Skip to main content

Exclusive - G-Rize Extended Interview

30 December 2016 / Berenice Mulubah 

G-Rize

In this complete, extensive interview, G-Rize talks about the entrepreneurial spirit, longevity and relevance of Master Piece. 

What is D.O.F all about?
D.O.F is an independent labor that my manager and I started 2 years ago. I came up with the name after I had to make a decision. Either go after something that was easy or stay with what I love even thought it hard which is this music business. I kept telling myself "Go for it, don't quite. Dream bigger than your fears. Put your dreams over your fear. That's when the name came to me D.O.F Dreams Over Fears. I can still remember I was in Maryland when I that happen. I call my manager and told her about D.O.F and she said that's good lets go with it.

When did it first occur to you to create D.O.F? 
 Like I said when I had to make the decision to either stop doing music or hold on to it no matter what. 


So 'Master Piece'; how long have you been recording it for? 
I started working on masterpiece for like 6 months now. When I took a break from the public I got right into the studio to work. I recorded close to 20 songs for this project. Only about 8 made it on the list. Not saying the rest isn't good but for now i just want to give the people something to vibe too till I drop the next tape.


Did you always know it was going to be 'Master Piece'? 
 No I didn't but after I picked the records I needed to be on the tape and call me friends for us to sit in the studio and vibe to it. Everyone was like Damn this is such a great Ep this is masterpiece right here" and I was like yes that's the name right there masterpiece.

Do you feel exposed as an artist putting your emotions out there for people to dissect and experience? 
Yes sometimes I do, but as an artist that's what you suppose to do express your feelings. 


How many Collaboration do you have on the album? 
lol I myself called it album sometimes but its not an album. Its an Ep even though it have 10 songs on there. I got about 5 with just me and 5 with other artists.



So when you’re recording do you cut yourself off from other people’s music? 
Or do you think it’s important to stay submerged – keep an eye on what everyone else is doing? Sometimes I do listen to other artists why recording but not that much. I try to come up with my own creative mind so I usually just be in my zone.


How did the video for 'Show me that' come about?
 Show me that video came from a true story. Shout out to my brother HG2 one of the most creative director from Nigeria. He and I work on putting Show me that video together.

How much input do you have into the video?
 I'm hands on but sometimes I allowed the director to be creative and just go with the flow. As for show me that it was 70/30 lol he had more to do because it was my first time working with him. 


So was it your idea to have a White girl  in there. even though you were singing about a Liberian girl? 
That was 50/50 lol meaning I didn't like it at first but than again I was like man who cares. Music have no colors. lets put whoever we feel like putting in there. I did Lib Ladies and had all these Liberian girls in there someone walk up to me and told me I'm wasting my time by singing about Liberian people or focusing on Liberia. So you can't win with this generation.  

When you were growing up, was music an important part of your life? 
Yes. Yes. Yes. My mother always played music in the house. She was in a church choir so her friends used to come over to practice or sometimes I will go with her at church to watch her practice.


What are some of the songs you grew up listening to? 
Man everything. R&R Reggae, Gospel, culture just everything.

When you record do you keep it in mind how it will play out live? Yes I do now. I never used to. Ur now I do  because I love live performance even thou I don't do it that often but I do love it. 


Do you prefer playing large arena shows to small intimate ones? Put me on any stage and I will ROCK it. Just give me that mic and show me the stage I'm ready. lol I love both it really doesn't matter.

So, what's next for GRize? 
This new year coming 2017 I just want to stay in my lane and master my craft. I'm going on a few city tour in Jan i'm starting in Maryland. I'm thinking about shooting like 4 videos off this Ep so u know that means working hard. I want to travel out of the US with this tape. I'm even thinking about going back home to go reconnect with my motherland. 


How can people keep up with you or reach you.
You can visit my new website at www.grizemusic.com to get more info on what I have going on and also 
Follow me on all my social media sites. 
Facebook/grizemuzic
Instagram/stargrize
Twitter/stargrize
YouTube/stargrize
SoundCloud/stargrize
Snapchat/stargrize

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

President George Weah's One Day National Forum Successfully Attended by 26 Political Parties

On Thursday, August 8, 2018, President George Weah had a sit down with 26 political parties of Liberia.  The meeting aimed at advancing ideals that promote the spirit of national unity and political tolerance between opposition political parties and the government.  ANC, LP and UP attended the meeting as a team. According to Deputy Minister Eugene L. Fahngon, Deputy Minister for Press and Public Affairs at Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs & Tourism, all 26 political parties attended and participated from start to finish.  Even though, social media was buzzing about AB Dillion walking out of the meeting, he walked out as an individual and not a political party, "the invitation was extended to political parties and not to individuals," Minister Fahngon stated in his live video.  Each political party gave ideals and recommendations, which made the meeting a great success.  According to  Deputy Minister Fahngon, "there will be future engagements as such.&quo

What President Trump and Kim Jong Un Ate

The historic summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un continued midday Tuesday, as the leaders satisfied their appetites while holding negotiations with a contingent of advisers over a working lunch. The lunch, which followed a 45-minute one-on-one meeting between the leaders earlier in the morning and bilateral discussion with senior aides, was held at the Capella Hotel on Singapore’s Sentosa Island. It was far from an intimate affair, with each leader accompanied by a bevy of senior staff, according to the White House. Joining Trump were Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Chief of Staff John Kelly, National Security Advisor John Bolton, U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Deputy Assistant to the President for Asian Affairs Matthew Pottinger. Kim was accompanied by Kim Yong Chol , the former spy chief and one of North Korea’s chief negotiators, as well as Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, former

Snapchat Slammed for Domestic Violence Meme Featuring Rihanna and Chris Brown

If Kylie Jenner ‘s stock-plummeting Snapchat rant didn’t make you delete the app, maybe this will. Over the weekend, Snapchat found itself in hot water after a now-deleted domestic violence meme featuring Rihanna and Chris Brown went viral. The meme, which was an advertisement for the app “Would You Rather,” asked users whether they would prefer to “slap Rihanna” or “punch Chris Brown.” Almost immediately, screenshots of the ad appeared on Twitter, with many criticizing Snapchat for making light of domestic violence. Is it just me, or is this ad that popped up on my Snapchat extremely tone deaf? Like what were they thinking with this? pic.twitter.com/7kP9RHcgNG — Royce Mann (@TheRoyceMann) March 12, 2018 Many considered the ad a mockery of Rihanna’s experience with domestic violence. In 2009, Brown was arrested and charged for physically assaulting his then-girlfriend Rihanna hours before she was to perform at the Grammy awards. Since the incident, Rihanna has spo