Nick Grant has been reflecting on the fallout he received after other artists were allegedly intimidated by his lyrical abilities.
Speaking to Nyla Simone on the We Need to Talk podcast, the South Carolina rapper spoke about his experiences in the music industry, stating that there have been times when other artists did not want to appear with him on tracks.
Grant said: “My next album is called I Took it Personal. I Took it Personal is like my personal experience in the music business. A lot of people like, Imma just say it, intimidated by me lyrically. They might run from songs or I might get on a song, they take me off the record or an executive might act weird. It’s those different things but it’s not bitterness.
“It’s more I wasn’t aware of the business that I was in. I was hearing stories but once I actually got into it, it was like this shit is real.”
Grant recently shared his own thoughts on the state of lyricism within Hip Hop.
“It’s tough when I say this and I always get push back, but lyricism is a[n old] boys’ club,” he explained exclusively to HipHopDX. “I feel like you gotta be ushered in. I feel like the J. Coles, the Drakes … these guys were ushered in by [JAY-Z and Lil Wayne]. That’s how I feel about it. If these guys that we know and love say you got it, we believe them. We trust them. Even Kanye [came in via] JAY-Z.
I get a lot of push back from that, like, ‘No it doesn’t matter!’ But I feel like it matters.”
Grant, who has been called Andre 3000’s favorite rapper, recently got to share a studio session with the Outkast legend.
Discussing his time in the studio with 3 Stacks, Grant said: “When I walk in, no lie, bro, he’s like, ‘Yo, man, you like my favorite rapper. If we did a song together I’d have to be on my shit.’” he said, recalling the surreal moment.
“Then I’m like, this is Dre! Like, ‘Yo, bro, without you there is no me rapping.’ There is no me without André 3000. I don’t have my confidence, I don’t have the way I approach verses if it’s not for Dre.”
