Grammar Tha God is ready to take the Hip Hop scene by storm with his upcoming EP The Manifestation.
Basing himself in the vibrant music scene of Melbourne is rapper and producer Grammar Tha God, who is about to take the Hip Hop scene by storm with his upcoming release The Manifestation. Starting his career at the tender age of 15 by producing beats he later took the jump to the live scene by becoming a regular performer in Brisbane’s underground rap community.
Grammar Tha God has never been one to shy away from chasing his dreams in music. Grammar’s previous project Thousand Grams Of Dopeness provided him the exposure he needed to find his footing in the Aussie music scene, and acted as the starting point for the launch of his own label Black Music Group.
Now reappearing with a new name after taking a short break to re-strategise his career, Grammar Tha God is back to show us how much he has grown as an artist.
With his new EP The Manifestation coming out soon, Happy got to chat with Grammar Tha God about what attracted him to the Hip Hop scene, his passion and drive for music, and of course what he has in store for us with his new EP.
HAPPY: What was the exact moment you fell in love with music?
GRAMMAR: It all started for me at 9 years old when me and my family moved to Australia in 2001, me and my older brothers watched music videos on video hits and rage religiously, and I still remember the first time I watched Let’s Get Married by Jagged Edge featuring Rev Run of RUN DMC on TV, I’d say that was the moment I fell in love with Hip Hop, RnB music in general. Ever since then I’ve literally been a music addict.
HAPPY: You started producing music at age 15, what got you interested in that realm of the industry and what did your original set-up look like?
GRAMMAR: I instantly found Hip Hop relatable as an adolescent and deeply connected with the art and meaning of it. I began to study Hip Hop obsessively, buying albums with my older brothers, listening to them front to back, analysing the lyrics and sonics of their production, I even studied all the producers that worked on these albums, and developed a love for the culture of creating Hip Hop Music. By the time I was 15, I decided that I wanted to become a music producer and make it big in the industry as a producer/manager/label owner. I downloaded FL Studio onto our family PC and began making beats religiously. I was really impressed with my natural ability to make beats and stuck with it. I didn’t have any music equipment other than our PC so I used our Qwerty keyboard to play instruments digitally through FL Studio. That’s all changed now but I really appreciate those humble beginnings looking back at them now.
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HAPPY: You moved up from producing to start performing, what was the catalyst for that change in directory?
GRAMMAR: My best friend at the time and I both loved Hip Hop, and would always listen to music together. One day we challenged each other to write a verse each and show it to one another the next day. That was the first time I ever attempted to write lyrics. I was really impressed with my verse, so I continued writing and focused on perfecting my craft. I actually filled a 120-page A4 notebook with verses that I memorised before I ever recorded a single song or told anyone that I could rap. This was in 2011, 2 years later I dropped my debut project 10 Thousand Grams Of Dopeness (10TGOD) through my own label Black Music Group (BMG), and began performing locally in Brisbane.
HAPPY: You have worked on numerous projects across the years, what is something valuable you have learnt from each project, and has any of these projects helped you shape how you approach your musical career?
GRAMMAR: When I started recording music and releasing it publicly it was really all trial and error. Now that I’m 10 years in I’ve learnt from the mistakes I made in the beginning and gained an enormous amount of knowledge on music production, recording and the music industry along the way. I’ve always strived to be an independent artist that releases his own music independently so I learned as much as I could as I went from the jump. There’s always room for growth so I’m still learning!
HAPPY: You took a brief break from recording music to regroup and re-strategise your career, what was the pivotal moment that happened that made you take that step back? And what did you learn about yourself and about music during that time?
GRAMMAR: In 2016 I began to feel like I was in the wrong city while in Brisbane, as the Hip Hop scene was very small. There also was a huge shortage of like-minded creatives to network with. I decided to take a break from recording and focus on building my social media presence by expressing my views on the world, while at the same time studying the direction Hip Hop was going and connecting with other creatives internationally. This was a very interesting time in Hip Hop as the new generation of artists was being ushered in. I also had legal troubles that stemmed from racism that kept me stuck in Brisbane when I eagerly wanted to move to Melbourne. This was a very turbulent time in my life as right-wing politics, bigotry and blatant racism were mainstream worldwide. This time taught me a lot about myself, the music I planned to make and the world at large.
HAPPY: You have a new EP titled The Manifestation, I would love to hear more about how you approached this EP compared to your other work and what this EP means to you as an artist.
GRAMMAR: In 2021 I began working on music again, connecting with multi-platinum producer Legion Beats. By early 2022 I finally moved to Melbourne and as soon as did I found my artistic voice again. In a matter of months I wrote The Manifestation EP and connected with multiple creatives and mentors. The way I approached The Manifestation EP is really self explanatory, I’m a really spiritual guy so this project is the manifestation of my highest self. I’m a lot more grounded in who i am as a person musically compared to the music I released back in 2013/2014. The 1st single off The Manifestation EP, Only Right speaks on where I’ve been the last few years and what I’m up to now. It’s my comeback song to the world!
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HAPPY: What is something someone has said about your music that you hold close to your heart?
GRAMMAR: I’ve always been aware that people enjoy my music and know that it’s great. From friends and family, people that watched me work in the studio to all the people who watched me perform over the years. But when I moved to Melbourne, one of my audio engineers listened to my music after meeting me and told me that my music was really intelligent and full of wisdom. That description of my music resonated with me, and means a lot to me as I’ve always been a conscious artist who’s goal was to raise the consciousness of humanity through music.
HAPPY: What is the best way that we can all support you as an artist?
GRAMMAR: Stream my music on all digital platforms and share it with your friends and family ! Stay updated on everything I’ve got going on by following me on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat, I’m super active on all of them!
HAPPY: What does 2023 have in store for Grammar Tha God? Any hints that you can give us to look forward to?
GRAMMAR: In 2023 people can expect music, more music and even more music from me, I’m just heating up! I’m really challenging myself musically right now so you can also expect a wide range of music styles and subject matters from me. 2023 is the year of BMG !
Stream Grammar Tha God latest single off of his upcoming EP Energy via Spotify below.
Interviewed by Laura Hughes
Photos supplied.