Grandmilly & Shozae Interview

Grandmilly & Shozae are two New York artists, a rapper/producer combination, that are currently on the rise. Having released a plethora of tapes, the latest being two from the month of October, their gritty, unforgiving material has reached the ears of sites such as Mass Appeal & Tiny Mixtapes. If you love raw New York hip hop, you’ll definitely appreciate what they have to offer.

How did you both meet?

Grandmilly: “His brother Ace introduced us…”
Shozae: “My brother Ace introduced us to each other & my bro Y2the3rd brought Milly through and we haven’t stopped mobbing since…”

What are Zero Klique and Midnite Society, and who all are involved?

Grandmilly: “They like squadrons; regimes. They like collectives of real good emcees and producers that are all from the same town creating dope shit…”
Shozae: “Facts, Midnite Society & Zeroklique are family at the end of day; Relatives… Midnite Society is a crew of 8-9 emcees & producers; Midnite formed back in like 06-07 and it consists of myself (Shozae aka Shodafloman), QS, Ace Who?, Dunny Cold-Facts, Super Vic, Gleek, Y2the3rd & Petey Max, & also a whole entourage of other cats doing fly shit…”

What in particular made y’all want to start creating/recording music?

Grandmilly: “Mutual love for music & the fact that we thought our shit was equally dope as each others.”
Shozae: “Word up, we gods, it was meant to happen…”

What equipment do y’all use to produce the music?

Shozae: “Pro Tools, Fl Studios, Maschine, Garageband…”
Grandmilly: “Shit, we used to use mixcraft too…”

The authenticity within the records you both create is highly evident, and the atmosphere is reminiscent of classic old school New York hip-hop. What artists and/or albums influenced you two to create with such an aesthetic, and/or is it more so a reflection of lifestyle?

Grandmilly: “For me, its more of a reflection of a lifestyle of emceeing, more so a vivid exaggeration of real life…”
Shozae: “I’m influence by all the greats before me and also my homies, but I agree with Mills, the beats I’m creating; that sound is coming from my vibe for that day or particular moment which is a reflection of my day to day life…”

Could you describe the process of creating “Motel Six” & “The Mausoleum”?

Grandmilly: “Well, “Motel Six” was something for the people to hold them over until “Adventureland” releases, and “The Mausoleum” was created pretty much for the holiday and we mainly wanted give the people something to enjoy for Halloween… But my creative process was to make sure I stayed consistent with the theme of each tape, just to make sure the rhythm was good on each tape.”
Shozae: “Yeah “Motel Six” is the pit stop before “Adventureland”. Lol, My mans Randy (Shout out to Randy) hit me up on Wednesday (Oct 25th) and was like “Yo, y’all should do something for Halloween” so we did it… My creative process was waking up bright and early and not leaving until i made songs I felt comfortable with releasing & of course mad weed smoke, Patron & Jameson. Maybe some yuenglings & women…”

How do y’all choose names for the tapes and the covers of those tapes?

Grandmilly: “This kid named David from Venezuela does the artwork & the names come from pop culture. These names just be poppin’ in my head, like I got a joint coming entitled “A Spike Lee Joint”… It just popped into my head one day…”
Shozae: “Whatever Milly comes up with I run with, it’s usually some dope shit. I trust his vision. From there, I do research on the title and give David the blueprint.”

Off the topic of music, best film y’all have seen to date?

Grandmilly: “I like “Way Passed Cool”, Sho showed me that movie, it’s dope…”
Shozae: “Lol, “Way Passed Cool” is like “Little Rascals” in the hood. Shouts out to Petey Max, but my shit is “New Jersey Drive” or “Strapped”… ”

Back to music, who is the best rapper/producer duo in hip-hop?

Grandmilly: “Clipse & Neptunes. And I like Eric B and Rakim, you know… Little Brother & 9th Wonder…”
Shozae: “Pete Rock & CL Smooth, or Showbiz & AG, or G Rap & DJ Polo… Damn, it’s hard to decide…”

Should we expect the anticipated “Adventureland” album to release before the year is up?

Grandmilly: “Inshallah…”
Shozae: “We just shot a video for it like last week and we will be shooting more soon. We wanna make sure we come the right way before droppin’ that masterpiece, stay tuned!”

Below are “Motel Six” & “The Mausoleum”: