This week’s episode is very special to me as I had the honor of interviewing my Uncle Greg; the youngest of 6 siblings and the only boy.
We talked all about growing up in Elk Grove, the culture shock of leaving South Sacramento, his development into who he is today, his love for the Black women around him, and all things Black music and culture. This was an amazing and reflective conversation with so many lessons on navigating your 20s, and so many insights into growing up Black in Sacramento during the 90s and early 2000s.
Facing white supremacy and discrimination in Elk Grove, California during this time period is something that had a deep affect on Greg throughout his childhood. Going from living in a diverse and accepting neighborhood, to being a minority in Elk Grove made the complexities of growing into himself that much more difficult. Greg speaks very candidly about the things that negatively affected him that have become an unfortunate part of what it means to live in this area. He even shares that some of these issues continue to affect him today, as he still runs into issues of discrimination within his daily life. This isolation growing up pushed him to take interest in video games and comics. This is one of the ways that he became such a huge Star Wars fan! He shared that at one point, his life mostly consisted of HipHop and Star Wars.
Another major that Greg points out in this interview was the importance of learning to listen. He shares that many of the things he was told when he was young didn’t often start making sense until he learned the lesson for himself. Although many life lessons do come with experience, he realizes now that there was an importance in understanding other perspectives to avoid some of those decisions. He has now learned how to integrate the advice of others in a way that makes sense for himself and his life. He even mentions how Black women specifically played a large role in shaping his life. From the fashion advice from his sisters, to the life lessons from his mom, Greg recognizes that many of the things that make him who he is now have been shaped by Black women who watched out for him as he was growing up.
We end our conversation together talking all things music and AfroAmerican culture. From listings his favorite rappers and eras of rap, to talking about the intricacies of hiphop that is made for the culture vs mainstream hiphop. Greg stresses the importance of authenticity and living within the culture when it comes to rap and hiphop. His own experiences growing up Black during the 90s and 2000s have informed his own relationship with that musical culture, as well as his understanding of Black music history that he learned from understanding the tastes of his elders. Rap and hiphop are not things that exist without cultural context, and this is something Greg highlights as especially as he journeys back into his own relationship with making music as a form of therapy.
“Hiphop is something I grew up with culturally. Hiphop is a form of all those (Black genres) because hiphop comes from us.”
For a look into his beats, check out Flirting With Death and Holding On linked here.
Listen to the audio above for more on our story with Greg.
Great interview but I don’t think it was wholly necessary to throw one of his sisters under the bus 🤣