We Interview: Grynch, King of Ballard

How many shows are you doing a month right now?
Two to four. Not crazy amounts of shows. If you see someone 5 billion times, over and over again, no matter how good an artist they are, it takes away from the anticipation of seeing that artist. I’m trying to keep it to one show in Seattle a month, maximum. I'm actually going back down to California next weekend for a show at Whittier College. I was down there back in February at Pomona College and honestly it was a wake-up call that in the grand scheme of things as far as the music industry goes, I'm not shit. There's still a whole lot of work to do.

One of my main goals this year and in ‘09 is to expand outside of Seattle as much as possible, to get on the road. I mean, I love this city, everybody knows that, but you have to get out and visit other places. You can gain more fans, make more connections, network, build with artists that you meet in other places. It's only gonna help you in the long run. You can't stay in your little bubble for your whole life. Ideally the West Coast would be a good place to start. But shit, if something happens in the Midwest, Southwest, or something on the East Coast pops up, I'm with it.

How much music theory do you have to know to make good hiphop?
Well, if you want to talk deep stuff about music theory, I wouldn't be that great. I listen to a lot of music, and my dad’s a musician. He plays piano. He looks just like me in 40 years. It’s funny, he'll try to rap, and it's the goofiest thing ever. I listen to a lot of jazz, a lot of soul music. Miles Davis, Theolonius Monk, and I’ve been listening to a lot of Jazz Crusaders lately. Bobby Womack, Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye. Eddie Hazel is the shit too. I like music that moves me.

A lot of rappers just listen to rap, rap, and hiphop. But I’m saying, if it wasn't for other kinds of music, hiphop wouldn't be here. Everything comes from somewhere, and it's important to know the history to understand what you're doing. I've read a lot about jazz. I'm loving this chicken.

It's really good. When you’re at your most creative, what does your life look like?
My best writing on my album comes when I was at low points. Any time you go through a struggle, you have to learn to see the light at the end of the road. That stuff gives me the best inspiration for writing. I was going through a number of situations with this project. Relationship issues, a friend of mine passed away. That shit fucked me up. There was a whole period during this project where I wasn't super depressed, but I wasn't at my happiest. I get more out of writing about that kind of stuff than I do about how tight I am…Of course, that shit's fun too.

If you didn't know me and you just listened to my album, there'd be moments where you'd be like, "This guy is an asshole." It's true, there's more than one moment where you would think, "this guy's a dick." And it is what it is. Do I think I'm good? Yeah. But do I get offended when someone doesn't like my music? Nah. I'll just keep doing what I do, and you do what you do. Don't worry about what I do. There have been situations with other rappers who don't like me based off of the kind of rap I make. But why are you worried about what I'm doing?

Is Seattle’s hiphop scene a community? What's it like to be an artist in this city?
I’d definitely say it’s a community. A lot of people want to go on the whole "We need to come together!" thing. But there is a sense of community amongst a lot of the artists. Not everybody can go to that certain level of success. Not everybody is gonna do something like the Blue Scholars are doing. But if you look at them, they've given back tremendously. They’re kinda the first guys through the door with a lot of national exposure, along with Grayskul and Boom Bap, and anyone who wants to criticize them for not giving back, they're crazy.

Look at The Program. They didn't have to put on the rest of the city. The main focus was them, but that's natural. Who else is gonna draw like that? I think within the next couple years you'll see more people gain national exposure. There's a few on the verge right now, and I think that's real exciting. Fuck the whole crabs-in-a-barrel mentality.

There is a sense of division as far as different genres, between backpack and gangster rap. But me personally, I don't see serious problem between people. It’s not like everybody is gonna do the exact same thing at every minute of the day. I see a lot of people on a regular basis, at shows, and there’s obviously a sense of community there. Everyone has lives, and this is the one thing that brings them together. I’m part of that next generation, the younger guys who are trying to do their thing. I’m just like every other artist, trying to contribute something good to the scene. This chicken is really good.

How does it feel to rep Ballard?
First and foremost, this whole King of Ballard thing is hilarious to me. I don't even remember where it came from exactly, but I'm pretty sure Larry Mizzell is to blame. That whole title is clownin'. Shout out to Larry! But yeah, Ballard is cool. It's changing, though, and not necessarily for the better. It's turning into condo central and I can't say I'm particularly enthusiastic about it. They shut down Denny's. They shut down Sunset Bowl. As long as they keep Sloop open, though, I'm good. Sloop and King's. Damn. This chicken.

Which cd did you play the most number of times in 2007?
Honestly, I played the fuck out of My Second Wind prior to its release, and I mean that in the most modest way possible. I've heard it so many times and it still feels fresh to me. That's something I'm extremely happy about. Besides that, though, I probably played Jay-Z's American Gangster and Brother Ali's The Undisputed Truth the most as far as hiphop goes. I played Freeway's Free At Last a lot too. That shit was fire. As far as the town goes, I was really feelin' Fatal Lucciauno's The Only Forgotten Son and Bayani from the Blue Scholars. Oh yeah, I was also diggin' M.I.A.'s Kala. That joint was fresh.

What are some of the themes that you see in your music?
Before this album, a lot of people had the notion that all I know how to do is rap about how tight I am all the time. But you can’t make the same song 50 million times over. I'm young. I’m going through the whole phase of discovering who I am. Rapping about that reflection helps you connect to people, and if you can't connect to the audience, then what's the point?

When you go up on stage and maybe the crowd isn’t as engaged as you’d like, what do you do?
Make bad jokes? That works! Get the crowd to boo my DJ. I think Nphared might actually like that, though. I don't think he cares about being liked. Anything to make them feel involved, engaged. You have to find a way to break the ice. Even though I'm an emcee myself, I want to see more than just someone on stage rapping. That's cool and I'll listen to that in the car, but there's a difference between live and recorded. There are people who are great on record, and absolutely suck live. There's people who are great live, but garbage on record! I’ll be the first to admit my stage show isn't the best, it’s not perfect. It's solid but could it improve? Yeah. That gets better over time.

Do you practice in front of the mirror?
No, not in the mirror.

You’ve never practiced in front of the mirror?
Haha, yeah... yeah, I’ve done that. You got me.

How do you usually practice?
I just go over stuff in my head, visualize it. If I can visualize something, I can do a good job of making it happen.

What's your favorite place to get a sandwich in Seattle?
Probably the Other Coast Cafe. They've got one in Ballard. Right now, though, my favorite food is this chicken satay we're eating.

Thank you, Grynch!!