More than your run-of-the-mill rapper, Che Grand is a musician and a visual artist who has chosen to expend most of his creative energy through rapping. His vast array of cultural influences comes from exposure to a wide range of music and the experiences collected living everywhere from England to Virginia and, his present place of residence Brooklyn, New York. Che’s appearances on record and stage alongside Tanya Morgan plus years of hard work and determination have the internet buzzing about his forthcoming debut album Everything’s Good Ugly, due out June 9th. Che Grand took a few minutes with 215mag to introduce his ambitions and passion for life.

When was the moment you knew you wanted to be a musician?

I'll never know that exact moment, but I've always had a very strong attachment to music, so the decision was definitely made at an early age. I didn’t really follow sports or collect comics, I've been a music nerd since day one. My parents exposed me to a lot of great records growing up, so, weekends after cartoons I'd go rummaging through my father’s collection. I taught myself how to listen and recognize good material and just be a fan of many genres. I remember 5th grade, my mum bought me a guitar because she noticed my love for music, but I didn’t dig the guitar much. I really wanted to play piano, she was so mad she wasted money we didn’t really have on this guitar I never played, that she wouldn’t get me a keyboard. Coincidentally, that same year I heard A Tribe Called Quest and NWA for the first time [laughs].

Who are some of your musical influences and how have they inspired your art?

Musically, I've indulged in a lot of genres growing up, and I'm still discovering new sounds today, so there’s numerous influences -- way too many to name them all.  I listen to and study all the greats. The artists I'm inspired by all have a certain quality in their work that transforms it in to something timeless. I'm also a big fan of musicians that can successfully exhibit a good range of versatility in their projects without forcing it or straying too far away from themselves. As for non-artists, I'm inspired by people with complex minds and beautiful spirit, the people that continue to make something great for themselves and others, and keep a positive outlook.

The present conditions of urban music dictate that it has become harder to sell records and maintain artistry without following trends. What do you think about the state of Hip-Hop as it presently stands?

It's funny, I don’t worry about the state of hip hop like I used to, there’s good and bad in everything. Yes, hip hop has a ton of politics, but I leave those debates for the label heads and fans, the ones still buying CDs and show tickets. Over the past few years, I've realized it’s better for me to just make music the way I feel and not concern myself with any outside elements.  A lot of the things that bother me about the industry really aren’t in my control anyway and since I'm independent I can choose to play their games or not, but nothing will deter me from recording. As long as I'm making the best shit I can, someone will dig it, and my involvement with those listeners on and offline has only helped. Personally I'm happy with my own current state, douchebags get colostomy [laughs].

You release compilations of music that you enjoy to share with your followers called ZFTP (Zimbabwe For The Public). Tell me about your diverse musical tastes.

Those mixes come from my undying desire to be a DJ one day [laughs]. Like I said, as a kid I stayed by the stereo for hours playing all kinds of records instead of taking my ass outside, and with each record I'd pick my favorite joints. So after getting yelled at by my dad for trying to scratch on his table, I just learned how to record stuff on cassette and sequence them how I'd like to hear it. I made mixes all the time and they were always diverse because of all the different things I'd be listening to at the time. It’s always been a hobby that just stuck with me.

You recently guest appeared on Tanya Morgan's latest album Brooklynati on the posse cut “Never Secondary.” Tell me about your experiences as a member of the Lessondary family and what you see your role in the camp to be.

We're just a group of really talented mofos, and that’s not only musically. There's no roles, we all respect and are genuine fans of one another so we show support to each other anyway we can. Other than that, Lessondary show up drunk and then get drunk!

Your debut album is titled Everything's Good Ugly. Tell me about the concept behind that title.

The concept is a philosophical one. Its sort of the cup half empty or half full thing, a how to guide on dealing with the good and ugly situations of life. In the end it's all what you make it.

What do you want people to take from this album in learning about Che Grand as a rapper and as a person?

I want to earn respect as an artist that makes great albums. The project is warm, relatable, and I hope it’s something people will play 5 or 10 years from now and still feel moved by certain joints. I'm not expecting people to know everything about me as a rapper or a person from just a few songs, the familiarity will hopefully grow with time and more music, more good albums.

See Che Grand July 14th with Tanya Morgan & DJ Statik  hosted by Phonte at Silk City Lounge! Purchase tickets here: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/371151123