It does. Almost all your tracks have references to the wrestling of the 80s and 90s. For the wrestling fans reading this right now, let's shout out some familiar names. Who specifically from those times influenced you, or who were you a big fan of?
I got a lot of favorites. Randy Savage, Roddy Piper… I was named actually after Roddy Piper, so that alone should tell you how serious this is for me. Jimmy Snuka was amazing, Shawn Michaels, Sting, Bret Hart, Road Warriors, man the Steiners, Hogan goes without saying of course. Austin, The Rock… I was a big nWo fan, Nash, Hall. Scott Hall, Razor Ramon, chico! Eddie Guerrero, Taker, Kurt Angle. the Horsemen… Can I tell you Ric Flair is the illest man alive? I mean the way he spoke and carried himself was like no other… If I could be like Ric Flair, in a hip-hop sense, that’s unheard of.
Perhaps you can give a whole new meaning to the saying, "RIC FLAIR, NIGGA!" am I right? Anyway, like I mentioned a lot of those names appear on your tracks in a lyrical or thematic sense, so I guess your wrestling influences shine clear through your music. But what about your hip-hop influences? I personally think you sound like a wrestling fan's Kendrick Lamar, but who helped shape you as a rapper?
Huge compliment, I appreciate that. I’m from the west, California you feel me so some of my influences are his influences. I love Dre, Pac, uncle Snoop. The whole Death Row era was really dope to me. Eminem is my favorite rapper, period. He just never stops coming up with ways to rhyme words and it’s crazy. Jay-Z, E-40. Pimp C, Mase… I think T.I. is amazing, he's got this larger than life attitude, dope music and his stage presence is second to none. I could go on for a while The Game, if you listen to rap and you don’t listen to Game, I don’t know man... [Lil’] Wayne, Kanye, Joe Budden got too many bars... all them niggas.
But what made you decide to be a rapper? Is there a story to that? Was that the dream all along, or was there a moment when you went, "Hey, I'm real good at this, I could get big doing this."
I mean, I always loved music. I was a big fan of Jermaine Dupri... Michael Jackson. I still am. I've kind of always loved creating and playing with melody… I don’t know if there's a real story behind it. Music has just always been around. Like where I'm from in the Bay, we had these mixtapes with all the best songs from our home & everywhere. It was called the Gumbo Mix. We had a lot of those coming up. My family did music, my cousins rapped, my brother… I wanted to write poems at first for a while, but I didn’t think they were really any good so over time I just started to put them in rap form, throwing rhymes down over the beat… and I think that worked a little better for me.
Rap is poetry set to a beat anyway, and I know you won't let anyone else tell you otherwise. So how did you come up with the idea that you'd be rapping about wrestling? Most young rappers talk about what they've been through in the streets, or coming up big, or just getting that paper and hoes and ice, all that stuff. Your material seems to be that, only just framed from within the perspective of pro wrestling themes and characters. Wrestling is a bold stylistic choice, so how did you have your heart set on that?
I guess, it was kind of supposed to happen this way honestly - I used to be in a group called B.A.R.S. and we did some really cool things. When I pretty much decided to go my own way I figured if I'm going to give people me, uncut, then this is the route I have to take. I look at it like this, art imitates life right? So why can’t I take these elements from the wrestling world and apply them to real life? My life. If you break it down, wrestling stories are based on the age old battle of good versus evil. I live that everyday, we all live that everyday. So my thing was, to understand who Billy Gram is as an artist I want you to also understand who Gram is as a man. That journey, that story starts here.
Aren't you worried, though, that featuring wrestling heavily in your music would be an obstacle in gaining some credibility? Not only does wrestling still carry a social stigma, but hip-hop is a macho culture that values realness - which is why, for example, people who are caught fronting and faking their roots are frowned upon and ridiculed - and wrestling, by nature, isn't really "real." I know a lot of rappers have been known to drop wrestling references from time to time (the aforementioned "Ric Flair, nigga!" being one of them) but centering almost completely on wrestling doesn't even sound like an underground or alternative thing, in general. Has anyone ever criticized you for those reasons?
I don’t really worry about that, the stigma, that’s one of the things that are out of my control. I just do my thing man. And then too, this isn’t the only type of music I make. I make everything, I guess the only difference is I'm still a fan [of wrestling]. When I found out it was performance, predetermined, fake, however you want to put it, I didn’t turn my back on it. That's foolish to me. But people have their opinions, some fuck with it… they get it. Some people don’t get it. They don’t get that everything is a metaphor. All I can do is put it out there and you take it for what you take it for. My family, my team they know what's up with me, so being perceived or looked at as "not real" or whatever, I'm not concerned with that. It's not up to me to decide if it's hot, if it catches. It's just up to me to create as best I can. That's all I worry about.
That's great to hear, man. Do you think, then, that you'll be sticking to the wrestling "gimmick" for your entire rap career, or is there room for Billy Gram to branch out and evolve?
There's always room to grow, to mature. But I'm always going to stick with it, bro. In some way I plan to incorporate it. Always. I did this tape as a theme. An experiment, but this was just the tip of the iceberg as far as wrestling content. There's no records where I tap into The Rock or Stone Cold or the Four Horsemen or any of those guys so there's more that can be done. In every sense though, I never feel like I'm doing enough.
Speaking of wrestlers you haven't touched on yet, who among the current crop are you a fan of?
I like Randy Orton. Bobby Roode is dope to me. I’m a big CM Punk fan. Dolph Ziggler, maybe Damien Sandow. That might be it on who I think is really good. Not a huge fan of the indys, but then again I don’t really go looking for anything either. If I hear good things about a person, I'll check out some of their matches.
Who do you feel is the Billy Gram of wrestling right now? Take that definition as you will.
Punk. Gotta go with Punk. I’m arrogant, I’m brash, sarcastic... but I'm also a really cool dude, I don’t bother nobody. I know who I am so I just kind of do my own thing. Aside from the whole straightedge thing of course, that's the same vibe I get from him.
From Sabotagetimes.com
That definitely makes a lot of sense. All right, before we wrap up - why don't you tell your fellow wrestling fans - and hip-hop fans - why they should check out your music? I don't think there's anyone better to convince them than the man himself.
Right. Well it's pretty much like this. If you’re a fan of good music, that's all the reason you need. But I put my all into this man, so if people are looking for music that feels good, sounds good. If you like lyricism, I've got that. Punchlines, metaphors, I can do all that. Plus I feel like I can actually write a pretty good song. If you're a wrestling fan who's also into hip-hop and you're interested in guys like Smoke DZA, Action Bronson, so forth who represent both cultures, then a Billy Gram record should be on your radar. If not, and you just like that trap rap, club records, whatever… Billy Gram should be on your radar.
Damn straight. And lastly, got any stuff - new or old - to promote? Shoutouts?
Oh yeah. I got The Hulkamaniac mixtape out now, which is the reason we're here today. The project is amazing, in my opinion. I did everything I wanted to do with it. Check out the nWo video...
...the Boss Man video...
...and I've got a song called Val Venis I just shot a video for, that’s coming real soon. Another project called Nights at the Roundtable I'm going to start rolling out. For information on any booking or shows you can follow me on Twitter - @BillyGRAM, to stay up to date with everything I've got up. Shout out Fresh Music Group, my family.
Good looking Ro, I appreciate the support. I've been reading up your work and everything for a while now so it's an honor. Everybody that supports what I'm doing, I just plan to keep trying to deliver quality product that you can enjoy. Hopefully you continue to rock with me.