Driicky Graham

You hear rappers say all the time that they were 'born to do this,' but very few can make close to a literal claim to that cliche. Hip hop upstart Driicky Graham can say that he made his first appearance in a hip hop video when he was barely walking. He had a cameo as a toddler in a video for Lords of the Underground. "At age three," Graham shares. "If you watch the "Tic Toc" video, I was the baby [on-screen] while Tariq was rapping. I was the little baby with four silver caps in his mouth. That was me."
That rather unique introduction to the world of beats and rhymes was just a preamble for Driicky. The rhymer was a teenager living in North Carolina when he realized that hip hop was something he could use as an avenue of expression. "I waited until around the age of 14," he says of his initial forays into writing rhymes. "That's when I first started writing--[about] family life, my friends, peer pressure, different issues out on the streets. All that stuff."
Once his mother challenged him to figure out what he wanted to do post-high school, Driicky decided once and for all that he was going to pursue a music career full-time. "I took it upon myself," he says. "I came to Jersey, and my father's side of the family [were] kind of connected and they knew people. I was like 'I can really do this.' That's when I felt like 'OK we're about to go in real hard for this.'"
And Driicky went in hard. He's caught a significant amount of buzz from his heartfelt response track to Don Trip's "Letter To My Son." Written from the perspective of the son instead of the father, Driicky poured his heart and soul into the lyrics. "That's more of a personal, heartfelt record that I think everybody can relate to," Driicky explains. His "Snapbacks & Tattoos" has also joined the ranks of Generation Y hip hop anthems and was born out of an experience that virtually everyone can relate to.
"I'm sitting and I'm getting my first tattoo," he recalls. "I was excited about it. Being young, you get excited about the first time you do anything. [And when] snapbacks came out and I went snapbacks crazy. I wanted an anthem-type of track. I'm on a plane leaving charlotte, headed to Jersey and the hook just came ot me. I hooked up with Yung Berg and he produced the beat and so I sat and I waited for at least six months and I heard the beat and was like 'This is crazy.' I don't know what made it click. But all of a sudden the lyrics came out smooth and it manifested itself."
Creativity comes naturally to Graham, but he admits that he's had to learn how to navigate the business side of the hip hop industry.
"Its just that…in this game, we all know there's a business side and there's a musical side," he explains. "I do love the musical side--the business side is just okay. There comes a time when you have your fun, but you have to really get on your job. Its a lot of things that come with it. There are a lot of ups and downs. Certain things aren't going to always go your way. I feel like I still made it and I passed a certain point. It ended up working itself out. I just know that through different experiences, its made me stronger as far as how to deal with both sides."
Driicky's "You Gotta Start Somewhere" mixtape is almost street-ready and the ambitious rapper is just getting started. He expects his debut album to be released in late 2012 or early 2013 and has no limits on how far he can go. "I really work hard on my craft," he says. "I really want Artist of the Year. [laughs] I just wanna be looked upon as a serious artist that's here to stay."
Follow Driicky Graham on Twitter at twitter.com/driickygraham
Check him out at YouTube.com/top40ent