Meet Rising California Rapper GRANDVIEW
GRANDVIEW is an up-and-coming rapper from sunny Manhattan Beach, California. With a sharp lyrical pen and bright production, GRANDVIEW aims to become one of the most exciting faces in Hip Hop for the 2020s. His greatest influences range from Brockhampton to Logic, Kendrick Lamar, Lupe Fiasco, Flume, J. Cole, Mac Miller, Kanye West, and The Beatles. GRANDVIEW grew up in the blog era of Hip Hop and is greatly inspired by the amazing mixtapes of those times. Those classic mixtapes allowed GRANDVIEW to peer into the window of how his favorite artists started out and how exactly they were able to carve out their own unique paths with passion, creativity, and ambition. He channeled that energy into his first EP, A Vibe Called West, Vol.1, which was released on August 6th, 2021, and was met with strong local acclaim and recognition.
Through the humble success of his first EP, GRANDVIEW was then able to secure a spot as the supporting act for LA legend Shwayze’s nationwide fall tour. With 15 shows under his belt, a feature from Shwayze, and the release of his second EP, A Vibe Called West, Vol.2, GRANDVIEW is confidently breaking into the Hip Hop underground. A Vibe Called West, Vol.2 was released on 2/4/22 and aims to show Grandview’s growth in both his lyrical ability and the overall quality of his songwriting. 2022 looks to be the year GRANDVIEW establishes himself as a promising force in the genre he loves while also dropping bodies of work that will stand the test of time.
You already know the music isn’t enough when we introduce someone…we have to learn more about the artist and their motivations so we got GRANDVIEW to weigh in on a few things
From the inside looking out, who is the artist GRANDVIEW?
The name GRANDVIEW sounds like someone who is aspiring to be bigger than the expectations and limits his peers and society tried to box him into. I think that’s a desire most ambitious people have and can relate to. When you make music to bring joy to yourself without thinking about trends and what’s popping at the moment, you get someone who is just looking to express themselves. That’s me. A normal kid.
What was the defining moment that brought you to a career in music?
I think the great thing about hip hop, and music, in general, is that it gives the artist a compelling platform to share his or her origin story with their fans. For me, my story comes out of a need to process trauma and mature out of a self-destructive pattern in my life. When I was 19, I sadly saw a friend pass away in front of my eyes a month before I was heading across the country to be a freshman in college. At the time, I had no healthy way of coping with something as life-altering as that incident, until another rapper at my college told me to freestyle and write about it. Before diving headfirst into writing, the way I was processing and coping with the trauma was through substances which led to some incredibly unhealthy habits that could have led me to a dark path. However, after falling in love with writing rhymes, my substance addiction was replaced with writing addiction which made me realize that this was my path in life. After skipping class every day to write and staying up until 5 am practicing my rhyming abilities, it was clear as day I had found my life’s true passion. I could go deeper but I think that gives you the base reason for why I choose this
What is it about Hip Hop that made you choose that genre?
I think growing up in the blog era of hip hop, and getting to watch the organic and incredible rise from artists like Logic, J Cole, Kendrick, Wiz Khalifa, Chance The Rapper, and Mac Miller made me think that through hard work anything is possible in this industry. Seeing each of them build their team with their close friends, go from internet stars to mainstream household names was a type of challenge I wanted to take on with my team. Hip Hop has so many incredible sub-genres that allow each individual artist to experiment and find their authentic sound. That pocket of creative freedom I think is a blessing in hip hop, and combining that with its focus on lyrics allows an artist to speak directly to the listener in a way that other genres do not offer.
What is the most satisfying part about making music for you?
I personally am getting more and more addicted to self-improvement and growth. Songwriting is a muscle that can be grown and exercised to the point where an artist can truly feel their improvement. I think every time I make a new song that is better than any of the ones I have previously made, it is by far the greatest feeling music gives me. Combine that with the fact that I am a very competitive person, and there you have a rapper who is always trying to best his last effort and become the best version of MC he can possibly be.
West Coast Hip Hop has a strong history and signature sound, what do you look to contribute to the fabric of the culture?
West Coast hip hop has always had a certain rebellious, laid back and party-like energy that I think fits the coast very well. My songs are looking to carry the quality of lyricism that greats like Ice Cube, 2pac, The Game, Earl Sweatshirt, and Kendrick have truly mastered. The sounds that I am choosing however delve more into experimental and electronic sounds which in my opinion will bring a unique flair to an already established powerhouse part of the country. Two newer artists from LA that I look up to a lot are West Side Boogie and Reason, and I see them both bring a fresh and quality style of west coast hip hop to the game right now. I think just me growing up in Los Angeles, loving the city, and being an authentic and ambitious artist will reflect well on the coast. I hope to be someone LA is proud to call their son.
What does your series “A Vibe Called West” mean to you as an artist and personally?
In all honesty, the name is not some incredibly deep metaphor or anything like that. To this day I don’t know exactly when I rapped that line for the first time, haha, but I know that it always stuck with me. “A Vibe Called West” is an umbrella that allows GRANDVIEW to create fresh and exciting sounds while repping the coast he loves. To me, it represents an ep/mixtape series that serves as the birth and foundation for the name GRANDVIEW and will be the pieces of my work my hardcore fans will go back to see where my journey started. Everyone loves an album or mixtape series, think Logic’s Young Sinatra or Kanye’s dropout bear era. I hope that mine becomes a celebrated one in the future and inspires other artists to try one out.
Manhattan Beach is not an area of California that spawns street stories so where does your inspiration come from?
Great question. I think my favorite part about writing and song creation is the flexibility a blank page or new instrumental allows me. In this day and age with social media and the constant comparisons we make in our head with our peers, I think listeners are looking for an outlet that lets them know that their feelings are not unique to themselves. Kid Cudi is the biggest name that comes to mind with this idea, and he gave my generation an amazing window into his mind. He spoke about his fears, insecurities, heartbreak, and addictions in such a vulnerable and relatable way. My goal with each song is to write lyrics that are completely authentic to myself and are hopefully relatable to this new generation of teenagers/young adults who sit there every day asking if they are the only one depressed or fearful of their future. Street stories are so compelling and loved when the artist grew up surrounded by those elements and speaks on them in an observational and storytelling manner. I can only speak on my environment and woes, so my niche will be more towards mental health, addiction, going after your wildest dreams, and trying to find yourself in the 21st century.
Everyone on the outside has their thoughts on what it’s like to be in the music business. What was the biggest surprise about the business part of the industry once you got in and how did you cope?
Me and my manager probably talk about this once a day. I think the most surprising thing I’ve seen is how scammers try to exploit young and up-and-coming artists with fake streams, promotions, followers, and business opportunities. One of my biggest goals in life is to create an artist development/label company that helps quality artists get organic growth and lifelong fans. This is obviously easier said than done and starts with me doing this, but hopefully, my team and I can learn from any mistakes or missteps we encounter and then help guide artists away from making the same ones. There are so many incredible people and rappers in the underground who need just fair and real guidance instead of the spam and toxicity I see in a lot of places right now. However, there are still real companies helping artists and giving them a real shot, so I would like to shout out to them out here and recognize just how incredible their services really are.
What’s the most important thing about GRANDVIEW you feel we should know?
I think GRANDVIEW stands for a place where the listener can go and exist freely in the vast uncharted world of the internet. I hope to have a group of fans who treat each other with respect and create a community where we build people up instead of tearing them down. We all see how comment sections are littered with: “Mid” “This is trash” “You fucking suck” “throw out your mic” “This isn’t it” and an overall stench of jealousy. The people I surround myself with are positive, compassionate, and loving people, and I hope that becomes a mirror to my fan base. GRANDVIEW is where you go in your headphones for quality music and in the comments to meet and connect with quality people.
About the Author
Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.
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