Grafh Talks Old Jay-Z Situation, Overcoming The Odds And Christian Rap While Keeping It Gangsta

Grafh has finally hit his stride.  The Queens, New York representative has faced immense challenges throughout his career, from the streets to the music industry. Like many artists, he’s had to navigate the complexities of the rap game, where the path to success is rarely straightforward. And, of course, there are the streets. But Grafh has proven to be unshakably resilient, driven by an unwavering determination.

Early on, Grafh found himself entangled in a situation with 50 Cent that was not his doing and then caught in the middle of Dame Dash and Jay-Z’s untimely break-up. This insane period threatened to permanently derail his burgeoning career. While he’s drawn inspiration Jay’s blueprint, he owns his fouls when he first interacted with the mogul. Grafh studied the mogul’s journey, internalizing the need for adaptability, business savvy, and  vision. So, rather than be consumed by industry drama, he’s used it all as fuel.

With God’s Time, Grafh has remained steadfast, refusing to be deterred by the challenges that have come his way. His story is one of transformation, of rising above the obstacles and forging a path forward through sheer force of will.

Now, as he stands at a pivotal moment in his career, Grafh is poised to cement his place among the greats, driven by an unwavering commitment to his craft and a deep-rooted connection to the culture that has shaped him. He talks to DJ Thoro and Chuck Jigsaw Creekmur about everything – the weird energy with JAY-Z, overcoming being blackballed, and finding his tribe with 38 Spesh, Joyner Lucas and others.

Chuck Jigsaw Creekmur: Respect. Tell us about your new project. 

Grafh: God’s Timing. God’s Timing. God’s Timing. Fully produced. By my brother 38 Spesh. Shout out to my boy. This album means so much to me, man. I feel like I’m just walking in my purpose and God is just like bestowing his blessings a little extra on your boy. So yeah man, that’s what it’s all about. That’s why even on the cover you see the gun and the cross and the duality between good and evil. It’s like I’ve been doing things the wrong way, I guess. And now I felt like I’m doing things the more right way. I’m walking into my purpose and it feels good. So it’s up! My time for real.

Chuck Jigsaw Creekmur: I want to start at the end of the album. You have a song called “Give Praise.” Talk about that a little bit in the grand scheme of things.

Grafh: I think if you want more, you got to be grateful. The record is still kind of gangster, but the general theme and feel is gratitude. If you want more, you want to level up, you got to be thankful for where you at. Appreciate that and enjoy the blessings in the moment and then you can go to the next level.

DJ Thoro: Yeah. Speaking of the album, one thing about you I’ve always noticed is people like you, Red Cafe, even Uncle Murder. You guys have done songs with damn near anybody in any and everybody in the industry, right? Do you feel that you’ve been blackballed or put there’s a ceiling man put on you? 

Grafh: A Well there was a blackball /  blacklisted situation for a minute, but I don’t feel it’s there anymore. I feel like the game is wide open in terms of if you work hard, you put out good content, the world is yours at this point. It’s still an expensive game to play. But in general, yeah, there was all kind of people blocking my progress, but it wasn’t stopping me. I go too hard to ever be stopped. Only God could stop me or the Feds.

Chuck Jigsaw Creekmur: Do you feel like the Black Hand situation was part of that?

Grafh: A part of it? Only because of the 50 Cent / Chaz thing before I even came about. And what people don’t understand is whatever, 50 and Chaz had had nothing to do with me. I just got affected by, and I had to deal with the aftermath and what people felt about it. It wasn’t even about what them two individuals went through. It was about what people felt about it. And then they just was forced to choose sides between 50 and us and it was a wack thing. It made me work harder. I got here because of my work ethic.

DJ Thoro: Now, in my opinion, there’s no such thing as blackballing because of the internet. Can you actually get blackballed now? 

Grafh: You can get blackballed digitally. At one point it was limited in all kind ways. I couldn’t even understand. I remember when I dropped the last album, the record with me and Dave East every day. I couldn’t even find it online on iTunes. I was like, what is going on? How do I be coming up with this? It’d be new innovative ways to block you. Hell yeah, you can be blocking somebody digitally. It might be worse if you get suppressed digitally.

Chuck Jigsaw Creekmur: Well saying it’s definitely real. We definitely talk about it here at WonWorld. I wanted to ask you, what did touring with Joyner Lucas do for you? He has that balance too, that lyricism, but also he goes viral.

DJ Thoro: Did you have any trouble getting any of the features that you desired for this album?

Grafh: No.  I mean those are all people that we mutually respect each other and that’s one of the greatest accomplishments that I have in my career: I could call somebody like Method Man and get a verse.

DJ Thoro: Yeah, Mef don’t just jump on anybody’s stuff. 

Grafh: I appreciate it so much. You know what I’m saying? When somebody like Mef’s like, “I’ll do something with you,” tt’s like “The hard work, the talent, the skillset, it matters in a real way.”  Thank you, Mef. Thank you to all the greats that tapped in with me.

Chuck Jigsaw Creekmur: But isn’t it true that people who appreciate lyricists are always watching and listening to other lyricists?

Grafh: That’s how you get better. That’s how you stay sharp. So if you’re not paying attention to the people who are really shaking and doing it for real, then you’re missing out. If somebody jacks something from me or copies, I’m like, “You smart.” If I wasn’t me, I would copy off for me too. 

Chuck Jigsaw Creekmur: You don’t sound like anybody. I don’t have anybody to compare you to or say, “Yeah, I can see he used to idolize that person or that person.” You’re pretty original.

Grafh: That’s good. I love that. (Where does that come from?) A lot of it is just my own creation, but my influences are Nas, Jadakiss, Eminem, Royce Da 5′ 9″ and Prodigy. Put all of ’em in a pot and boom…

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Chuck Jigsaw Creekmur: I want to get back to the Roc-A-Fella reunion song. I didn’t realize you were signed to Rockefeller. Talk about that a little bit. If I knew, I totally forgot.  You said you joined right before Jay and Dame broke up.

Grafh: I got signed to the Rock right before Jay-Z and Dame Dash broke up. I mean, right before, if I was signed on a Monday, they broke up Tuesday. There was no time for me to get to exercise my rights over that. You know what I’m saying? But I did get to go to London with them boys. I went to Japan with Dame. So I had some really, really cool experiences. I first met all of them in London. I flew over there and I was like, oh s###, I’m with Bleek and Beans and Jay and all these people in London. I met Jay at Baseline Studios first.

Chuck Jigsaw Creekmur: Now, did you get any energy from Jay at that point? 

Grafh: A little bit, I was too competitive and not embracing the moment enough with Jay. I probably rubbed Jay the wrong way in the beginning because my attitude was wrong, totally wrong. When I met Jay, I was like, I’m the guy and not realizing you’re in Baseline talking to Jay-Z. Why are you acting like this? Why did you have the attitude? I was so competitive, [I] was out of my mind, bro. I was just really competitive back then.

Instead of just embracing the moment you’re meeting Jay-Z at Baseline, I’m thinking all wrong. I walked to the bathroom, looked in the mirror and said, “What are you doing? Why are you acting like this? Jay-Z. You acting like you at Baseline with Jay-Z? You just met him. What the f##k?”

Chuck Jigsaw Creekmur: Is Gospel Rap in your future?

Grafh: I would do a Gospel Record in a heartbeat because I’m a man of God. I would do, I would do that. That’s me. I would do that in a heartbeat of gospel. Yes, I would. There’s a duality to [me], that’s why I always say, “It don’t got to be the gun or the Bible.” It could be both. Sometimes you need both.