Zaytoven already has the music industry on lock but now he is setting his sights on movies.
The Atlanta native is staring in Birds of a Feather 2, the follow up to an original film with the same title, currently available on Amazon Prime. On Friday October 17, Zaytoven held a private screening at IMI Studio on Manhattan’s Lower East Side and gave New Yorkers a sneak peak at his new film.
The small event space was dimly lit by a florescent red light that rested against the walls. Men and women filled every inch of the space as they sipped on Ciroc, Hennessy and an array of spirts. Tubs of cotton candy and other candy bangs were sprawled across a long table waiting for guests to grab.
Xavier Lamar Dotson or Zaytoven as he known in music got his start producing music for artists such as Gucci Mane and Future. He gained recognition from his tag line “Zaytoven,” which is usually exclaimed at the opening of the tracks he produces. The famous producer plays himself in Birds of a Feather 2. The story surrounds him, his team and friends as they navigate their success but sins of their past lurks closely in the shadows.
Zaytoven spoke exclusively with The Knockturnal about his transition from music to acting. “I was really doing it to help strengthen my brand,” said the producer.
“I’m a behind the scenes guy but we live in a day in time where the only way you will get bigger is if people see your face, people have been knowing my name for years but they didn’t know what I looked like.”
Zaytoven said he is currently working on a show with BET that should be airing soon and Birds of a Feather 2 debuts on Amazon Prime on October 31. Zaytoven has also joined the Creators Advisory Board for Tracklib, the world’s first and only online crate-digging and music sample clearance service where he will join Erick Sermon, Prince Paul, and Drumma Boy to actively help shape the service’s continuing evolution. He will also serve as a leading advocate for the service and its one-of-a-kind system for searching full tracks by popular artists, sampling them, and then licensing the resulting songs in only minutes.
He ended by saying he is interested in doing more acting but only under one condition.
“As long as they got the money right.”