Grind Time Official Featuring Chevy Woods Edition
Chevy Woods is riding high. After spending the past couple years carving out a lane as the guy next to the guy, the Pittsburgh native and Taylor Gang official is set to pop off on his own with his new mixtape, Gangland. With lead single "U.S.A." lighting up the Web in advance of the release-and his slot on this summer’s “Under the Influence of Music” tour already locked in-the clock is ticking. Chevy Woods is ready to roll.
When do you get your best ideas?
In the studio. I might bring everything I’ve seen or heard, or maybe I’ve read. I may have watched it on the Internet. But it’s all in the studio when I get most of my ideas.
What’s the longest you’ve ever worked on one single project?
The longest I’ve ever worked was about a year and a half. I didn’t put any music out for a year and a half. I felt like I was just finding a sound at that time. I had to work and just go through different motions to find different sounds, and once I found it, it was like a year and a half later.
Do you ever get time off?
If this is your craft, if this is your job, there are no days off. I don’t care if you get up and just listen to a beat or look at a music video; you’ve got to do something every day. I feel like you will fall off if you don’t do something with music. There’s never an “I’mma just chill and not rap” day.
What’s the recipe for timeless music?
My recipe for a timeless track is maybe the beat that somebody wouldn’t take, or maybe that someone who has multiple records out wouldn’t use. I would try to be making something different. It’s just lyrics, flows sitting on top of the beat, not letting the beat just chew you up, or you overriding the beat too much. Just realness. From the heart. That’s what I feel makes a timeless track.
What’s next?
Right now I’m working on Gangland. I’m working on the album. I’m working on singles. I’m working with producers. I’m working with working. Work, work, work. I’m at the stage where it’s more about the work than it is about the relationships. I’mma keep on working.
