Published: Tuesday - July 3, 2007
Words by Zach Prottas
Grafh (Photo: Blackhand Entertainment)
You know what I like most about rappers? They're just so gangsta. Not only are they cold enough to murder left and right, they are such criminal masterminds that they can brag all over records and never get caught.... Yeah right. New York's own Grafh ain't buying it.
At a stage in hip-hop where rappers are either telling you how to live your life or claiming they'll take your life from you, Grafh put his own life experiences in between the margins and let his music breathe. Music that speaks with a level of dignity and consciousness rarely heard from a dude who will smack that ice grill off your face. The Black Hand soldier's words represent the conflicting ideals that any real person struggles with. Life can be too complicated to choose between the pen and sword and Grafh shows just how mighty the combination of the two can be.
BallerStatus.com: Why did you decide to use 9/11 imagery at the beginning of the video for "Yeah Right?" How is that symbolic?
Grafh: It was kind of subliminal; saying I don't really believe their story. As a matter of fact, originally, I wanted to put Bush's face in the building, but I didn't want to get too political and take away from the song and it's message. But basically we don't buy their story; I don't want to get too deep into what I do believe. I am not buying all that terrorism sh--.
BallerStatus.com: Hip-hop seems to be a far cry from when Chuck D called it "The Black CNN." You deal with this issue of portraying reality all over the album; what do you think distinguishes a story teller who can tell stories of struggle, violence and pain and one who glamorizes such stories and the things that come with it? What makes that distinction?
Grafh: The difference between someone who is a storyteller and one who glamorizes is the same as the difference between hip-hop and rap. Rap is just there to entertain you. They are fictional characters created to entertain for your enjoyment. They are just using it to make a dollar. Someone who tells a story and actually believes in what they're doing is more what hip-hop is and what hip-hop represents -- it's a reality.
See, we are realists and in that regard, it is like the ghetto CNN; we are telling the truth about what goes on in our life. As listeners, you get a first hand look at what really happens out here; you don't have to touch the fire to know that it's hot. It separates the real from the fake, what is authentic from what is not. That's what I do when I draw pictures of my life. I'm a realist and that's the music I make for people who wake up and have bad days. It's not just to entertain you. When I leaked the Autografh joint, I made it all introspective and all personal because I wanted you to understand what I stand for, what I represent, who I am as a man. It's not about glorifying. I never brag about the things I have done or the things I have seen, but when you hear what I have been through you can hear what has made me the man I am.
BallerStatus.com: Who do you think is more at fault for fake cats in hip-hop: the consumer who may demand and crave a particular image? Or the industry, which may push that image?
Grafh: First, it's the label because they push whatever they feel the people want. It's never the people's fault; the people don't choose sh--. They get spoon fed crap and then they have to choose from what the options are. The people listen to the radio and don't really have a choice; they are forced to listen to what plays. That's why the Internet is big because you choose whatever you like. If you look at the mainstream TV and radio, the listener have no choice. They feed you the garbage and you have a limited choice from what they are offering; that's not really a choice. It's like having to choose from the lesser of two evils. So I blame it on the labels and the artists who ride with that bullsh-- the labels make them do. I know with my first deal, the label made me try to come with some B2K sh-- just to sell records and I was like "hell no," I am going to retain my integrity and do what I want to do. I would rather grind longer and struggle and be who I am then fall into that bullsh--. I'm not about that.
BallerStatus.com: In which case do you think the decline of the traditional music industry (record sales, Soundscan, etc.) could benefit the state of hip-hop?
Grafh: To some degree it does because people now want more content; they want more than just the bullsh-- they hear on the radio or see on the TV. That's why they don't buy the album because the label just says, "Here's a hot single" and throws the artist and album out there -- so they sell the single via ringtones. Right now the single is all that matters to the label; all they want is a single. They get a hot record, push it on the radio for exposure, sell the ringtones and then put a crappy ass album out. The artist flops and they don't give a sh-- because they got their ringtones sales. That is the main reason why sales have gone down because they (labels) don't care about the artists or content. Fans want more real content, because they aren't getting that from today's artist. They aren't buying sh-- because they aren't falling for it. You can't fool them all the time and this leaves room for real artists like myself to shine through a medium like the Internet, mixtapes, and the DVDs. People will look to other sources for good music, which gives artists with something to say with meaning a whole new platform. We can't keep falling for this bullsh--, so people look for something real and official and they go and find a way to get it.
BallerStatus.com: It's interesting to hear you talk about what's "real" so much because I feel like the idea of what's "real" and "keeping it real" has become a cliché in hip-hop and lost meaning. How has being real become so narrow in meaning and synonymous with violence?
Grafh: Because the audience is getting a misconception of what real is. There is so much fake ass music. A lot of times, and this is sad, kids (especially in the hood and the community where I come from) don't have a father in the household, so when they listen to hip-hop. These superstars are their father figures and are raising the kids. So Jay-Z, Biggie and Pac were father figures and now the rappers of today are in that role. So if the artists are not saying the right thing and the kids take what they hear and apply it to everyday life, because hip-hop is it's own community, then they might get the wrong idea because they are not listening to anything official. They get the idea that being real is running around with a burner and selling drugs because that's all they hear. But some artists like myself might tell you, "Okay I might have hustled and done this and that, but my father got murdered in the street" or "the dude that raised me got life; he did 15 years, went to the penitentiary library, became his own lawyer and beat his case." You have to see the other side and I always get on both sides of the fence. So when they don't have both sides they get lost -- kinda like "gangsta." That sh-- is mad commercial and you know it's really going downhill when you see these R&B singers and little rappers crip walking and doing the blood dance on TV. This sh-- is backwards. All this gangsta sh-- is glamorized and commercialized through the media and fake ass artists who are just characters. Who don't live on the platform to be doing the real thing?
BallerStatus.com: How does it play into the controversy and misconceptions about snitching and hip-hop?
Grafh: When they talk about the snitching thing they saying hip-hop is telling kids stop snitching. That's bullsh--. The fake ass rappers might be telling them no snitching, but an artist like me, when I say no snitching or someone from my team or just someone in the street when they say "no snitching," we talking to people in the street who live that life. We aren't talking to the fans, to someone's mom, or someone's kids going to school. If someone's neighbor robs an old lady and you call the cops, are they snitching? Or an off duty cop calls his partner to come pick up a criminal? No! It has nothing to do with that. We talking to dudes in the streets.
BallerStatus.com: So if you not engaged in illegal lifestyle the code of stop snitching doesn't apply to you?
Grafh: No. It's not a matter of illegal, it's if you're not in the street... well, I guess, yeah, if you not living that life, it doesn't apply to you. If you just are a common citizen abiding by the law than it's not snitching and you doing what you supposed to be doing, you're not apart of that life. If you live by the sword then you might die by the sword, you have to live by the rules you in... same thing with the U.S. Army. This no snitching comes from our government; if you get captured by the enemy and you forced to tell where your comrades are at then you're a traitor, and they put you in front of a firing squad and shoot your ass because you're a traitor, a rat.
BallerStatus.com: You were talking about how rappers are like characters and I feel that too because it's like hip-hop battles have taken on WWE style. No one ever makes diss records anymore. They make diss videos. It's like battles don't even produce music anymore. How did beef or, better yet, the battle evolve into this?
Grafh: Exactly. If it were real beef, you wouldn't be rapping about it on TV. Because if you did what you said on record and the video you would be going to jail. You just snitched on yourself on camera. It's just fabricated, commercialized sh--. I don't believe in that beef crap. With some artists that will come back to the street because hip-hop is something you live and represents what we really might be going through. So with hip-hop, you may be more inclined to believe what you hear on record for that reason more so than R&B and pop because hip-hop talks about your life and what you really do, so you want people to believe because all you have is your word. Those videos aren't beef. If I had beef with someone why would I broadcast it? That's sh-- entertainment.
BallerStatus.com: But what if fans, particularly young fans that might not be able to see that distinction, and get that line of reality and entertainment confused?
Grafh: They will get it confused. Because this industry is all smoke and mirrors. Most things you hear and read, you shouldn't believe. Because these characters are created to earn a dollar, so it is what it is. It is going to be abused. I guess it's just part of the game. Not to say it can't get real. Some of it can get real. If you say my name on a record, it will get real. Besides the music you are a man first.
BallerStatus.com: So even though you see it as just entertainment if someone came at you like that it would have the potential to spill over into a real life situation?
Grafh: It definitely does; it depends on what they say. If someone disrespects you or your family, you have to want to harm that man... to do physical damage to his face. If they come at me on some hip-hop, it's different. Rap is sport and we competitors and it comes on some competing for the top spot. Once it becomes disrespect and it stops being music, you are not going to disrespect me. We going to handle that... you have a real problem with me. Say it to my face not on record. I'm not hiding; I'm easy to find. I'm everywhere.
BallerStatus.com: Especially after all this Imus bullsh-- hip-hop is back to being a popular scapegoat in mainstream media and conservative politics and has led to crazy generalizations about the whole genre. What message would you send to those outside the hip-hop community that they can't understand as outsiders?
Grafh: Hip-hop represents the voice of the youth's culture. If you listen closely you can hear the minds of the youth and better understand how to reach them by understanding what they really represent. It is the voice of generation Y, the voice of today's consumer and you have to learn to listen to it. It's the voice of a new generation and if you don't understand what we saying there will be no way to communicate with us.
BallerStatus.com: Hip-Hop seems to me to be divided between cats that are preaching at me and talking down at me, and cats that are trying to prove something and almost threatening their listeners. As an artist who uniquely doesn't fall into either of those categories where can that middle ground balance in hip-hop come from?
Grafh: Well, that's a good question. I think it comes from who you are as man and what you represent. Some people only want to be tough guys and some only want to be preachy, but if you have strong beliefs and you are smart enough to express them clearly, it won't come across like that. It is about how the individual decides to approach music and his thought. If he is nice enough as a rapper to really express both his emotions and thought within those 16 bars.
BallerStatus.com: Do MCs respect hip-hop right now? Or has there been a decline of artist respect for their music?
Grafh: MCs respect hip-hop, but a lot of these dudes who consider themselves rappers are just getting a check out the game and don't give a sh-- about hip-hop. It's hustle and I'm not going to knock their hustle, it is what it is. But, overall, MCs will always respect hip-hop because it's more than just a little something you do, it's something you live.
Features Slim (of 112): Hi Haters What else do you want from Slim? His prolific group 112 has sold over 20 million records worldwide, and with a bevy ... full story
Beyond Hip-Hop Game Review: Far Cry 2 Gone are Jack Carver, his Hawaiian shirt, and the trigens from the first installment of "Far Cry," but in comes spine ... full story
Digg It
Del.icio.us
