GREEK FREEK – BIPOLAR | rap

After multiple singles, GREEK FREEK just released his first album, BIPOLAR, and you will be pleasantly surprised by it. Consisting of 9 songs and a 28-minute run-time, BIPOLAR is turning heads with this one. The album opens up with the track, DEVASTATING EXPERIENCES, which sets the mood for the entire album. The track is fast-paced and upbeat. The beats are classical to rap, and GREEK FREEK has an interesting cadence. NO OFFENSE is the next track on the album. FREEKs flow is immaculate on this track and really builds up from the previous one.

HASTA EL FUEGO changes the vibe of the album. With a much slower flow, the track has a more R&B vibe to it. The tracks SAD and HUGS turn the album into a grungier, slower pace. These tracks explore different aspects of the artist’s life, and he even cites them as anecdotal memories. The beats on these tracks are very rooted in trap-hip-hop.

WILL NOT LOSE, has a more futuristic opening and shows a wider range for GREEK FREEK. Very anthemic in his cadence, the track, while also staying true to old school rap grooves. CRYPTO takes a similar futuristic, almost techno vibe but with more old-school structure. The instrumentals are resounding and there’s a reverb that sticks with you. CRYPTO gives you a run-through of everything happening in the financial and crypto world.

SAY MY NAME is more playful but has strong grunge undertones. SEE NOW? is the last track on the album and combines the eeriness and the grunge and the old-school influences to create the perfect ending track for the album. The album stays true to its BIPOLAR name and is definitely a great start for GREEK FREEK’s first full-fledged album. We also had a conversation with GREEK FREEK and here is what he has to say about his music:

1. Your album, BIPOLAR, was very fresh to listen to. Can you tell me your inspiration behind it?
The inspiration behind BIPOLAR is my life and the current state of the rap genre. I spent a great deal of time discovering what constitutes the GREEK FREEK character. I then took those fundamentals and delved deep into learning how to express those aspects of my personality through diction. I appreciate you saying that my album was, “very fresh to listen to”. That was a primary goal of mine while writing BIPOLAR, and ties in thematically to the second inspiration behind my album: the current state of the rap genre. I personally have not turned on the radio for over a decade. I got very bored with what I consider to be “stale” music. The constant barrage of uninspired/lazy music left a gaping hole in the ears of many listeners: the purpose of BIPOLAR is to fill that emptiness. I wanted to bring a breath of fresh air to the rap genre with a project that was not lazy, featured creative flows/rhymes, and had substance to it.

2. What led you to music in the first place?

I was always very interested in music. As an infant, I would tap out rhythms with my hands non-stop. As a child, I spent seven years learning classical piano. Throughout my school career, elementary school through college, I played many instruments. In fifth grade I began playing the clarinet, switched to the bass clarinet in the sixth grade, and played it until the ninth grade. This is when I transitioned to being a percussionist. I played percussion through the rest of my schooling up until my junior year of college. In high school, I also studied music theory and composition, and actually composed many symphonies for symphonic band. However, the spark that led me to rap, and made me completely enthralled with the rap genre, was the song “Ridin’ by Chamillionaire ft. Krayzie Bone”. I heard it in the fifth grade, when I was just four feet tall, and became completely obsessed with the rapid, rhythmic flow, and how cool it sounded: albeit at the time, I had no idea what the song was about, I just loved it.

3. I think I really enjoyed HASTA EL FUEGO. Your album has very grunge aesthetic to the verses. Can you tell me a little about the curation process of the album itself?

I truly appreciate the fact that you enjoyed HASTA EL FUEGO. BIPOLAR does have a very grunge feel to it. The strange part is, I have never listened to any grunge music or related genres. The curation process was pretty simple, at least in my eyes. I wrote a little over fifty songs for the album. I narrowed it down to, what by my ears, sounded like the best song for each “emotion/piece of the puzzle” I was creating with my album. The songs were then organized thematically, with the subject matter tying from one song to the next. For example, the song SAD is followed by the song HUGS. What cures sadness? What topics were addressed in SAD that are answered by HUGS? These are the types of questions I want the listener to ask themselves while they listen to BIPOLAR. There are many more “Easter eggs” hidden throughout the album, but I figured I would share one of the rather obvious ones!

4. Can you tell us who your biggest musical influences are?

My biggest music influences are as follows, the order of which does not denote significance: Rittz, Tech N9ne, Eminem, Twisted Insane, Krizz Kaliko, Brotha Lynch Hung, Hopsin, Dizzy Wright, Jarren Benton, Lil Wayne, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Rick Ross, and 2 Chainz.
Now if I was stranded on a desert island, and I could only pick one artist to listen to for the rest of my life, I would pick Rittz. That being said, Tech N9ne is such a close second, that the distance between how much I enjoy each artist’s music, is nearly indistinguishable.

5. How do these influences come through in your music?

Roxercat – Pearls | Refreshing

These influences come through in my music in two primary ways: flow and storytelling. The rapid fire chopper flow, that I fell in love with as a child, has become my primary style of delivery in BIPOLAR. The artists that really influenced this chopper flow are: Tech N9ne, Rittz, and Twisted Insane. This style of delivery is present on songs like DEVASATING EXPERIENCES, NO OFFENSE, HUGS, and SEE NOW? Now, on to storytelling. The primary artists that influenced my story telling abilities are: Eminem, Rittz, and Tech N9ne. This is very evident on songs like SAD and HUGS, in which I lead the listener through my own personal story.

6. Do you have more music planned for us? What do you see for yourself
in the future?

I definitely have more music planned for Sinusoidal Music, and a second album is already in the works! In the future, I see myself carving out my own niche slice of the rap genre, developing a fanbase, and collaborating with Tech N9ne and Rittz!

What are you waiting for ? Go stream BIPOLAR by GREEK FREEK, here: