Toronto emcee Grabbz is newer to the game, making his musical debut just a few months ago in January with his song, “Nasty.” Since 2014, Grabbz had been focusing his time on his Canadian Grabba company, Hotgrabbz. In just a month, the song picked up momentum, accumulating an easy 20,000 streams on Spotify and earning Grabbz an 8.2/10 on Reverb Nation’s Crowd Review. By February, Grabbz secured a spot on Yo Gotti’s “Dolla Fo Dolla” challenge, demonstrating further that he was determined to make 2022 his year. His newest track, “Toonies Loonies” hit streaming services on March 1st and can be heard everywhere now, and I got a chance to talk further with the entrepreneur-turned-rapper about the song.
Hey Grabbz! Thanks so much for joining me to talk about your new single. You’ve really been going off this year! What made you decide to make the transition from businessman to rapper?
Grabbz: “I’ve always loved music and rapping is something I’ve always done on and off. Now, just feels like the right time, being that I have a better sense of business.”
Better late than never! Have you discovered ways to incorporate elements of your brand into your music?
Grabbz: “Well, my name comes from my business name Hotgrabbz. Most of the videos I do will be showing something to do with my company and my company will also be promoting my music with a QR link on all merchandise to stream my music on any platform.”
That sounds like a great way to connect your listeners and your customers! I’m excited to see this all unfold. I also heard you hop on the remix for Yo Gotti’s challenge, super dope! What other artists are on your collab bucket list?
Grabbz: “I’d love to work with some of the legends of Hip Hop like Jay-Z, Nas, Jadakiss, Busta Rhymes, Lil Wayne, Dr Dre just to name a few.”
Some serious icons for sure. Let’s talk about your new track a bit! What songs and artists did you draw inspiration from for “Toonies Loonies”? You incorporated so many cool elements into the beat and flow.
Grabbz: “Thanks, I’m glad you liked it! I felt like there was something in that beat that reminded me of Jay-Z’s The Story Of OJ. Though the songs are completely different, the beats both have that ol’school jazzy feel. After the I came up with the hook, the sound for this song just came to me.”
I could definitely see the correlation now that you’ve mentioned it! That’s super cool! And sorry if I sound out of the loop, but what exactly do ‘Toonies Loonies’ refer to? Of course I know the cartoon, but I have a feeling it’s something more.
Grabbz: “Toonies Loonies refers To our Canadian currency. A Toonies is a $2.00 coin. A Loonie is a $1.00 coin.”
Oh wow, okay! The more you learn! And speaking of Canada, would you say the Toronto music scene is more collaborative or competitive?
Grabbz: “Toronto Music scene is more competitive than collaborative. These rap beefs are ending up in the streets and people are dying.”
That’s really really unfortunate to hear. Hopefully, you can be a positive force in that change. What can listeners expect from your upcoming mixtape? Are there any overarching themes or is it a bit of everything?
Grabbz: “This mixtape is going to show my lyrical capabilities, versatility, and musical knowledge. Expect to experience nothing you’ve ever heard before. Overall it’ll have a bit of everything on it. But the mixtape will be based on my introduction to the Rap game.”
And what other projects do you have in the works? Or is it full speed ahead with the mixtape?
Grabbz: “Right now I’m working on my mixtape. Which will have about 6 or more songs on it. Including ‘Nasty’ and ‘Toonies Loonies’. I don’t have a specific date for the release yet, but I’m hoping before the end of the year.”
How can fans be notified about that release?
Grabbz: “You can find the link to all of my handles here.”
Perfect, thank you so much for your time, Grabbz! Super excited to hear the rest of your mixtape!
If Grabbz caught your attention, you can follow the Canadian rapper’s journey at the social media platforms below:
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