Before DizzyIsDead started showing up on lineups alongside legacy acts, Blake Lounsbury was a rapper grinding it out for more than a decade. He built his name the hard way, stacking shows and putting in the kind of work that defines independent hip-hop careers. But over time, the connection to that version of himself began to fade.
“I kind of just fell out of love with that part of what I was doing,” he says. “I felt like I was maturing more as not just an artist, but as a human.”
Instead of forcing it, he stepped away completely. He wiped his online presence, changed his name, and tried to walk away from music altogether.
“The name DizzyIsDead… I was just trying to kill off all the music stuff and just try to be a part of functioning society.”
But music wasn’t something he could outrun. A trip out to British Columbia pulled him back into the studio, this time without the pressure of fitting into a lane that no longer felt authentic.
“I was just like, I want to try something different.”
What emerged from that reset was a sound shaped less by hip-hop and more by the rock and alternative music that had been quietly influencing him for years. Long days working construction introduced him to a steady rotation of guitars, melody, and emotional songwriting.
“I’m a sucker for dad rock,” he says. “I worked construction for twelve years, so I learned I just used to listen to whatever the old guys had on the radio.”
That meant artists in the orbit of Nirvana and Jane’s Addiction, bands that prioritized feeling over polish and weren’t afraid to lean into discomfort. That influence is now baked into everything DizzyIsDead creates.
It’s also changed how he approaches songwriting. Instead of staying behind a laptop, Lounsbury has started teaching himself guitar, bringing a more hands-on, organic feel to his music.
“It’s been fun… just being able to have something physical in your hands and being able to turn something into music, it’s a whole different feeling of artistry and being creative.”
The first song he learned was “Swing Life Away” by Rise Against, a fitting entry point for an artist now leaning into vulnerability as a creative foundation. He’s since continued down that path, recording covers that bridge his influences, from the stripped-down honesty of Rise Against to the darker modern edge of Bad Omens.
That evolution didn’t go unnoticed. Artists like Mod Sun and Honestav reached out to collaborate, recognizing something in DizzyIsDead that feels both current and deeply personal. It’s the kind of organic co-sign that can’t be manufactured.
At the core of it all is honesty. Lounsbury has been open about his struggles with addiction, and the role music has played in pulling him through it. For him, creating isn’t just expression, it’s survival.
“If I can create something and express the struggles that I’m going through and other people can connect with that… that’s what music is.”
That authenticity is what has fueled his rise. There was no traditional rollout, no label machine behind him, no playlist strategy pushing his songs into the algorithm. The music spread the old-fashioned way, through word of mouth and listeners who saw themselves in what he was saying.
“I’d have people message me like, ‘Man, this song saved my life.’”
Those listeners have become something bigger than a fanbase. Around DizzyIsDead, a community has formed, a group of misfits and outsiders who have connected through his music and built what has become known as the DXAD movement. It’s less about fandom and more about belonging, a shared understanding between artist and audience built on lived experience rather than image.
Now, that connection is carrying him into a new phase. This summer, DizzyIsDead will be opening for Sublime, stepping onto stages with a band whose genre-blending legacy mirrors the path he’s carving for himself.
“It still blows my mind,” he says. “I see these posters every day and being tagged by Sublime on Instagram… it’s just like, man, how is this real life?”
For an artist who once tried to erase himself entirely, the moment carries weight. It’s proof that starting over wasn’t the end, it was the breakthrough.
“Maybe I do fit in with all of the peers around me that are doing amazing things.”
DizzyIsDead isn’t a calculated reinvention. It’s what happens when an artist strips everything back to what matters and rebuilds from there. The guitars, the rock influences, the vulnerability, and the connection with fans all point to something that feels less like a career move and more like a lifeline.
Sometimes finding your sound means letting the old version of yourself disappear. For Blake Lounsbury, that meant declaring Dizzy dead and finally creating something that feels alive.
Watch DizzyIsDead “I’ll Be Fine” Below:
