Music Essentials: GRiZ

An artist who’s built his status via the tools of social media, Detroit musician GRiZ received his first booking via Soundcloud, proving himself to be an act of the new age. Breaking down musical barriers, GRiZ combines his tech-savvy skills with classical training, often incorporating the saxophone in his live DJ sets. In disregard to genre classifications, the producer melds soul with electronica, adding his own piece of mind to the bass-driven landscape. While dubstep in the US has arguably reached its peak, GRiZ’s unique approach exceeds the genre’s confinements, providing renditions that reminisce the golden years of dubstep, while looping in ’70s funk and soul samples. While a copy of Fruity Loops may have kick started his career, these days, GRiZ carries a selection of tools to assist his performance, which we can see in his Music Essentials. Here, an AKAI MPD32 is juxtaposed with a saxaphone,  alongside an Audio unit give by producer Ryan Lewis. Meanwhile, Retro Super Future sunglasses, Air Jordans and GRiZ rolling papers prove the traveling artist’s taste for the meticulous brands both prominent and self-made.

Photo Credit: Theonepointeight