Lisa Ford Blog.com - Interviews

Mr. Grim 2 da Reapa is killing Florida, the internet/You Tube/ radio, on and offline.. and he's coming to get you and take over your mind with his new album release, "INNER-GALATIC". Many people in high positions told him that Hip-Hop fans didn’t want to hear Reality and it would never sell, especially in the South. With 3 CD’s under his belt, he went from open mic to open mic performing song after song. Within 1 year, he sold over 14,000 copies independently. This would only motivate Grim to push harder..check out the interview...

GRIM: Well GRIM REAPA is really an acronym. G.R.I.M. meaning G-od’s R-eason I-s M-ine. R.E.A.P.A. meaning R-ealistic E-nergies A-re P-resent A-lwayz.

LIFE-N-DEATH are really a balance. The Ultimate Reality is Oneness. Thru Life - Death springs forth & thru Death - Life springs forth. My muzik represents that balance & Oneness.

LISA: Tell us about the musical history that brought you to where you are today? Who influenced you yesterday and who influences you today?

GRIM: Well, I wuz born in the 80's so HipHop wuz already making a significant impact, but the music wasn't really my motivation. It wuz how I wuz raised. I come from a very mixed background, racially as well as culturally. My mother raised me open-minded. Her mother is Catholic. Her father is Deist. I had 3 godmothers - 1 Jewish, 1 Baptist, & 1 heavily into SantaRia. My uncle is Nuwaubian & I have Buddhist & Muslim cousins. I wuz adopted by my stepfather who wuz Jewish & during the time i wuz with him, he converted 2 Bahai'ism. I never met my biological father, but he wuz half Native American, so my mother would frequently take me 2 reservations 4 pow-wows.

All this BE~ing said, when i entered the real world & saw the disunity amongst people, it sorta saddened me. So I guess u could say philosophy, spirituality, & LIFE as a whole inspired me more than any artist out here.

LISA: Tell us about your hood (neighborhood), and how did it feel growing up there? Was music an escape or a given?

GRIM: Well, we moved around alot; stayed everywhere from the projects 2 condos 2 even living on a farm. I can honestly say muzik wuz both a given & it wuz definitely an escape at times 2.

LISA: I was really struck by your song "Too Much Pain," in which you seem to go from one phase of heartbreak to another. It sounds like you're exploring the split between your heart and your mind. Tell us a little more about your struggle in the industry?

GRIM: Well, I did "Too Much Pain" so people can realize that I'm a regular human BE~ing 2 that has been thru many struggles, but the struggles just make a person stronger. They are blessings in disguise.

As far as my industry struggles.....it has been a bumpy road, especially BE~ing a conscious rapper in Miami where the whole industry is fueled by the strip club scene. But I know in the long run, if I can open the doorway down here, it will bring creativity back into the GAME.

LISA: What interests you most deeply?

GRIM: Teaching the world 2 overstand their true power & godliness as I learn how 2 tap into mine as well. twitter @Mrgrim2dareapa

TO HEAR MUSIC & BOOKING & CONTACT INFO@

www.myspace.com/mrgrim2dareapa

www.youtube.com/mrgrim2dareapa

www.facebook.com/mrgrim2dareapa

If you Liked this interview, you may also enjoy Lisa Ford's interview with DAMIAN MARLEY. Click HERE :

READ MARK CURRY'S BOOK!!
DANCING WITH THE DEVIL" HOW PUFF BURNED THE BAD BOYS OF HIP HOP!

Mark Curry’s novel, Dancing with the Devil: How Puff Burned the Bad Boys of Hip Hop, describes why the majority of former Bad Boy artists crashed and burned after signing recording contracts with Diddy. Music fans have been wondering for years why Bad Boy artists ultimately don’t prosper while under Diddy’s thumb. Some say that the Bad Boy Entertainment label is cursed…and the fate of Diddy’s former artists stems from a coincidental bouts bad luck. Diddy responded via a radio promo tour stating that he did not intentionally set out to bankrupt his artist even though they all are f#*cked up financially right now, including Shyne who is being deported. But Curry writes that Diddy (who he still refers to as Puffy or Puff Daddy) was instrumental in all of the unfortunate fates of former Bad Boy artist. Here’s what he had to say….

Lisa: Knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently regarding your relationship with Bad Boy?

Mark Curry: I wouldn’t have signed a 3rd-party deal. I really didn’t need Bad Boy or Sean Combs to be so much involved in my career as far as marketing and things of that nature. I don’t really feel that there’s a person who can market a star. If you are destined to be great and you’re going to get that attention anyhow. Other than that, I’m happy with what I’ve done and with the decisions I’ve made

Lisa: Puffy said on one of his Making The Band episodes, “I'ma keep it real, I'm telling this to the whole world, I DON'T LET NOBODY OUTTA THEIR CONTRACT. OKAY, THIS IS A BUSINESS." Does that statement make you mad all over again?

Mark: No but it reminds me of how ignorant a person can be. I was always taught that only a fool doesn’t change. Change is something that comes with life but basically he’s saying that he’s not willing to change.

Lisa: In spite of all of the things you mentioned in your book regarding how Puff screwed the Bad Boy artists, do you think Puff is a good business man…why or why not?

Mark: No, I don’t think he’s a good business man…because if he was a good business man then he would be doing good business. I judge good business by good turn-outs. He may have all of these MTV shows but look at the first Making the Band show, for example…the artists who helped launched that show such as, Choppa, Sara, and Fred. They too, aren’t doing anything now. And it’s hard to then go back and explain to your parents and family how at one point, you were on top, and then now, you’re nothing.

Lisa: And it’s sad because the music business is one of the industries where struggling talented African Americans could possibly grow and prosper…and it appears as if he may have took advantage of the that system.