Grip Grand

Label site
MySpace (listen to "Poppin' Pockets," over and over and over again)

Hometown: Oakland
Next local show: Wish we knew
Upcoming release: Full-length TBD, August '07?

NASCENT went nuts for Grip Grand immediately upon hearing his song "Poppin' Pockets" on KALX 90.7 FM one day in the ... err, office -- the mobile office, with four wheels and a five-speed, if you know what we mean. No matter; we heard it, and that's what counts. Because ever since then we've thought this guy is the bay's knees. (more >>)

If you listen, you will notice the lyrics to "Poppin' Pockets" are about being severely cash-strapped (you know, like "Cash Machine" by British chart-toppers Hard-Fi, who are wiping their asses with notes as we speak). Well on Grip's part, poverty's no front. He grew up with hip-hop, starting to collect records to sample at a young age then piecing together beats on a 4-track in his room once he could afford the equipment. But his family moved around a lot -- his website reports 20 phone numbers in three years -- and Grip had a hard time emerging from his shell. He spent time in Santa Cruz, where he worked at Streetlight Records and was able to get some of his recordings onto the shelves. He'd also taken a liking to Oakland and San Francisco, and wound up recording his excellently titled 1999 debut Welcome to Brokeland (later re-released on SF label Bomb Hip-Hop) while still working at Streetlight. Look Records' A.G. and DJ Design took note and got him signed, and somewhere along the line Grip relocated to Oakland. There he's remained reclusive, but word and new material have spread. A new full-length is promised to be in the works.

Which brings us to the present. The new stuff on MySpace sounds good, but God help us, "Poppin' Pockets" is one of the best hip-hop songs we've heard in years. Anyone who doesn't dig it be damned.

HUMBLE PIE:
-"Prolonged bouts of unemployment" in Oakland and San Francisco inspired Welcome to Brokeland, which was initially self-released on a very limited scale.
-Grip has another self-pity song called "Love/Drama," in which he raps, "I'm like every whack rapper you've ever heard, except more whack / Don't buy it, my album that is / You won't like it, every sample you'll recognize." He then goes on to call himself a "piss-poor producer," saying "my friends understand why it sucks, but the critic's won't." Hey Grip, we luv ya.