We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Grimey L a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Grimey, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

My beat tape “northside.” is the most meaningful project I’ve created thus far. It was inspired by the Northside of Youngstown, Ohio. I was born there, lived there as a kid and then again for a while after graduating high school. I currently live in Tucson, Arizona. I try to visit home once a year in the summer or fall. On one trip home, I decided to make some music inspired by the place I was born and spent a lot of my time. I revisited some of these local landmarks and addresses I lived at to get into a groove. I created all the artwork and layout for the physical releases. I found a broken payphone, took a picture of it, and used it for the album cover. The inside jacket and cd have a map that I created of the Northside and a numbered dot for each location. Each dot represents a track on the album. I wanted the listeners to feel like they were being taken on a tour of the Northside. The album have a variety of production sounds and styles ranging from boom bap, lofi and even borderline electronica. I found relevant voice samples mentioning Youngstown, and again, specifically the Northside. I’m very proud to be from where I’m from. Youngstown is sort of a forgotten city. What was once a prosperous city, became a depressing and desolate area. The gray skies got grayer, metaphorically speaking. The city never returned to its glory days, but still I find beauty in the area and a great sense of pride. So creating a beat tape only felt right.

Grimey, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a musician. I mostly create beats for other artists to use on their projects, and others for my own personal releases. I got into music heavily when I was in high school. I picked up a guitar and bass guitar for a while but wasn’t really that good. I took a long break from trying to create music and just enjoyed listening to what I liked. The spark came back when I moved to Tucson, Arizona. I just felt the need to start creating again. So after some years of honing my craft I have started to collaborate with other artists both locally and abroad. I’ve produced for numerous hip hop artists and groups here in the States, Canada and UK. I’m most proud of my beat tape “northside.” and my ability to have a variety of production styles. I’ve never let myself get pigeonholed into a specific genre or style. In 2025 I’m looking to expand and do more collaborative work with other great artists. I’m also hosting a mixtape for charity. All proceeds go to benefit our local animal shelter in Tucson, called Pima Animal Care Center. (PACC) I would actually have to say this is the project I’m most proud of, but it isn’t finished and I don’t want to jinx it. *laughs* Followers, friends and fans can expect to hear more collaborative work from me and hopefully more music for charity as well.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Being able to create music for a good cause. Knowing that what I create is not only giving me an outlet to express myself, but also benefiting animals or other humans. Animals don’t have a voice but they do have hearts to give and receive love. So to benefit animals is very rewarding.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Go to shows or concerts of a local artist and buy some merchandise. Local artists are typically going to try to connect with their fans and supporters more than a huge band or solo act. Go to a local farmers market and buy locally created or sourced goods. Buy some artwork from a local painter or creative that you enjoy. Put it up in your house and make it a conversation piece. You never know, maybe that can lead to another sale for the artist. Another great way to support is simply sharing posts on social media. It is free and can boost an artist’s audience.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/grimeyl
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grimeyLmusic
• Twitter: https://x.com/grimeyrepublik
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@grimeylaunderings
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/grimeyl
• Other: https://linktr.ee/grimeyl