Johnny Ciggs, a hip-hop/rap artist from Richmond, VA, exudes vulnerability in his newest album, filled with his experiences over a “Real crazy few years living on Grace St.,” he says, “Reminiscing … Richmond, VA is a lot different than it was back then, so it was kind of something I wanted to do maybe for a few of the older heads around here that remember those days.” He explains that it also includes his experiences through the early stages of alcoholism and drug use.
The rapper has been “Making music my whole life basically; I started playing drums when I was ten, played in a couple elementary school talent shows, and then played in some punk bands, a couple metal bands … I’ve been doing this forever. I started rapping about 14 years ago and I can’t not do it – It’s just what it is.” He has lived in Richmond his whole life, born in Alexandria, and later living back and forth to Atlanta for a little while.
His songwriting process consists of picking a beat that he likes, sitting down and writing to it, recording a demo version, and then listening to that in the car for a while, picking it apart. “Then I come back and I rewrite the song based on the changes I might have made in my head listening to it in the car, then I re-record it, and then it’s done.” Listening to his own work while driving takes a different kind of focus – “It’s actually how I pick up on things, like if I repeat a word, or if I say basically the same thing twice, or if I want to put a different inflection on a word; it pops out at me when I’m just driving – I don’t know why.”
Ciggs has both an album and an EP coming out in the next month or two. He also has tour dates scheduled for Tulsa, OK on Sep. 21, St. Augustine and Jacksonville, FL on Oct. 5 and 6, “and then a whole bunch more tour dates coming,” he says.
Find previous Alchemical coverage about Johnny Ciggs here. Learn more about the rapper here, and stay tuned for his upcoming new music and performances! “Glass Forties” from Grace St. is available now on Spotify and Apple Music.
Emma Page, a recent Journalism graduate of The George Washington University, possesses a passion for music journalism and storytelling in all its forms. Originally from Baltimore, MD, when she is not writing, she can be found at a local concert or making music of her own.
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Alchemical Records is a Washington, D.C. based music publication. We cover the Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Richmond, VA metro area music scenes, including band interviews, articles about your favorite musicians, new music and concert dates.
