Arts

Baton Rouge native growing fan base among fellow students

From the capital city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in an area named Glen Oaks, a rapper has  emerged. He is a student here at Grambling State University and he goes by the name CityBoiGreg.

Many students on campus have become familiar with his art, and his opportunities for exposure are growing along with his talent.

Most hip hop enthusiasts have a list of their favorite rappers, commonly known as a top 5 list filled with names that they grew up on, and  those who choose to be a part of this culture find inspiration from those they find impactful.

However, CityBoiGreg has grown more musically inclined as his taste in music matured. Early on he admits to  listening to mostly mainstream music that had more of a pop sound, which left him with no  direct influencer to the style he has been making.

It was in high school when he started listening to the top lyricists of the time who helped grow his  excitement by hip hop. And ultimately his choice in  music has gotten even wider as his personal musical reach grows.

When asked about his style he considered it a refreshment to an older style of rap music which  comes with a level of originality most would like to see from a new artist, and even though he separates his writing from musical influence, even he had to appreciate and listen to those  commercially successful musicians his fans compared him too. People such as Andre 3000 and J.  Cole, who are put in many top 5 lists, are the caliber artists CityBoiGreg is comparable to as far as sound and lyrical style.

Being an up-and-coming rapper, one thing that is always important is learning smart ways to  market on a budget. He has put out two projects of his own so far both being extended plays.  “The Day Party EP” has two versions depending on which streaming service the listener uses.  Apple Music features the song “Consequences” while Spotify has “Vibrancy” which was previously  released as a single. His second EP is named Worthy featuring four tracks. Social media plays  a large role in any person or brand’s overall marketing scheme, and with his latest single “Spaz”,  CityBoiGreg used Twitter to his advantage, amassing over four million views by playing a song  over a video of Mickey Mouse sitting at a piano playing along.

This being the early stages of his career it is easy to point at specific moments where Greg could  see that he would enjoy and has the potential for a very successful time ahead of him in music.  His favorite moment happened near campus at the Black 2 the Basics bookstore where his music  was being played and was given a chance to perform Spaz for the first time.

“It brought it to life.  It put a lot of things into perspective for me…It made me realize that you have to be grateful for every moment that leads you into the next one…I felt like I was on the biggest stage even though I was just in that bookstore,” CityBoiGreg said.

The final spot for the Tiger Top 5 will be rounded out by none other than GSU’s very own CityBoiGreg with his single “Spaz.”

You can find all of his projects on all platforms such as Apple Music, Spotify, and SoundCloud, and if you want to stay up to date with him you can follow him on Instagram @CityBoiGreg.

CityBoiGreg