Gran Rapids

Emcee Leach and emcee/producer Jay Battle are the duo who comprise Gran Rapids, a group whose debut album, Saturday Mourning, is a lengthy, party-rocking affair with a sound that trends toward the electronic end of the hip-hop spectrum. It's startlingly confident and self-assured which, in the increasingly over-saturated local hip-hop market, is a necessity for a new group who wants to get noticed and have any hope of emerging unscathed from a crowded scene that's a little like a downtown Metro bus during rush hour.

A national hip-hop critic wrote recently that, when in doubt, rappers wanting to expand their reach beyond backpackers and their over-sized headphones should just make a dance record; ie. a disco album with rap. Gran Rapids doesn't paint itself into that small of a corner, but it rolls with the general idea. Party rap will get you noticed (especially around Town these days, with shows popping off every weekend), and that's the direction GP takes Saturday Mourning.

There's a lot of sh*t-talk set to uptempo beats, perfect for jumping up and down at the club in rapid succession (The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, Rewsta and Wheredayat, Theredaygo!, among others). Sometimes too much hip-hop with such subject matter makes the listener feel like he's getting bludgeoned over the head with a broken MPC. That's not the case with Gran Rapids. They bring just enough creativity to the table to make it enjoyable. Still, the album's sprawling length dilutes the overall quality just a bit.

Leach and Jay Battle show the most promise for a sustained career in hip-hop on two tracks. "Make Us" is a determined head-nodder where both rappers display legitimate mic control skills and an understanding of the hip-hop fundamentals. And "Robot Fans" is an entertaining lampoon of those How Can I Be Down-type fans who want a piece of the music celebrity action (no matter how big or small). It's still unclear whether Gran Rapids is fit or hungry enough to make it out of Seattle's hip-hop kitchen as celebrities of the bigger variety. With the pot bubbling over, and every rapper jostling for position at the top, it's hard to predict what will happen. Saturday Mourning, though, is a good enough indicator of a group worthy of keeping your eyes on.


http://206up.com/2010/03/14/review-saturday-mourning-gran-rapids/ - 206up.com

I get to Columbia City Theater, excited to see some new local hip-hip bands. With dim lighting, hot from the crowded mass of people sitting at tables and standing on the dance floor waiting for the guys to begin to play. Nothing but drums, a mixing table and a mic on stage, the lights turned to almost black and the crowd claps and cheers. Gran rapids were first to perform. No one on stage, the theater begins to fill with a hard solid beat beginning the first song. A voice starts to speak, through the speakers for the first few minutes. Loud poetic words flow from the lips of the Mc. Honest realistic lyrics, Gran Rapids finally appears on stage, Dressed in animal costumes. I should have seen this coming because the poster gave it away but I was already too engaged in their performance.

A gorilla, dinosaur, and panda bear. This rap duo with the drummer are surely crowd the pleasers, getting everyone pumped up and excited. The songs they chose to play were all unique in their own way. A mixture of sounds, from electric, rap, street noises, and vocals. Their beats were easy to listen to, clear sounding lyrics, with crisp beats to back it up. Listening to him speak to you, hard to ignore because of their quality stage presence interacting and feeding off the crowd as they bounce to the beat. They’ve been in the scene for only less than a year, and are quickly making noise with their original sound. Their songs are filled with mixed messages talking about reality, life, girls, money, entertainment, jail, fame, and the crowd. The duo had an electrifying energy on stage, they had the entire club going, bouncing to the beat eating out of their palms as they delivered line after line with the last line surprisingly toping the one before.

Holding onto the mic with such force, consciously aware of all the cords braided across the stage. Leach doesn’t miss a beat, you can tell by watching him that the music is in him physically and mentally, being able to play with the rhythm and speed of the lyrics on stage because of knowing it so well. Not even wanting to imagine how hot it would be in those costumes the two men remove their masks to begin the second song. With sweat dripping off his face, not even taking a second to breathe or take a sip of water, they had already begun their second song. For the next hour my eyes were fixed on the stage, all hundred or so hot and sweaty bodies not playing any factor in how I viewed them, the space, or Gran Rapids, I couldn’t get enough. I pause and look around, realizing I’ve been lost in their words ever since they went on stage.

Listening to the words, allowing them to fill my head with a different kind of voice, a new style of sound and a thrill that you reach when seeing a celebrity perform, I didn’t want them to stop. They are new bands like these that I enjoy supporting, going out and seeing something new. Using Seattle as a guide to get to my next destination, I listen to things I’ve never heard, look at things I would normally just walk by and stop and observe the things around me more so I can experience them for the first time in my own world. Cannot wait to see them again, and hear their noise fill my ears with sound.

-K. Bing - Music for Dancers

Gran Rapids is an act you have to see to believe. Where do I even start? How they start off is in animal suits, I’m not kidding. Jay Battle is in a Green dinosaur outfit, and hommie Leach rolls out in a gorilla outfit. ??? I don’t even know, but I give it to those guys for taking the visual aspect of the show to a whole new level.

Once the monkey suits come off and the street clothes go on they are still a novelty to behold. Leach has a LOT of energy and he expends it fully dancing about on stage and interacting with the crowed. I think that Leach must have taken gymnastics when he was younger because he all but did a back flip while he was rapping. Aside from the high-energy moves, they also showed their dance musicality. The beats and the raps were a good compliment to each other and created the space for the audience to get into the groove and flow of the music as well.

On the subject of the beats, Gran Rapids have a really cool thing going on. Jay Battle leaves his mark by subtly changing time signatures giving his beats a certain je ne sais quoi. Also, playing around with different synthetic instruments, sampling from classic movies, and incorporating ambient sounds fill up their music in a very unique way.

Gran Rapids is a unique act. You can tell that these artists are in it for the love of music, and the fun that they create on stage spatters out into the audience and everyone has a good time. Be sure to catch Gran Rapids for yourself as soon as you the opportunity. - Seattle Show Gal

You won't find anything cliche' about this Hip-Hop group. No flashy jewelry, expensive labels or redundant lyrics. Their �"Calvin and Hobbs" inspired album titled "Saturday Morning", has stirred up quite a buzz and fan base in Seattle WA. And now the group is planning to do the same in Los Angeles.

Their studio walls were plastered w/ random images of what drummer Jared Giles explains are "Constant inspirations". From Prince and Pink Floyd, to Rubik's Cubes and robots. You can tell that group members Leach and JBattle have taken their diverse musical backgrounds and brought them together to make the originality that is Gran Rapids.

The tracks in "Saturday Morning" flow together, to create a story as if purposely placed that way. You don't have to be a strict Hip-Hop fan to enjoy the album. Like a musical buffet, Gran Rapids dips into different genres. And their usage of live music in shows sets them apart from others.

There are so many reasons why Gran Rapids will be successful in L.A. However I believe group member JBattle said it best, "It only took us a year in Seattle to make it, and I have infinite faith that in time we will do the same in LA".

-Elisea Beal - JoonBug.com (Los Angeles)

Local duo Gran Rapids (who'll be at Hell's Kitchen December 2)�that is, MC/producer Jay Battle and MC/Judd Nelson's illegitimate child Leach. I just got ahold of their debut album, Saturday Mourning, a properly goofy, rowdy set blending house-party-rocking instincts with shit-talking rhymes and slick delivery (I can deal without the double-timing on "Sudden Death," but that's me). Good chemistry, big hooks, and original production are all here�it definitely feels like a freshman set, and they could home in on their thing more, but I look forward to hearing more from these two in the future. I, uh, can't say that about a few of y'all.

-Larry Mizell Jr - The Stranger (Larry Mizell Jr)