Eminem praises Grip’s skills and talks about their connection, Grip recalls writing “Walkthrough!” with Eminem in mind – this and more in a very detailed interview from the newest Shady Record artist and the label boss.
The interview that Pigeons and Planes took for Complex opens up with a rare message from Eminem. Marshall explained what caught his attention in Grip’s music, what he is looking for in new artists:
We all got excited about GRIP after we heard Snubnose. It was really refreshing to hear a new artist so focused on making a conceptual project and it caught my attention. It’s definitely great when artists we sign connect with a larger audience, and 50 [Cent] is a perfect example of that. Obviously we want anyone who signs with Shady to succeed. But first and foremost we’ve always focused on the raw talent and ability of the artist as an MC. We’ve always been pretty clear on that being the main thing we look for: high level fundamental skills and mechanics are definitely the priority.
It’s really important in a creative collaboration for there to be that personal connection for it to succeed. Shady is a boutique label and we don’t sign a lot of artists, so we have a chance to get involved at a deeper level with the ones we do. And I think that goes both ways. I like to be motivated by the artists we sign and I want to feel pushed by their creativity as well.
The people we sign have a point of view and vibe that made us want to work with them in the first place. Part of our job is to help them get out to a bigger audience but also I don’t like to insert myself where I’m not needed. I am looking to find where and how I can get involved that adds to or builds on what the artist is already doing.
The conversation with Grip was deep and lengthy and you should read it in full on the Complex website to understand his new work better. Here are some quotes where Grip talks about working with Em.
The Atlanta artist revealed that he got to Marshall through Paul Rosenberg:
At the time we were talking with Ty and he brought up Goliath and we didn’t know what it was. Then he was like, “Oh yeah, it’s Paul Rosenberg’s label.” We were like, “That’s what’s up.” We’re familiar with Paul and then it turned to, “Well, he played it for Eminem and Em wants to get involved.” And we were just like, “Well, this is huge.”
Eminem is definitely a huge influence and somebody who I grew up listening to. He’s one of the artists who crafted my style and made me fall in love with music even more. So, when we heard that Eminem was feeling the music and wanted to work it was just like, “Oh shit.”
It was reassuring in a sense because, like I said, at that point time I’m just like, “You know what, I’m about done with this shit.” So then I hear Em was bumping Snubnose and I jumped on a call with him. We talked for damn near an hour, and we’re just talking about a little bit of everything. He was even reciting certain words from “226,” talking about how dope I was. It was just like, “Alright, well shit, let’s go.”
Grip talked in length about “Walkthrough!”, the album track that features Eminem:
I made that song with Em in mind. And when I played him the album, I just remember him saying that hook is nuts. So, I was like, “Yeah, this is a song I actually wanted you to get on.” In my verse I’m talking about where I come from, what I had to get through to get to this point. Then his shit is from a veteran’s perspective, who went through this already and who thought that cash was going to change things, but then he gets into the perils of this shit.
We didn’t talk about it beforehand. It sounded like good chemistry, but I’m just glad that he fucked with it enough to hop on it and give it 32, 40 bars, however long he went. I was excited. That’s huge. The fact that he even mentioned my name, it was one of those things. Now it’s really full-circle. Now I got a track with Eminem. It was a surreal moment.
With that verse, it was like I pulled something out of him. I’m excited for the fans to hear that, I feel like the song is dope as hell. Hopefully that’s a fan favorite — of course, it’ll probably the biggest song. Not probably, it will be the biggest song I’ve done so far, for sure.
Read the interview in full to learn more about Grip and his upcoming album.
