Is he G-Eazy or Young Gerald? Gerald Gillum has been both, which led to confusion with another American rapper whose moniker is Young Gerald.
Gillum has now settled on G-Eazy. A good thing too as it is a rap name that is rapidly becoming widely known on the international pop scene.
His recently released second major label album, “When It’s Dark Out,” has followed 2014’s “These Things Happen” into the top five on the Billboard 200. Both LPs also hit number one on Billboard’s Top Hip Hop Albums chart and Top Rap Albums chart.
But G-Eazy’s new album is making a much bigger splash on the worldwide music market. So too is his smash hit single, Me, Myself & I. The song has reached the upper levels of charts around the globe and become his first top ten hit on Billboard’s Hot 100.
“I have to thank my friend Bebe Rexha for all my success with Me, Myself & I,” smiled 26-year-old G-Eazy. “She originally wrote a song called I Don’t Need Anything which she intended to use on her debut solo album. But Bebe wasn’t sure about the song. She played it to me on the piano. I really liked the basics of what I heard but it needed to be changed for me to put a rap on the track.
“We ended up removing the verses and replacing them with my rap. But we kept Bebe’s original chorus and bridge. That is how the song is credited to me but also featuring Bebe.”
It was the other way round when G-Eazy first became known on the international music scene. Although he had gained success with his “These Things Happen” album, G-Eazy’s singles were largely ignored by most radio stations. But his collaboration with Australian singer Grace on her worldwide hit, You Don’t Own Me, exposed him to a much wider audience.
“That was Grace’s song. She did a wonderful cover of Lesley Gore’s 1963 hit. But it was a modern day update. We again removed some of the original lyrics and replaced them with my two rap verses. My appearance on the song and in the video definitely generated more interest in my own music.”
Born in Tempe, Arizona, but spending most of his life in the San Francisco Bay Area, G-Eazy’s eyes were opened to the genuine possibility of a music career when he was 15.
“My early inspiration came from people like Kanye West along with the Bay Area rappers Mac Dre and E-40. But it was some classmates at Berkeley High who made me realise anything was possible. They called themselves The Pack and had a nationwide hip hop hit with their song, Vans. Watching them go from sitting next to me in class to appearing on MTV was the most amazing and inspiring thing ever.
“I started recording my own songs at home and making them into mixtapes which I sold on the street for 5 USD. On a good day, I might make 50 USD. The songs were pretty bad but I could write something in a notebook at school and record it when I got home. I felt like I was on my way in the music business.”
His ability was refined while studying at Loyola University in New Orleans.
“I made my own music and produced songs for other artists while I was in college. Back home, I started to get noticed, along with local rappers such as Lil B and The Cataracs. I was also part of The Bay Boyz rap crew.
“I put out some more mixtapes and also made two self-released albums. Real recognition came quite slowly but I built my following through live performances and the Internet. The people who heard my music online came to my gigs and the audiences gradually got bigger. I was given the chance to open for Lil Wayne and Snoop Dogg and then got my record deal with RCA.”
Despite the success he has now achieved, G-Eazy’s motivation to become a better performer and songwriter shows no sign of diminishing.
“I always want to keep improving. There is no comparison between the music I make now and the songs I created when I started out. I’d hope to be able to say the same about my music in ten years time as opposed to my work now. I love what I do and want to become the best artist I can be.”

in
brief

Lily Allen

First it was the Oscars and now the BRIT Awards.
Singer/songwriter Lily Allen used her Facebook page to attack the BRIT Award nominations over their lack of recognition for grime artists. Stormzy expressed his disappointment considering it had been such a strong year for the grime genre and Lily swiftly backed him up saying the music industry was “blind to black talent.”
She may wish to reassess her comment considering the number of black artists who have been recognised over the years with BRIT Awards. But her other remarks concerning the music industry in general do contain a degree of truth.
Her Facebook post has since been deleted. But Lily had written, “The voting academy consists of 1,000 music industry figures and here lies the problem. Music industry figures don’t necessarily care about music, they mostly care about themselves. They vote tactically for their label’s artists to win or so that their competitors at other labels don’t.
“Awards mean money and promotions. I don’t think music industry figures (or people that work at major labels) even look at artists as artists when it comes to voting for these things. The artists represent their teams, their A&R people, managers, pluggers etc. Skepta, JME and Stormzy are all unsigned artists. Who would gain from them winning anything? In fact, them even being nominated poses a direct threat to music industry figures.”

All Saints

The reunion of All Saints was reported here back in January. It was just a rumour at that time but all indications pointed towards new material being released some time in 2016 by the English/Canadian all-girl quartet.
Confirmation has now been given that sisters Natalie and Nicole Appleton, Melanie Blatt and Shaznay Lewis have recorded their fourth studio album. “Red Flag” is scheduled for release on April 8.
Lead single, One Strike, is available now. The song was co-written by Shaznay Lewis and producer Pete Hutchings. It stemmed from the long phone call to Shaznay made by Nicole Appleton after she discovered her then husband, Oasis and Beady Eye frontman Liam Gallagher, was having an affair and expecting a child with American journalist Liza Ghorbani.
So much of Nicole’s emotions are wrapped up in the song that she has admitted to crying during the first few listens to One Strike. Surprisingly, there is as yet no video to accompany the single. One must surely be released soon but, for now, there is an audio posting at www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ4vk9puBvg

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga has been speaking to National Public Radio in America about her tribute performance to David Bowie at the recent Grammy Awards and the impact Bowie has had on her life.
Gaga had the image of Bowie’s face from his “Aladdin Sane” album cover tattooed on her left ribcage before her Grammys performance. She says seeing the cover effectively allowed her to develop into the artist she is today.
“I was 19. The image on that cover changed my life. It was the beginning of my artistic birth. I started to dress more expressively. I started going to the library and looking through more art books. I took an art history class and played with a band.
“I lived a lifestyle of total immersion in music, fashion, art and technology. This was because of David Bowie. I wouldn’t be here, or have the philosophy that I have, if I didn’t have someone to look up to who blew my mind so intensely. That’s how David Bowie is for me.”