Gibrilville, for those who don’t know who you are how long have you been making music, and what part of Brooklyn you from?
I live in Bedstuy, Brooklyn. I prefer to say the band gibrilville represents the whole of Brooklyn and not just a part. Most of us live and rehearse in Brooklyn. I worked a lot with Mike Greeves my first drummer in Brooklyn, my new drummer graham lives in Brooklyn, one of my bass players abda is from the islands but lives in brooklyn. I am from Ghana and sierra Leone. I have lived in Brooklyn for the last 10 years
How did the name “Gibrilville” come about?
My first name Gibril and when i decided to go from being a solo artist to rocking with a band it felt like i was creating my own mobile city. the energy we bring on stage is massive. its like downtown on stage, hence the french word Ville which means city or town.
When was the time in your career when you realized that “Hip Hop” is what you wanted to do?
I was like 8 or 9. it started with listening to my big brother play chub rock, then krs 1, then came mc hammer and vanilla ice and i knew i wanted to write lyrics dance and rap. But when i heard my first Nas record i knew what kind of rapper i wanted to be. I’m tryna kick the shit you need to learn though that ether, that shit that make your soul burn slow.
Congrats on your new album “Black Cadillac Season 3”, briefly tell us what you want fans to gain from this project?
i want my fans to see life through my eyes. Feel how i feel about situations in life. I want my fans to always come back to this record and hear a new riff, or a new punchline that went over heads, or a song you skipped then it ends up becoming a new favorite. I want my fans to allow the songs to live like they live in my heart.
We love to 2Pac reference in the intro, is he one of your influences? If so, why?
I was listening to 2 pac and biggie in high school and loved both of them a lot. so the intro is a tribute to both rappers. if you pay close attention to the voice in the beginning that’s biggie smalls talking. They were both hanging out together in Brooklyn, the freestyle is online, and biggie goes first and he says to 2pac, ” you ready nigga, you ready for that raw dog shit!! thats both biggie smalls and 2pac hanging out at the spot.Then biggie asks 2pac,”you ready to set it off? and pac goes men im scared to do a freestyle…. and starts spitting!!!! its one of my fav moments in their history and i wanted to pass it on so i used it as part of the intro.
See, now what i did was in the middle of making the record and doing my research i found out they was close friends. So i wrote the theme song “Black Cadillacs” about them, and used their lyrics that influenced my lifestyle the most to write verse 1 & 2. and on the third verse i wrote my own original verse so cats don’t think the skill is in biting. i am just trying to let their energy and spirit live through me. That how much love i got for 2pac and biggie and the game
Any new music or project in the near future?
Season 4 is in the garage!! Engine revving!!!!
When is comes down to the Brooklyn Hip Hop scene, what rappers would you like to collab with?
Im feeling casanova now. he reminds me of my alta ego “Screwface” . I’m a big fan of fabulous and Jay z. That will be a dope joint. Me, fab, and hov. there we go!
What producers would you like to collab with?
Dj Khalid all day everyday!!
Our highlight questions, your definition of “Underground Hip Hop”?
Raw talent. it’s digging in a create. Everybody knows the big names and the pop stars, but when a dj is digging through a create of records he tosses all the greats to one side, and digs deep for that raw talent that will burst your mind! thats Underground Hip Hop.
Lastly, any shout outs?
Shout out to my fans. I want to know who you are, whats songs you playing and i want to thank you all for supporting me. I love you guys. See you on tour