We were lucky to catch up with Grizzly F.O.G. recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Grizzly thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

I think one thing that my parents did right straight from the beginning was making sure that I knew my worth. I had the blessing of not only being raised by a single mother but my grandparents as well. Once they found out about me making music, they supported me 100% but also made sure that I didn’t settle for anything less. Also with how they raised me into the person I am today, making sure that I knew that showing respect and never being too big to help someone got me a long way into where I am now today.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am mainly a music artist (rapper and producer) and also do minor graphic design on the side (cover artwork, banners, etc.) I started making music when I was 14 years old as a sophomore back in high school. Growing up I been around music all the time, whether if it was being in the house with a DJ doing some mixing or riding around with my mother in the car as she would play classic soul music. I knew I was gonna have a career in music but didn’t know how for sure. The current services I provide as a music artist is beat leasing and selling, exclusive work from scratch, feature work (as a rapper), and mixing/mastering services. What sets me apart from other music artists is that I’m a very genuine person. I’m always for the quality of my work and never about the quantity. That’s something that I stood behind as I took my music seriously. While that is one thing I’m am proud about, I am also proud of how much I’ve grew my brand these past 10 years. I’m always evolving and meeting new people to work with each year and I always want my brand and quality to be the first things to stand out when someone is introduced to me, whether if it’s a song or a simple social media post. I want that to be the difference maker.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I think honestly the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is watching the work that you create succeed. There is no better feeling in my opinion than to see people share your work or recommend your work because they actually love your work. Hearing stories about how one of my beats changed a person’s outlook and mood on a day or how one of my songs or albums got someone through a rough time always makes me motivated to do more. One of the reasons why I love making music for sure.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think people will struggle to understand the creativeness that I had to put into my work. Basically each of my projects that I work on has a theme attached to them. This was the case early on as far as me being a producer. Some people won’t appreciate what I sample in my work because they may not understand it or may not seem to care about it. I been sampling things from video game soundtracks to anime soundtracks to pro wrestling themes for over 10 years now and it was something that was hard in the beginning. Nowadays, I feel that it’s commonplace to hear a song with a Nintendo sample or a remix of a theme song. Another aspect that people won’t understand is evolving as a music artist, not out of only necessity but keeping up with other music artists and with the times as well. It can change your outlook on a lot of things as an artist.

Contact Info:

• Website: grizzlyfog.bandcamp.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/grizzlyray
• Twitter: twitter.com/GrizzlyFOG
• Youtube: youtube.com/owlgang1
• Other: soundcloud.com/grizzlyfog songwhip.com/grizzlyfog

Image Credits
Photo credit: Joseph Baines Artwork created by Grizzly F.O.G.