On this week’s episode of “Drink Champs,” N.O.R.E., DJ EFN and guest co-host Memphis Bleek were joined by Queens, New York native Grafh.
Grafh was always gifted when it came to using his hands. He used to draw, spray paint and write rhymes that earned him local praise in his neighborhood. Though he had always been infatuated with music, at one point and in an effort to make his mother proud, he chose to work toward his college degree at St. John’s University. But during his time at the school, he recognized his gift and switched gears to pursue a path in Hip Hop.
Under the tutelage of the late Chaz Williams, of Black Hand Entertainment, Grafh started to rise in the ranks as a rapper in New York City. Tracks like "Bang Out" and “I Don’t Care,” as well as projects like The Oracle, established him as a force on the mic who was equipped with an unparalleled level of skill and sharpness. In 2007, the Roc-A-Fella Records affiliate dropped his debut album, Autografh, and started to receive national acclaim in the genre of rap with a bevy of co-signs that included Busta Rhymes and Dame Dash.
On “Drink Champs,” he opened up about his journey, the major players in his career, what he would’ve done differently if he could run it back and much more. Nine takeaways from the episode can be found below and watch the full episode here.
1. On attending St. John's University
Early on, Grafh got accepted into St. John’s University in his hometown of Queens, New York and started charting his path to becoming a doctor by studying physical science. Remembering that time period, he voiced, “I was determined to get out of the hood one way or the other and do it the way my mother wanted me to do it. Do it the right way.” On his transition to music, he said, “Rap was always a dream for me. I was battle rapping and killing n**gas in barbershops and all that. And then Busta Rhymes caught wind of it. And he actually sent somebody to my school to contact me… So, I left school after that… I started trying to take rap seriously after that.”
2. On being an intellectual lyricist
Though great Hip Hop music isn’t always rooted in depth, Grafh discussed the challenges of rapping with a high level of intelligence and touched on how that approach was received among fans. “There was a period in my career where I was like, ‘Should I dumb it down?’ And I was like, ‘Nah, f**k it,’” he began. “I was tired of getting misunderstood. That's not f**king fun. That s**t sucks. N**gas ain't getting it.” Eventually, he decided not to dumb it down and let it be known that he was very much at peace with his decision. “Now I just do what I do. If you get it, you get it. If you don't, that's f**king cool,” he added.
3. On learning from Kanye West
Grafh and Kanye West became affiliated with Roc-A-Fella Records around the same time back in the day. Due to their link-ups early on, Grafh explained what he learned from the diamond-selling rapper-producer extraordinaire. “He taught me how to write bars and all that. I ain't really know how to really count bars. He don't even know he taught me that,” he said. “I was in his crib making records, rapping for 90 million bars. And he'd be like, 'You know 16 bars is way back there?' I'm fronting, like, 'Yeah, I know, I'm just warming up, my n**ga.' Then when he showed me where to stop at, I'm like, ‘Oh that's 16 bars. Got it.’”
4. On having the opportunity to sign to Scarface
Grafh had the opportunity to sign with Scarface back in the day, but didn’t understand the play fully when approached with the option. He explained, “I was already in a bidding war with Sony [Music] and the bigger labels. And then Scarface came and said, ‘Grafh, I want to sign you to my label. I don't have the money to compete with the labels, like the Sonys and the Def Jams. But what I can do is take you on tour and break you as an artist to all my fans in all these markets around the country.’ I didn't know what the f**k that meant back then,” he remembered. On the note of how things would’ve played out had he signed, he added, “I would’ve been the biggest rapper ever because there's no New York n**ga to ever tour the South in that way and be introduced by Scarface.”
5. On what it was like to move around with Chaz Williams
Grafh and Williams were locked in for a long time before they started working in the music business with one another. Grafh spoke a bit about the impact that the fallen Black Hand Entertainment founder had on him. "Chaz was more of a father figure for me than a manager. So, everything in the business we kind of learned together," Grafh said. On the experience of moving around with Chaz, he continued, "In the streets, he's like a Godfather. I could go in any projects; I went on prison tours. I could go anywhere. Face was stamped, laminated everywhere. I'm good money in any hood... So, in the street, it helped. In the industry, because it's run by businessmen and punks and s**t, a lot of them guys was nervous around Chaz... It hurt with niggas who didn't want us around because they was uncomfortable with real, real street n**gas in the room."
6. On being blackballed from the music industry
Grafh’s legacy in the rap game is already cemented. But he did confirm that he felt as if he was blackballed at one point due to his crew being at odds with another major rapper and the politics that surrounded that situation. “It wasn't one individual… They just was like, ‘We're not f**king with anything coming from this way based on [the] relationship we have with 50 [Cent],’” Grafh said. “I'm not saying he went out of his way to personally do that, but he does make n**gas choose sides. He polarizes people… And the only way to hurt a n**ga is to hurt him in his pockets. The industry at that time was more gatekeeping. It wasn't like I could just go independent and blow the f**k up. It was gatekept. If you didn't have the powers that be behind you, you just wasn't getting on n**ga.”
7. On being compared to Joe Budden
Back when both acts were relatively new in their careers, a lot of people felt as if Joe Budden adopted Grafh’s style, to which the Queens, New York-bred rapper agreed. “It was a real thing,” Grafh declared before getting into it a bit more. “Funny thing is, I wasn't even saying it at first. Sony said it to me. When they signed me and gave me this big a** deal, they was like, 'Well, we feel Joe Budden kind of took your sound. And we signed you, we thought you were special, but now there's two of y'all, and we don't know what to do with you now.’ So basically, if the deal wasn't done, they wouldn't have signed me.”
8. On “Love & Hip Hop”
Rappers and reality TV have had a longstanding relationship with one another over the years. At one point, even Grafh dabbled with the small screen but realized that it wasn’t his speed. As he recalled his time on “Love & Hip Hop,” the emcee admitted, “I was boring on there on purpose. The money was good money, but it ain't really my style of show, so I kind of wanted to be forgotten. To be a star on that show, either your personality has to fit that or you gotta do some goofy s**t.” He also confirmed that during his time on the series, he contributed to fabricating storylines with his co-stars for the purpose of entertainment. “We was making up s**t... We was all in cahoots,” the star said.
9. On what he would’ve done differently in his career
Now an OG in the rap game, Grafh briefly touched on two things that he would’ve done differently if he had the chance to run his career back. “I would've probably tried to make a greater effort to mend or try to mend 50 and Chaz when I felt I had the chance,” he said. “I didn't put a lot of energy into it. I think I put more energy into it when I realized, ‘Hey, this is starting to affect my finances.’” On another note, he added, “I would've learned the business part of the business earlier. I was having fun with the s**t, but I wasn't thinking about no f**king money. I wasn't focused on touring and building relationships.”