Joe Grande was born on the South Side of Chicago in the Englewood/Hyde Park neighbor hood. Little did he know that Chicago was just the first stop in a journey that has taken him around the world. Since his birth, Joe has called home to numerous cities including: Chicago, Miami, Dallas, Houston, Deerfield, Langston Oklahoma, NYC, and Matamorros, Mexico. The influences that these great cities offer has created an artist that is a virtual buffet of musical/lyrical talent that can touch any listener from the twelve year old stewed chicken/six dollar plate hustler on the grimmey streets of Belize City, to the Middle aged, post graduate degree having brotha that actually bought his 40 acres and a mule. Being of a multicultural background adds to the sauce empowering Grande with the means to establish a common platform with any air breathing man or woman that walks the face of this tiny little planet. Grande started his music career at the early age of 14 as a featured rapper on an R&B project with a talented vocalist and songwriter named Roz Ellington. Since those first 16 bars, Grande has gone on to work in the name of GOD, HIP HOP, and REVELUTION with some of the most talented people in mainstream and underground music. After taking a brief sojourn from music to pursue his childhood dream of being a kingpin, Grande came right back, new and improved as a team member of the Chicago based crew called the Movement, featuring the Universal Records group Qualo. During his time as a team member, Grande matured and realized that his heart lay with the common man and woman, and the commercial music industry, and all of its glory, in his opinion, dont keep the common folk in mind when it sells and markets its product. by saying common folk, I meaning people just like Grande from the streets of Englewood or Humboldt Park Chicago, to the dusty streets of the CV favela of Rio De Janeiro; From the trailer crowded blocks of 8 mile, to the cashier at Houston's La Fiesta grocery store; From the sweaty bike messenger trying to feed his family, to the pissed of voters of Florida and Ohio. What I'm really referring to is "real folk" that are "commonly" and systematically victimized and force fed unattainable dreams and bureaucratic nonsense. These people don't have the luxury of a myspace account, or a trip to the mall, or for that matter, a trip to the record store, but these people love music, and that is who Joe Grande let's his soul go and hustles day in and day out for. Since that realization, Grande has devoted his life to cultivating an underground music revolution giving power back to the artist and the people. Joe Grande has been blessed to have had is sentiments felt by a few GREAT people who have evolved into a gorilla army known as TEAM ALL CITY/ THE ALL CITY VARSITY SQAD. With the team, Grande and TEAM ALL CITY have been featured on over 300 mix tapes and made it to the musical shores of over eighteen countries. You can be " The king of New York", you can be " The Chief of the Chi", you can be, "The King of the South", just give me the people from which I was birthed, and just call me, a man.
the joe grande show behind the mic
the joe grande show behind the mic
the Joe Grande Show In the Studio
