Today we’d like to introduce you to GreyBeard.
Thanks for sharing your story with us GreyBeard. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ve always loved music. I grew up in Los Angeles in the eighties and nineties so I had a chance to listen to a wide variety of flavors. My parents would listen to everything from the Beatles and Led Zeppelin to Bob Dylan and the Kingston Trio. I could walk out into the neighborhood and hear the funk and oldies blasting out from people’s houses.
I wrote my first rhyme in high school. My rap name back then was King Rap B. It was the eighties and I was blown away by the Beastie Boys’ first album. I kept writing. My name changed to Kid Larceny, then to Larceny and then to L.A.R. I used to roll with the Blak Mist Crew out in Los Angeles. We made a little noise out there and I had the chance to jump on stage in many of the small clubs out in Hollywood. I was blessed with my two children and this point and decided to get out of L.A. to give them a chance to grow up without being involved in what I was seeing in our neighborhood. Kids in my hood were gang banging, dealing drugs, and shooting at each other on the regular.
We had visited Denver one year for Christmas back in 1999. I remember thinking of how clean the city was. I also couldn’t believe people went out when it was -16 degrees. We came back a couple of years later and I knew this was the spot. I moved out to Denver in 2002.
Around 2005 I gave music another shot. I was doing small shows in Denver, but the scene was not as developed back then. Drugs and alcohol crept into our crew and we fell apart. I decided I would chill and concentrate on raising my kids. Plus, I wasn’t really feeling HipHop at the time. Still, I was in my basement making music. I never stopped.
I just dropped my youngest daughter off in New York to go to school at Pratt. My oldest is currently a student at UC Denver. I saw this coming a couple of years ago and started gearing up for another run. No more crew, no more distractions, just me. I started building beats and getting out into the scene again. By this time my beard had gone grey. I decided to embrace it and took the name GreyBeard.
I’ve been steadily rocking stages all over Denver since 2017. I’ve released an album (The Blunderbuss) and an EP (GLOOMY X GREY), and have a couple of videos out there (go check “Duck Down” produced by Buttah Cookiez on YouTube). When people think of underground HipHop in Denver, I want my name to come up. I’m trying to retire off this shit.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There are always bumps in the road. You’re going to take losses. You’re going to lose people along the way. I’ve always been determined to take these losses as learning lessons. I’m going to get up every time I get knocked down, dust myself off and keep walking. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over my years of doing this, it’s that you have to be tenacious and consumed by this if you want to blow up. And that comes from having a deep love of HipHop Culture and Music. I’m not a religious man, but if I had a church, it would be HipHop.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
Mostly what sets me apart from others on the scene is about 20 years! I’ve been writing and recording since the 90’s. I know I’ve been doing this since before a lot of these cats was born, so I walk in the room with a deep respect for the craft and rich history of being a part of HipHop. I was taught a long time ago that Rap is something we DO, HipHop is something we LIVE. I am HipHop and I live it, breathe it, and love it. I don’t see myself ever getting sick of this. I’m not in it for the money, I’m in it to spread HipHop culture and make sure that this art form survives. That alone sets me apart from a lot of others doing rap.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I’m not even worried about this right now. I feel like I’ll look back once I put the mic down for the last time and think about it then. For now, I’m just focused on getting more people interested in the vibe I’m bringing, rocking mics whenever I get the chance, and growing this Denver HipHop scene. There’s a lot of talent out there.
Contact Info:
- Website: GreyBeardHipHop.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greybeard_denver/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Musician-Band/Greybeard-Denver-428718834305140/
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