I have to admit when I first met Ice Gritty, I thought he was a shy, quiet individual. You know one of those guys that act shady for imagery. He is everything opposite of that, proving me once again WRONG! Learn how the combination of being gritty and being intelligent equals success.

Pride and Prejudice
Everything begins and ends with family. Regardless if it is troubles, joys, finances or music. Ice Gritty dabbled in poetry and raps as a young child, but in 1990 his aunt gave him a chance to record with her band in Virginia. After doing that, Gritty realized that is how he could express the highs and lows roads that the North Philadelphia streets had taken him on. He also realized that the street was something that he didn't want to succumb to. Before recording with his aunt, Gritty hooked up with his boy, Pitch Black, and started using words and music to express his emotions and frustrations about his surroundings.

Gritty and his mother are very close, and he is the youngest of two boys, so after his cousin was killed and things reached a negative peak in their neighborhood, his mother moved him to North Carolina where he finished up his senior year in high school. When in North Carolina he missed his family, the environment he knew so well, and the diversity of Philadelphia. "I was miserable in North Carolina. I wanted to go back home and get out of a place that was socially unacceptable. It had all the ism's." That prompted him, his mother and stepfather to move back to Philadelphia. After returning home, Pitch Black and Gritty teamed up with some friends and became the 20th Street Morroccos. They bought equipment and started to make their vision into reality. The name stems from a gang that used to run Gritty's neighborhood who were called the Morroccos. 20th Street is the block where they all used to hang and where they grew up. The unique spelling of Morroccos comes from the history of Gritty's neighborhood. Although they are all united on making 20M a solid Philly Hip Hop group, Gritty explains his individual project as a poet, "I currently am working on a book of poetry, that'll have my artwork accompanying the poems, as well as an interactive CD ROM." Gritty is going to call the soul inspired book, The Art of My Words. He is currently searching for a publisher.

Any chance Gritty has to experiment with any aspect of art, he takes full advantage of it. Gritty visits open mics and poetry readings often not only to share his emotions with others, but also to grow within himself. He constantly is seeking knowledge on anything. He would like to be respected in the poetry and hip hop community. Fortunately for him we are in a city where the two communities blend and one often loses itself within the other.

Sugar and Spice
At the heart of every father is his child. Ice Gritty is no different. The morals and values about parenting he learned from his mother. She was a single mom who worked constantly to give her boys the best life possible. "My mother was the disciplinary, enforcer, friend, mother and father. She was the one that taught me right from wrong." Gritty's father wasn't around to mold him, so his mom had to pick up the slack. Gritty gives credit to his stepfather as an influential figure during and after his adolescent years. Ice Gritty has an 8 year old daughter, Deraj (Jared backwards, which is Gritty's birth name). Deraj is his world. When he realized he was going to be a father, he did a 360 turn around. Although he is not with her mother, they have a great relationship and keep Deraj busy with karate (yellow belt), piano, and Girl Scouts (Now I know where I can get my fat snacks). Gritty recognizes himself in her when it comes to her artistry and creativeness. "She is my inspiration for breathing."

Fatherhood is a positive aspect in Gritty's life, as well as his determination to never give up. I can attest that this artist will be persistent no matter how many no's or negative criticism come his way. "I will never say what I shoulda, coulda, woulda done." This clearly shows when you witness him running around getting everything done, pulling things together and making sure it's a success. That ranges from the promotions, policticin, flyers, making beats, to arranging video shoots. As a member of the Greater Philadelphia Hip Hop Alliance, Gritty also is currently working closely with me on the Unite to Fight Philadelphia Hip Hop walk to benefit a family in need. As mysterious as Gritty seems sometimes, he has an outgoing personality, even though his kindness often gets the best of him. "The ratio of the hands I've lent out, and the hands that have been lent out to me is no where near close." Gritty is honest with anyone, doesn't believe in hustling and scamming people. He has goals of going back to school for graphic design. He would like to learn how to master computers and build websites. Let this be a quick lesson to some of you. It is never too late to go back to school. NEVER!

Digest and Manifest
As I've done these interviews, I've been overwhelmed with the amount of support the Philadelphia Hip Hop community gives each other. Yet, I still haven't comprehended the conflict this culture seems to breed in our city. Gritty tries to explain it to me, "There are no major labels here, too many cliques, and the politics need to change. Everybody thuggin on the mic doesn't impress me. Realize that everyone really thuggin is either dead or in jail." Gritty calls his Hip Hop "conscious." I've heard that expression so much that I was curious to know the basis on which his classification stems. Gritty says, "I rhyme about love, life, things I know, things I have seen, and things I know need to be changed." His goal is to really give back to the community. Gritty recognizes the wrong in his neighborhood, and knows the only thing he lacks to change it is finances. Let me let you in on a secret - your voice has more value than any greenish brown piece of paper. Remember that!
Gritty finds comfort in entertaining and reiterates how just rhyming is not entertainment, "You must mix that element into creativeness. It's not about being real, it's about being true."
I won't tell his age, but musically Gritty is an oldhead (no offense to those of you that really are oldheads). He loves The Isley Brothers, Teddy Pendergrass and all the music from the Eric B & Rakim, RUN DMC era. He reminisces about looking up to MC Breeze, The Roots, Jill Scott, Jazzy Jeff, Will Smith, Next Of Kin, and Eve. "I don't disrespect anybody, cause it takes a lot to make it."
His advice to upcoming artists is simple, "Recognize that this is a business, not a game. A game is when you rhyme on the corner, and know that it's more raw in this business than on the streets. Be careful."
Gritty has various shows coming up with 20th Street Morroccos and with one of his boys, Cool Tone. Shows range from Brave New World, Mitten Hall, LaTazza and Gloria's (Food for Thought). Contact Ice Gritty for more information. I've witnessed 20M on stage and I can say that the energy leaves an impression. They show love to the crowd and Gritty rhymes with passion and feeling accentuating every word so that you can't and won't misunderstand. Ice Gritty is taking five roads to his destination and knows that one will lead him there.

Article by Deesha
May, 2002