Interview: Grafh - Giving It To You Real

[Damien J.]

Source: www.yoraps.com



Jeezy claims that he’s the realest n***a in it you already know, but after talking to Black Hand Entertainment artist Grafh, he may give Jeezy a run for his money. This Jamaica Queens native is giving it to you raw, real, and uncut not being afraid to tell you what’s really going on with New York hip-hop.

Grafh started out as a mixtape menance being featured on every hot mixtape that dropped in the early 2000’s. Since then he has hustled his way into a corner office as President of Black Hand Entertainment and also as President of the streets. Not to mention he got major video rotation off of a song that he put on his MySpace page.

With the anticipated release of his debut album Autografh, Grafh proclaims himself as a machine looking to destroy. Read on to see what Grafh has to say about Nas and Jay-Z passing the torch, the mixtape game, and what the hell he was thinking about when he made MySpace Jumpoff.

Let’s begin talking about the album, Autografh. What can people expect to hear from you on the album?

People can expect to hear something real different and unique and people will see a side of me that they haven’t seen. On the album I get real introspective and personal so you can really get to know who I am and what I represent. It´s called Autografh so it’s my life it’s my signature on the game, it´s what I do.

Has it bothered you that it has taken a long time for you to put out your album?

Hell yeah, I want it to come out as bad as everyone else wanna hear it. Like my fans that have been supporting they’ve been dying to hear the record and I’ve been dying to give it to them. But you know you have those little mishaps along the way plus a lot of mistakes that I’ve made and my company made and I’m man enough to admit that I’ve made some mistakes. I had to take time out to actually learn the music business it ain’t just about the music. I was under the perception of, "Oh, I’m hot everything gone go according to plan cause I’m hot like that." But it’s deeper than that, talent is not enough you got to understand the business in ways like the financial and marketing standpoint and I learned that the hard way.

How do you balance being the President as well as the forefront artist for Blackhand Entertainment?

Well, it is what it is. It’s a 24/7 workload and that is my life, it ain’t nothing. I’m a machine looking to destroy, I can’t do nothing else. I dedicate my time to my work , myself, and to my business. It ain’t nothing better than making a dollar and supporting yourself. I’m the flagship artist so I get to do that while working on my own shit so I’m doing my thing.

What’s the reason behind you using new producers and not having any featured guests on your album?

Well the main reason is because its producers that I want to introduce now into the game. I feel like everybody recycling the same dudes and we can’t get anything new or current that’s fresh. I’m all about pushing envelopes and bringing something fresh and new to the game. The only way to do that is bringing in new people and new talent. Most of the producers on my album are dudes from my camp who are new and fresh to the game it’s a new sound, it’s a new presence and that’s what I have to bring to the game. I feel like it’s my job to push something fresh and something new. I can’t follow the path of everybody else. The only feature I have on the album is Bun B and that’s like family right there. Shout outs to Bun.

In the early 2000s you were heavy in the mixtape game and you still are a little bit. So, what are your thoughts about people claiming that mixtapes are dead?

These stupid mixtapes ain’t dead at all because dudes out here in the streets rather here mixtapes than somebody album. Mixtapes ain’t going nowhere the law can try to stop people from selling them as long as they want but, man mixtapes are in everybody car, in every school, every household, you can’t stop mixtapes. That’s that direct link to the streets and you can’t stop that, if you want to speak to the streets then you have to get on a mixtape to get known.

Now Grafh I’ve heard a few of your mixtapes and I know your rhyming ability. But the track MySpace Jumpoff, was that a part of your marketing strategy or you just wanted to make a fun record?

Both, but essentially it was a marketing scheme I really did that from that point of view. But it was also a fun record I wanted to let people know that Grafh is capable of making all types of records, I just don’t make street shit or just freestyle. I make all types of music, all levels, all facets, that’s what I do. I love music and all types of music so first and foremost it was a marketing scheme I had to figure out how to tap into the internet community. I saw that it was a 150 million people on MySpace, like that network is so big how can I miss out on that. The record spread so fast MTV contacted me and I went on Direct Effect getting busy and wilding out talking about the record it forced me to shoot a video for it, which MTV added right away. I got full rotation from MTV behind that shit so I broke a record online and tapped a whole community. I think it was a brilliant marketing scheme.

It was considering you spent nowhere near as much money as record label would have and you got a great response.

Yeah, that record alone took me around the world. I’m still eating off that shit. (Laughs)

Could you talk a little bit about your XM Satellite Radio show, Black Hand Show Uncut ?

Oh, yeah, that’s good money right there. XM Satellite Radio, every Thursday 6 o’clock, Blackhand radio uncut. It’s just me and my homie Chaz on there talking shit doing what we like to do. There’s no rules on my show I ain’t a DJ or a radio personality or nothing I’m just a real n**** on there and I can say whatever the fuck I want.

There’s a lot of talk about the New York scene of hip-hop and that its wack now what’s your opinion on that?

For a minute it was kind of wack, I ain’t gone front. For a minute n****s wasn’t making the right kind of records and still to this day a lot of the veterans in the game who are at the top are not passing the torch to the younger generation. So for a minute the shit was stale, these n****s ain’t supporting New York rap, the labels are not supporting New York rap at all they still living in the South, and the DJ’s are doing the same thing. The veterans just ain’t passing the torch they weren’t doing the things that n****a was doing in the South. The South down there trying to grind, they grind like us over here at Blackhand, they get in the streets. They be in the streets grinding getting they money down there, so they deserve every dollar and all the accolades they getting right now cause they work for that shit. The other thing they do is that they pass the torch. I commend n****s like T.I. who passed the torch to Young Dro. They pass the torch to the new generation and bringing new talent to the game. Without that hip-hop would die you can’t keep recycling the same rappers putting n****s out for 15 years that shit is bad.

When you mention veterans of the game you’re speaking about people like Nas and Jay-Z?

Yeah, but not even just them, all the dudes at the top of the chain. Most of the rappers only make deals with some artist cause they making money off of them it shouldn’t even be like that. Them n****s should be shouting out the younger generation in they interviews, they should be talking about who they like, and they should be passing the torch, that should be their primary goal.

A lot people who aren’t from New York associate Grafh with Damon Dash not knowing you’re no longer working with him. Would you mind talking about why you left Damon Dash Music Group?

I was never signed to Damon Dash Music Group I was signed to Blackhand, I sign myself. Dame Dash is my n***a we were actually doing business with him on another level. We had a film deal with him; we had a movie called Inside Out that was about the life of the Chaz Williams who is the CEO of the company.

I hear that you feel like rappers who feature guests on their albums can’t sell records for themselves is that true?

Yeah it’s true, if you have a feature on every track and the biggest producers and all that shit then you can’t sell your own records. You ain’t doing that to make better songs, you doing that to sell your records. I can sell my own goddamn records, I do it for dolo. There’s nothing wrong with doing features because you do want to add different spices and different elements to your records but if you have a feature on every record using this producer and that producer you trying to sell records with other n****s names and that mean you ain’t got it.

- By Cierra Middlebrooks
 
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