to see.

His mother, Marilyn Dowden, refused to let him be handicapped by his handicap, though. She made sure he was ready for school and the whole wide world.

“My mom wasn’t going to let anyone put me in a pity party,” he said. “She wasn’t going to let anybody feel sorry for me, so she told them to get it together.”

It was up to Marilyn to teach Cazzie the hard lessons before the world taught him the hard way. “Dad was in the Navy and I was born in Virginia. We lived in a two-story house,” he recalled. “Mom left me upstairs and she went downstairs and called for me. I didn’t understand, but once I found her she explained that the world isn’t going to stop because Cazzie can’t see. There is no guarantee that somebody will always be around – that was lesson one.”

As he grew, it was apparent that Cazzie had an affinity for music. He started playing the piano at the age of five, but his teacher didn’t quite grasp the fact that he couldn’t see sheet music. Mom ended the lessons, but he continued playing by ear. He was a member of the Big Bad Band from Rabbitland from 6th grade until he graduated in 2006.

By the time he was a teenager, he was writing a lot of his own rap songs under the name “Young Kazz.” Although his mom didn’t fully understand the language he used, she was supportive.

“Early on I was cursing on a lot of my records and she asked me one time – ‘do you curse to upset me, or do you do it because it just has to be done?’,” he said. “I was like ‘Mom, it just fits sometimes.’”

While Cazzie has a big network of family and friends who make sure he gets to where he needs to be on time, and encourages him along the way, he has found that success makes for a lonely companion. As CEO of his own company – Braille Music Group – he works hard to stay relevant in an industry that throws away more artists than it nurtures.

“I’ve always wanted to do music and I just so happened to be able to acquire my studio and equipment. There were a couple of guys who wanted to be part of it, but gradually everybody just drifted off and it ended up being just me, he said. “I wasn’t going to let that get in the way of my ultimate goal. I saw everything that’s happening to me now in advance. I started investing more in myself and going to music industry mixers and networking with people at different record labels.”

Next week the culmination of that hard work will become real when his first album with Rite1 Global Music , A Visionary Without Vision, drops on February 11. The album is a collection of songs that were previously marketed by himself. As part of a recent catalog transfer, they are being re-released to a much bigger market as part of his contract.

“One of my favorite songs on the album is ‘Enough’ - it tells the story of an artist that is so dedicated about what he does and is trying to balance life and a career and all the people that want to see me and spend time with me’” he said. “I’ve got all the time in the world, but at the same time I don’t have any time at all because I’m being pulled in so many directions. At the end of the day I’ve still got to do this music to stay relevant. “

One of those people he wishes there was more time for is son Marcellous Kirk, 14, a freshman in Atlanta. “He deals with it pretty well. He knows I love him just the same, it just comes with the territory.”

Young Kazz has been performing all over the country for many years now. He has headlined open-mic events in Miami, Dallas and Houston, and he performs at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin every March. However, his biggest audience was at the BET Awards party in Los Angeles. But he isn’t nearly as proud of those performances as he is of the show he gave his hometown at Midnight Madness four years ago.

“I used to tell guys who would get discouraged all the time, “Everybody’s journey isn’t your journey. You can’t take everybody with you. Not everybody will see your vision,” he explains. “Where I’m at musically and mentally – I’m in such a great space. When you listen to my music, you’re looking from behind the eyes of someone who can’t see, but at the same time can see everything.”