In an era and world where social media is the main platform for all things entertainment and more, it’s always such a pleasure to also come across some of the world’s talented people. Imagine being a music fan and then meeting other music fans who share the same exact taste in music as you, sounds great right? It gets better. Then you find out that these same music fans are also very talented individuals who share their talent and knowledge of music with you and it absolutely blows you away how incredible they are. I personally don’t remember in detail how I first became friends with this talented brother but this brother actually became my brother. One of the dopest producers and rappers I’ve had the honor of getting to know and connect with. His sounds are both hard hitting yet soulful. He’s got sounds for the parties and sounds for the bedroom when you want to hook up with somebody to call on a late night. Very rarely have I ever come across a consistency of bad sounds from this brother. Always consistent with the hits and bangers. He goes by the name E.M.G. Born on December 2nd, 1996, Evan Marquis Gantt was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but then my moved to Minneapolis, MN 4 months later in April of 1997 with his mother. As long as I personally knew this guy, I’m now just learning his full story. It’s my favorite part about getting to know someone. The stories always tell you and remind you of how and why people are the way they are. A full understanding of them answers everything. Gantt starts to tell his story. “Life for me was a bit interesting, to say the least. I never had to financially struggle or wonder when my next meal was coming but we weren’t rich by any means. It was fun for the most part but life never ceased to remind me that things can take a turn. Honestly speaking, my life was better than most people in my family in hindsight. The Entreé was fun, negativity was just a side dish or seasoning on the side, if that makes sense Lol.” Yes Ev. It makes plenty of sense. LOL! Life is a balance indeed. Where there’s good, there’s the bad. Where there’s beauty, also comes with the ugly. Just gotta learn to roll with the punches and not let things drag you and keep you down. Always remain on top. He continues his storytelling about his inspirations in life. “On a personal level, my brother. I used to always freestyle with him, we have similar tastes in music & movies, we’re the opposite yet the same and I’ve always looked up to him. My mother is my biggest inspiration for everything. She’s always inspired me to do great, yet be myself, and be the best person I can be. On a artistic level, many artists have inspired me. 2Pac, LL Cool J, Ice Cube, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, Whodini and Heavy D are just a few artists that inspired me. They gave me confidence in myself when I needed help finding it. My biggest musical inspiration is Prince.” That’s dope! I always believe the most influential family members are the greatest ones and the artists selections are really dope too. Hip hop selections that represent a good mixture. Dance, romance, street, party, poetic, political, and then there’s a dash of soul…. Prince. The purple one himself. An incredible musician and artist who was about his art. With great art comes with inspiration. Gantt then goes on about his start as an artist. “I’m gonna be honest here, I’ve always loved music but basketball was originally my main love. The only problem was though, I was never able to fully put my heart & mind into it like I needed to in order to be great at it. Plus, I always lost to my older brother & my uncle and I just got sick of losing! Lol. I decided that I was gonna go ahead with this music thing and I found that it was my true love & what I was meant to do. Prince, Mint Condition and DJ Quik really made me feel like I could do it all. They wrote and produced their own music and that made me say “Aw yeah, this is really something I’m gonna do!”. I’m glad I made that decision. Oh, and girls of course. From an early age I saw that women, including the girls at my age loved and adored rappers so that helped the lightbulb go off Lol.” Ha! Nobody wants to be a loser, everybody wants to be a winner. Definitely felt that! Why not do what you truly love and try to get the attention of girls at the same time? Sounds like a winner to me. LOL! Now of course, the music most definitely got to be on point and of course, the right girl always comes along eventually. Keep your eyes on the prize though Ev. Don’t chase a girl, let her find you. It’s a safe bet! My boy made so much music but recently he’s been promoting his new joint like crazy. Seeing him promote like crazy made me tell him like “Yo! It’s time for you to tell your story Bro! The people gotta know!” So we definitely talked about his projects. “My most recent project is 2019’s “23 Rotations”, my new single “R5” is available on Audiomack, SoundCloud and Youtube. As far as future projects, right now my aim is to switch up from the typical Laid-Back grooves and mood of my previous works and focus on other things. I’m focusing on doing more upbeat songs and more meaningful and thought provoking material. I can’t tell you when my future projects are gonna come but they will come.” Whew! Can’t wait! My boy always delivers. I’m never worried. Always impressed. I’m always curious though about artists having regrets. So I asked. “The main regret I have is not taking my music serious sooner than I did. I didn’t really realize my talent and gift until 2017/2018, by then I was already more than 3 projects deep. I regret not being more personal in my music sooner, I guess I was a little insecure and unsure of myself. I also regret not performing as often as I should’ve. I’m no where near rusty but that would’ve put me in a more recognized position by now, in my opinion.” Makes mad sense Bro! You’re a pro now though. Been at this for a couple years now but you got plenty more years to come. Where do you see yourself years from now? “I see myself in the best place/space I could ask for. I mean, not being super famous but still having a name, having respect from my peers, my fans and Hip-Hop legends as well. I can also see myself doing financially well and stable. I see myself inspiring a new slew of artists who just wanna be themselves and be respected. That’s where I see myself.” Sounds good to me! Y’all have to check out this dope guy and his music. You can do that by reaching out to him on his social media accounts. Facebook Music Page: E.M.G, Instagram: _evanmgantt, Twitter: Tha612Rep, SoundCloud: E.M.G, YouTube: Evan G, and Audiomack: E.M.G (Tha 612 Rep).
