Roach Gigz
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Roach Gigz

San Francisco, California, United States | SELF

San Francisco, California, United States | SELF
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"Roachy Balbo SF Weekly #2 Bay Area Hip-Hop album of 2010"

2. Roach Gigz - Roachy Balboa (Thizz City)


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Although Roachy Balboa was labeled a mixtape, so much love and care was put into this project that it's essentially an album. Over the course of an hour, the lyrically nimble Roach Gigz makes it very clear he loves drugs, women, and hip-hop (not necessarily in that order), as he drops punchlines that most battle rappers would die to create themselves. To match his likable personality on the mic, Gigz is blessed with head-nodding beats that slump, slap, and knock their way through your speakers, finding a happy medium between the S.F. and Oakland sounds. Look no further than "Medicine," "Wasting Time," or "Respect It" for appropriate examples. - SF Weekly


"Pitchfork Album Review"

It's easy to forget, as Eminem wrestles with turgid seriousness and Lil Wayne with drug-fueled hubris, that the reason both rappers connected with so many people in the first place was because they were so much fun. Bay area rapper Roach Gigz is clearly influenced-- as he'll admit-- by both artists, as well as by his spiritual inspiration, Mac Dre. But unlike so many rappers whose influences become oppressively imitative, Roach Gigz effectively captures the masters' irreverent best by simply being himself. His new mixtape, Roachy Balboa, is one of the most energetically fun rap records released this year.

His rapping has a muscular dexterity that sounds instinctively balanced between acrobatic rap style-- this is unquestionably a rap fan's rap record-- and keeping things interesting. Every track seems to follow this labyrinthine ADD logic, sinewy flow interlocking off-the-cuff thoughts with irreverent joie de vivre. His grimy humor helps to ground the uncapped mania of spirit. The beats largely reflect this feel, madcap rapidfire high-pitched vocal samples over unhinged and busy treble-friendly production. The tracks that stand out the most work against the grain; "Goomba Pimpin", for example, relies on slow, low-slung warped-bass sonics. It also kicks off with a hint at the creativity behind the writing process. Beginning with a classic writer's block story track conceit ("So I was pickin' the vegetables out my cup of noodles"), the first verse travels a meandering path before resolving itself in an unrelated direction: "Took a piss on the block/ Now I got a court date, man I hate the cops/ True story."

Ultimately what makes this record so good, though, is that Roach Gigz is simply a charismatic, likable guy, and that this personality really comes through in his music. He hints at some raw currents of paranoia and griminess, some nihilistic humor, the kind of thing that used to catch rappers headlines, but the rapper's emphasis on realism means this hip-hop shock-humor is relegated to a single color in his overall approach. He also drops too many lines that belie some sense of morality, that make it clear he's got a purpose and a story to tell, to be too much of a hip-hop loose cannon. Not to undersell Roach Gigz' crazy-living bona fides; the guy is only 22, and this record sounds like it, the echoes of teenage delinquency still rattling around in his brain.

It's a record that knows what it's like to be a rough-and-tumble 22, from anti-neediness anthems like "Let Me Breathe" and the flirtatiously lustful "Gold". Gigz first record, Buckets and Booty Calls, was a mixed bag, occasionally showing flashes of inspiration and raw skill but feeling largely listless, imbalanced. And this is why Roach Gigz' personality is so engaging on Roachy Balboa; there's the youthful realization of possibility, a recognition of creative electricity sparked when a kid discovers his creative outlet, the potential of his own talents. - Pitchfork


Discography

Still working on that hot first release.

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Bio

Selected as one of 106 KMEL’s Top 10 Freshman Rappers of the Bay Area, 21-year-old San Francisco native Roach Gigz has gone from virtually unknown to one of the hottest artists on the West Coast in just four years.

Born and raised in San Francisco, CA, Roach was conceived in Nicaragua during the Contra and Sandinista war. His father was a supporter of the Sandinista Liberation Front and has never lived in the United States but Roach’s mom moved to San Francisco and raised him as a single mother.

Growing up in such a racially diverse city directly affected Roach’s approach to his art. “If people have only heard my music and know my name but have never seen me, they are surprised to find out I'm not Black,” says Roach. “From my experience growing up, race was never really an issue. I'm just an authentic and cool dude and I think my fans see that. It ain't about race. It’s about the music.”

Roach Gigz first gained local fame with close friend Lil 4Tay as one half of the group Bitch I Go (B.I.G.). The duo made some noise with the hyphy hit song “I Get It.” However, with no official album or mixtape to tide the fans over things started slowing down for B.I.G. in 2008 and Roach decided to focus more on his solo career.

It was 2009’s Buckets and Booty Calls mixtape that truly introduced Roach’s face and Frisco swagger to the masses. The conceptual mixtape, released last September and inspired by real was both funny and filled with good music. “I got in this big car accident after a show and my scraper got totaled. After that I bought a bucket Ford Tempo for $100 off my cousin. I was driving in that for like two months, and one night the idea just popped in my head.”

The mixtape containing several examples of what Roach calls his “late night pussy expeditions,” took off overnight spawning the Northern California anthem “My Bitch Look Better.” The mixtape to date has been downloaded over 45,000 times.

In May of 2010 Roach followed Buckets and Booty Calls with the lyrically superior Roachy Balboa mixtape. Where B &B was just a small part of his story, Balboa, both a play on fictitious boxer Rocky Balboa and Roach’s own Italian heritage, gave a deeper glimpse into his potential as an artist.

“I put all my money into renting this tiny empty room and built my own little studio. I stayed in that bitch all the time, making music and just training to get better. Roachy Balboa is just the first preview of that,” says Gigz. “I feel like I'm growing how anybody should if their doing what they love and putting their all into being the best they possibly be at. I'm not there yet, but I'm on my way.” Balboa has already exceeded its predecessor’s numbers in listens and downloads in just a fraction of the time.

With two successful mixtapes under his belt Roach is currently preparing his debut album, tentatively titled Therapy Sessions, which is scheduled to be released this fall. The album is shaping up to be a very personal one. Roach says the music will touch on the ups and downs of his life from the struggles he’s been through growing up in the Bay to the birth of his newborn son.

“I’ve seen the hunger in his eyes since day one,” says Mistah F.A.B. “With the proper support he may get his chance to be the new voice of the modern day Bay Area.” With his unconventional style and undeniable charisma it is only a matter of time before the rest of the world feels the same way.