Anyway, Nylles from CSNW caught up with Conrizzle today to talk about his new project and it’s one of the best interviews I’ve ever read. Check it out.
Every now and then artists come along they either have it or they don’t. When I came across the G5 Music Group artist, Conrizzle I got an entirely different feeling about his material. I’ll be honest and say that now days most artists barely impress me but Con’s work and drive was something that stood out to me. I knew when I heard his music he was overly passionate about his craft which is why we had to get him as a feature on the site. Conrizzle’s new album CranGrape & White Girls drops June 28th but before its in the hands the general public, I had chance to sit down and talk about the album, his role as an artist, his influences as well as some of the new project.
In these days and times it seems like the ones that stand out are the strange or artists that talk about something different. I believe that the music industry needs artists that actually give back to the real essence of music. The true definition of artistry should embody just that and I think Conrizzle does this very well. In his case Conrizzle is a much different story. The NC bred rapper/producer/singer/songwriter stuck out like a sore thumb when I heard his music. Not only has he been doing his thing since 06 and has received numerous awards since then he is also puts together most of his work. CranGrape & White Girls is Con’s 3rd studio album and i’ll say that the kid is NOT playing on this project. I got a chance to hear a couple of records during our interview and i must say that this album is MAN! I cannot wait for the world to see how much he has grown as an artist.
“Charlie Sheen” Official Music Video
One thing that I’ve noticed about Rizzle is that he takes note and is aware of the things that happen around him. An example of this is the controversial media blitz that surrounded the “Winning” Actor Charlie Sheen. Con wasted no time in taking advantage of the #Winning movement and released “Charlie Sheen“ produced by Mr. Ivory Snow. Not only has he taken over the blogs and media outlets Con has been doing shows for this promo tour for the past couple months nonstop. Not only has he been recognized for his music sense, you might have seen him on your TV screen as well. He had a great opportunity to be apart of Ford Motor history and had a cameo in “The Ford Fiesta Project“. Crazy dope for an upcoming artist. It’s apparent that Con is on his way to the top and has his mind set on where he needs to go. So without further adieu i present, Conrizzle x CSNW.
So First off why did you name this project CranGrape & White Girls and what does this album mean to you?
CR: I named it CranGrape & White Girls simply because I love them both. They both symbolize something very special to me, but most importantly I feel that every artist now days to be successful has to be defined by something. I feel like that defines me, even though it has a comical approach, it still has a more introspective approach because during the process of me making this project I went through a lot of hardships. I went through a lot of heartbreak, a lot of pain, death. I mean I had to deal with the passing of my little brother. You know? So when artists go through things they usually pick some type of gloomy-introspective title to symbolize their project, I didn’t want to do that. Only because at the end of the day I still have a sense of humor. I also wanted to show people that even though you have these hardships within your life, it’s nothing wrong with having a little bit of fun. There is never anything wrong with laughing and joking, because those are the things that really keep you during those hard times. That’s why I named it that because it’s going to catch you and people are going to be confused, but then it’s going to draw people in like, ok. What is he talking about? But then when they get it, they’ll hear the reality of the fact and then, they will be caught on like “Oh ok, it makes sense now”.
Who had their hand in this project besides yourself?
CR: I worked with a lot of people with this project versus what I normally do. I usually only incorporate myself only. I usually produce most of the material, but for this project I wanted to venture out and just really see what other producers can bring to the table. I wanted to explore sounds but I got some shit from Tyler, The Creator from Odd Future, Mr. Ivory Snow, LabOx, Majik, Pat Preezy, and that’s pretty much it, everything else is me.
What were the creative processes and the drive behind this album?
CR: Hm, I would say very sporadic. The drive was all from personal experiences. Every song on this album is all personal. Every song is created from my personal experiences. So there would b times that I’d be in the studio and I’ll just study music. I would study our ancestors of music. Not like that but I call them ancestors because they have laid the groundwork for us like Stevie Wonder, and Miles Davis. Ill also watch movies and a lot of other things just to get the creative juices flowing. It could be something as simple as fucking around on Twitter laughing and joking around with Pat and everybody else. What’s unique about this is that I did my research and went back and just studied a lot of music that I didn’t know about, a lot of music that the general public deem as “classics” you know? So I went back and I studied those artists and I tried to figure out what their niche was. I also researched what made their music great, what and why it became made legendary. I tried to take those elements and put it in my creative process as well.
I’m loving it,
So how is this project different from your last and did you have any problems in creating this masterpiece?
CR: Hm. Interesting questions. It’s different from all of my other projects because I’m more mature as a human being. I have a broader musical sense, and my situation right now is more solidified. I have a much better understanding of where I want to go as an artist. So it’s more of a direction on this and it’s very musical, very dark and gloomy. You know it’s just very aggressive. I’m usually the type of person to make music that’s very lighthearted, generally for the women. I usually become the quote unquote “Ladies Man” within music but I kind of stepped away from that and show people that I can really really rap.
Not to cut you off, but I have noticed that within the last couple of records that you’ve been putting out, that it’s really just raw bar for bar rapping.
CR: Yeah, I wanted to show people that I can do just that you know? Being in the industry, you have to stand out but at the same time meet a certain quota of material. A certain sound, a certain pace has to be kept in order for you to stay relevant and on it keeps you on your toes. So when you have to fit that certain sound, or whatever the hottest is people tend to put you in a box. What a lot of people don’t know is that I produce, write, mix, master and engineer my own material. So just with having all of those talents and being able to do these things, I kind of alleviate all of the facilities that the label would offer an artist. I’m put in a position where I’m cutting out the middle man at the same time the middle man is pissed because they are like “Ok, we have this guy that I want to do something for but he’s pretty much taking my job”.
So really I’m just put in positions where I’m almost going back and forth with the title of “producer turned rapper” because I feel like I’m not just a rapper and producer. I feel like I’m an artist because I embody everything that an artist and a musician should embody. I still passionate about music as a whole and there are a lot of artists that aren’t and just want it for the music. I’m not in it for the money; if I was I would have stopped a while ago. I want Grammy’s, I want to be great, I want thousands of people to be at the mall when I walk in, I want girls to be crying when they see me you know? I want shit like that, that’s what this music represents because it embodies all of that. With me trying to get that, it takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears to reach that point. On top of me having to travel and going to meet with different people, arguments with management and different A&R’s, with my graphic design team. It was just a lot of stuff because behind me being a 1 man machine people tend to lay back and expect me to do everything, and it’s not supposed to be like that.
