RUGGED BEATS: GRAPHWIZE

INTERVIEW TERRELL “REALIFE” BLACK PHOTOGRAPHY TONE VIERA

Up and coming hip hop music producer and deejay Graphwize is making a name for himself. A fan of hip hop culture, the London Ontario, Canada native respects the art of emceeing and the greats of the culture... emcees, producers and deejays alike. He’s worked with legends such as Kool G Rap and current heavy hitters like Conway The Machine. He describes his sound as “somewhat of a eerie futuristic boom bap sound with a gritty back drop and drum loops that can flip at any moment and give you some hard 808 trap type shit.” Validated recently sat down with Graphwize to discuss his influences, recent projects and more.

VALIDATED: BEING FROM LONDON, ONTARIO, CANADA, WHAT’S YOUR EARLIEST MEMORY OF HIP HOP CULTURE?

GRAPHWIZE: IT WAS FROM A RADIO STATION 106.9, I REMEMBER BEING IN MY BEDROOM RECORDING EMINEM AND OTHER HIP HOP ARTIST'S SONGS ON CASSETTE TAPES. I WAS JUST A LITTLE GUY, IT WAS BEFORE NAPSTER WAS A THING. LOL

VALIDATED: PURCHASING YOUR FIRST HIP HOP ALBUM, WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT IT?

GRAPHWIZE: I CAN'T REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT THE FIRST ONE WAS BUT HERE'S A LIST OF SOME OF THE VERY FIRST OF HIP HOP ALBUMS I BOUGHT.

MOBB DEEP - THE INFAMOUS

MOBB DEEP - HELL ON EARTH

BIG L - LIFESTYLEZ OV DA POOR & DANGEROUS

BIG L - THE BIG PICTURE

VALIDATED: WHAT WAS THE FIRST PIECE OF PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT YOU PURCHASED WITH YOUR OWN MONEY?

GRAPHWIZE: THE FIRST PIECE OF EQUIPMENT I BOUGHT WAS A NUMARK DM950 2 CHANNEL MIXER.

VALIDATED: WHICH PRODUCERS INFLUENCED YOUR SOUND AND WHAT IF ANYTHING DID YOU “BORROW” FROM THEM?

GRAPHWIZE: DJ PREMIER, THE ALCHEMIST, J DILLA, PETE ROCK, MADLIB, KEV BROWN AND CHARLEMAGNE… I LEARNED A LOT OF THINGS FROM THOSE PRODUCERS. THINGS LIKE HOW TO MAKE MY DRUMS KNOCK A CERTAIN WAY, HOW TO LAY DOWN A PROPER BASSLINE ON A BEAT, COOL DRUM PATTERNS, CHOPPING THE CRAP OUT OF SAMPLES AND FLIPPING THEM INTO SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, LAYERING AND PITCHING THINGS RIGHT AND I ALSO LEARNED HOW TO ADD MY OWN SWING AND RHYTHM TO MY BEATS BY NOT QUANTIZING.

VALIDATED: YOU PRODUCE AND DO SOME SCRATCHING, WHICH DID YOU DO FIRST, PRODUCER OR DJ AND HOW DID YOU TRANSITION INTO THE OTHER?

GRAPHWIZE: I FIRST STARTED PLAYING AROUND WITH FL STUDIO AND REASON WHEN I WAS A KID, THEN I GOT MY FIRST DJ SETUP. I FOCUSED ON SCRATCHING FOR A WHILE THEN SOON AS I GOT MY MPC 2000XL I GOT RIGHT BACK TO MAKING BEATS.

VALIDATED: HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND?

GRAPHWIZE: THAT GOLDEN ERA SOUND WITH A MODERN TWIST.

VALIDATED: WHICH KNOWN ARTIST HAVE YOU PRODUCED OR SCRATCHED FOR?

GRAPHWIZE: I PRODUCED FOR FREDDIE GIBBS ON TEDY ANDREA'S EP “ANDREAS SORIANO”, THE SONG IS CALLED “SPUTNIK” AND I DID SOME SCRATCHES FOR WILLIE DA KID’S SONG TITLED “YOU KNOW ABOUT ME”  OFF THE “DEUTSCHE MARKS” ALBUM.

VALIDATED: WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST MAJOR PLACEMENT AND HOW DID THE OPPORTUNITY COME ABOUT?

GRAPHWIZE: B.A. BADD - “EVERYBODY EATS” FEATURING CONWAY. B.A. WAS LIKE “YO I'MA GET CONWAY ON A JOINT.” AND THAT WAS IT.

VALIDATED: YOU RECENTLY DROPPED THE “COVID-19” EP WITH DA INPHAMUS AMADEUZ, HOW DID THE COLLABORATION COME ABOUT?

GRAPHWIZE: INPH HIT ME A FEW WEEKS AFTER I GOT BACK HOME FROM A TRIP TO NY. HE SAID HE WANTED TO MAKE A EP, SO WE GOT IT DONE IN A WEEK.

VALIDATED: WHAT'S BEEN THE RESPONSE TO THE PROJECT?

GRAPHWIZE: IT'S BEEN GOOD, PEOPLE REALLY LIKE IT.

VALIDATED: WHEN IT COMES TO COLLABORATING ON A PROJECT WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN AN ARTIST?

GRAPHWIZE: TALENT, DEDICATION AND SOMEONE WHO IS GOING TO GET THINGS DONE AND NOT WASTE MY TIME.

VALIDATED: YOU’RE ON THE PANEL OF JUDGES FOR DA INPHAMUS AMADEUZ’S “THE PUNCHLINE ACADEMY”, WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE COMPETITION? 

GRAPHWIZE: I LOVE IT, I'M VERY GLAD TO BE A PART OF SOMETHING THAT IS HELPING TALENT GET HEARD AND THAT IS BRINGING SOME LIFE BACK TO THE CULTURE. THE COMPETITION GIVES INDEPENDENT ARTIST'S A CHANCE TO BE ON SHADE 45. IT DOESN'T COST A DIME, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS TAP INTO INPH'S INSTAGRAM LIVE @DAINPHAMUSAMADEUZ EVERY THURSDAY 10PM EST.

VALIDATED: WHICH UP AND COMING INDIE HIP HOP ARTIST OUT OF CANADA IS ON REPEAT IN YOUR PLAYLIST CURRENTLY?

GRAPHWIZE: I'M GOING TO BE HONEST, ALL I'VE BEEN HEARING IS DOO DOO... SO UNFORTUNATELY I DON'T HAVE ANY CANADIAN INDIE HIP HOP ARTIST'S IN ANY PLAYLIST.

VALIDATED: WHAT’S NEXT FOR GRAPHWIZE?

GRAPHWIZE: RIGHT NOW I'M WORKING ON 4 PROJECTS THAT ARE FULLY PRODUCED BY ME. I'M NOT GOING TO BE ON SOCIAL MEDIA MUCH AND I'M NOT POSTING BEAT VIDEOS ANYMORE. I'M JUST GOING TO STAY FOCUSED ON BUILDING AND MAKING CLASSICS WITH THE ARTIST'S I'M CURRENTLY WORKING WITH.

VALIDATED: WHAT’S YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA CONTACTS AND WEBSITE?

GRAPHWIZE: GRAPHBEATS ON INSTAGRAM AND TWITTER WWW.GRAPHWIZE.COM