Interview: Gibrilville Talks About His New Album "Black Cadillac Season 3"
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We connected with Brooklyn based Ghanaian rap artist Gibrilville for an exclusive interview to discuss his recently released album “Black Cadillac Season 3”. We also got a chance to pick Gibrilville’s brain about what the title of his series “Black Cadillac Season” means, as well as why it took so long for this album to be released after Season 2 four years ago.
After reading our Q&A with Gibrilville, be sure to connect with him on his website and social media. Most importantly, stream and share the very DOPE “Black Cadillac Season 3” album!
Congratulations on the completion and release of your new album "Black Cadillac Season 3". What would you say is the biggest difference between this and Season 2?
Season 2 was an alternative EP. it was about a love story, which i was inspired by. It had reggae influences, Reggaeton production, and very little Hip-Hop and trap production. But every song I wrote was connected to my love life.
Season 3 is my first full Hip-Hop album since “G.Q Volume 1”, which was released in 2017. Season 3 is much deeper and heavy. I write about my personal life and difficult situations we encounter in our every day lives.
What does the title of the series "Black Cadillac Season" represent?
If you have ever driven a Cadillac it’s like riding on butter, and so I wanted to create music that was as smooth and soft as a Cadillac. I wrote the song "Black Cadillacs" before I decided to call the whole collection "Black Cadillac Seasons". The song is about finding the people responsible for killing Tupac and Biggie Smalls. If we all jumped into black Cadillacs like the feds do, and hit the streets we can find these people who killed our icons. There has been a lot of talk about how they died but no solutions, and I wanted to bring this out in my music.
When you see a black Cadillac truck in the streets of new America, you never know who could be in it. The truck is a symbol of success in the America society. I want my lyrics and music to stick out, and sound and feel like driving or seeing a tinted out black Cadillac in the streets.
Who were the musicians and producers you worked with on the album?
The musicians on the album are Faton Macula on the lead guitar; Brandon Snell on rhythm guitar; Mike Greeves on the drums; Aya Kato on piano; Abda George and Anthony Anderson on bass; and Chelsea Baratz and Ruben Gordon on sax and flute.
The producers are DJ Pain, Nii Bonney Mankatah a.k.a Kwabena jones from Ghana, Faruk Abdalla, Qc Funk, Divided Souls, and my cousin Sheik Kargbo from Sierria Leone, who co-produced the theme song "Black Cadillacs".
You mentioned that the album took four years to finish; why did it take so long?
I took my time developing and mixing the album. If I felt a song need a particular musician to work with i would have to wait until that person was available, which can take a long time when you working with people who are booked all the time. Also I had to keep updating the music on it according to the time. So the drums will change and the horns will change; little things that allow a song to travel through time seamlessly.
On “Black Cadillacs” we had so much live music on the record that we had to mix it over and over again to make sure it wasn't overkill and just right. The process was fun, and I realized the more I worked on a record, even if it meant switching lines in verses or rewriting my verses, the songs just got better and better.
The whole Black Cadillac Season concept is to deliver prestigious, luxury music that just can’t be made over night. it’s like comparing a mass produced product like a Toyota to a luxury brand like a Ferrari. I wanted this album to be unique and also to celebrate both old and new school Hip-Hop.
Tell us about your tour; where are some of the locations that you will be performing at?
We kicked it off in New York City at the Shrine in Harlem. The next stop was Accra, Ghana were we performed at the Republic Bar.
Why was it important to you that the album be released while you are in your home country of Ghana?
it was more important that the album was released in February to honor and celebrate Black History Month. The song "Black Cadillacs" was written and dedicated to Tupac and Biggie Smalls. I planned to release the album this year because it's been 400 years since slavery and this year is dedicated to all African Americans who want to come back to Africa and trace their roots. It's such a significant year in history and it kicked off in Accra in February. I wanted to make sure I was a part of it so I chose February 22nd to drop the album!