GM Grimm
Encyclopedia
Percy Carey also known by the stage name
s MF Grimm and originally Build and Destroy, is an American
underground
rapper, music producer and Eisner Award
-nominated comic book
writer from New York City
.
, helped arrange for him to be cast as a child actor on Sesame Street, which he did for four years.
formed by Frukwan
, RZA
, Prince Paul and Too Poetic. He also collaborated with hip-hop legends like Kool G Rap
and KMD
.
In 1993, Grimm placed at the World Supremacy Battle, already known as an experienced battle rap
per. That year, he released his first 12" single, So Whatcha Want Nigga? and performed at the Jack The Rapper convention on Execution Night, sharing the stage with Lady of Rage
, Tupac
, and Dogg Pound, in Atlanta. Grimm was soon approached by several major labels.
.
on an EP released by Brick Records entitled MF EP
.
Grimm founded label Day By Day Entertainment
in the late-1990s. At around the same time, he put together his Godzilla
-inspired MC collective, the Monsta Island Czars
.
in 2000. He paid a one-day bail of $100,000, recording The Downfall of Ibliys: A Ghetto Opera
in those twenty-four hours. During his stay in jail, Grimm studied law. After filing many appeals, he was able to reduce his sentence to three years and he was released in 2003.
under his Monsta Island Czars
moniker Superstar Jet Jaguar.
Grimm's life story was retold in a comic book autobiography, Sentences: The Life Of MF Grimm, which was released by DC Comics
' Vertigo imprint in September 2007.
In 2008, MF Grimm, under his real name Percy Carey, was nominated for two Eisner Awards for Sentences, Best Reality Based Work and Best Lettering. He was also nominated for, and won, two Glyph Awards for Best Cover and Story of the Year.
MF Grimm has recently appeared on National Public Radio to relate his life story and future plans.
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
s MF Grimm and originally Build and Destroy, is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
underground
Underground hip hop
Underground hip hop is an umbrella term for hip hop music outside the general commercial canon. It is typically associated with independent artists, signed toindependent labels or no label at all....
rapper, music producer and Eisner Award
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
-nominated comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
writer from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Early life
Percy Carey grew up in the Upper West Side section of Manhattan. His neighbor, Morgan FreemanMorgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman is an American actor, film director, aviator and narrator. He is noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won...
, helped arrange for him to be cast as a child actor on Sesame Street, which he did for four years.
"One episode, I lost my tooth, and me and Big Bird had to go through Sesame Street and try to find it," Carey remembers.
Career
Early in his career, he formed a DJ/rapper group called The Gravediggaz, not to be confused with the group of the same nameGravediggaz
Gravediggaz is an American hip hop group from New York City, well known for its dark sense of humor and abrasive, menacing soundscapes. The group was formed in 1994 and was effectively a supergroup, bringing together Prince Paul , Frukwan , Too Poetic and RZA...
formed by Frukwan
Frukwan
Frukwan Sun-Star Allah-Bey is a Moorish American hip hop musician. He is best known as The Gatekeeper from the hip hop group Gravediggaz and was a member of the pioneering hip hop band Stetsasonic.- Early life :...
, RZA
RZA
Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA , is an American Grammy-winning music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, emcee, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. A prominent figure in Hip Hop, RZA is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost...
, Prince Paul and Too Poetic. He also collaborated with hip-hop legends like Kool G Rap
Kool G Rap
Nathaniel Thomas Wilson , better known by his stage names Kool G Rap , Kool G. Rap, and Giancana , is an American rapper, from the Corona neighborhood of Queens, New York. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as a member of the Juice Crew...
and KMD
KMD
KMD was an American hip hop trio in the early 1990s, best known for launching the career of acclaimed rapper and producer MF DOOM, who at the time was known as Zev Love X. Other members of the group were Rodan and DJ Subroc–Zev Love X's younger brother...
.
In 1993, Grimm placed at the World Supremacy Battle, already known as an experienced battle rap
Battle Rap
Battle rap is a type of rapping that includes a lot of braggadocio content "combined with put-downs, insults, and disses against real or imaginary opponents"...
per. That year, he released his first 12" single, So Whatcha Want Nigga? and performed at the Jack The Rapper convention on Execution Night, sharing the stage with Lady of Rage
Lady of Rage
Robin Yvette Allen , better known by her stage name The Lady of Rage, is an American rapper and actress best known for collaborations with several Death Row Records artists, including Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg on the seminal albums The Chronic and Doggystyle...
, Tupac
Tupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...
, and Dogg Pound, in Atlanta. Grimm was soon approached by several major labels.
Murder attempt
In 1994, Grimm survived a murder attempt where he was shot seven times by rival drug dealers, and three times in an earlier murder attempt in 1986. As a result of the 1994 attack, he was deafened, blinded, paralyzed from the waist down, and comatose; he was pronounced dead on the scene. Doctors predicted that he would suffer nulled senses and be paralyzed for the rest of his life. Grimm recovered full vision, hearing, and speech ability, but still uses a wheelchairWheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
.
Post-hospitalisation
Grimm went on to release several 12" singles on the Fondle 'Em label and also collaborated with MF DOOMDaniel Dumile
Daniel Dumile is a hip hop artist who has taken on several stage names in his career, most notably MF DOOM, where the "MF" stands for metal face, and for tracks he has produced, metal fingers...
on an EP released by Brick Records entitled MF EP
MF EP
MF EP is a split EP released by New York rappers MF DOOM and MF Grimm in 2000 .-Track listing:# "Doomsday" #* Performed by MF DOOM#* Produced by Mister Jason#* Scratches by DJ Fakts One#* Recorded and Mixed by Papa D!...
.
Grimm founded label Day By Day Entertainment
Day By Day Entertainment
Day By Day Entertainment is an independent hip hop record label and record distribution company, based in New York City. It was started in 1999 by MC MF Grimm before his 3-year incarceration starting in 2000...
in the late-1990s. At around the same time, he put together his Godzilla
Godzilla
is a daikaijū, a Japanese movie monster, first appearing in Ishirō Honda's 1954 film Godzilla. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in 28 films produced by Toho Co., Ltd. The monster has appeared in numerous other media incarnations including video games,...
-inspired MC collective, the Monsta Island Czars
Monsta Island Czars
Monsta Island Czars is a hip-hop group based in New York City, New York, USA most notable for members MF Grimm and former member MF DOOM.-History:...
.
Life in prison
Facing narcotics and conspiracy charges, Grimm was sentenced to life imprisonmentLife imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
in 2000. He paid a one-day bail of $100,000, recording The Downfall of Ibliys: A Ghetto Opera
The Downfall of Ibliys: A Ghetto Opera
The Downfall Of Ibliys: A Ghetto Opera is the full-length debut album by Manhattan, New York rapper MF Grimm, released on January 12, 2002 on his own independent label Day By Day Entertainment....
in those twenty-four hours. During his stay in jail, Grimm studied law. After filing many appeals, he was able to reduce his sentence to three years and he was released in 2003.
Post-incarceration
He has since completed his second album Digital Tears: E-mail from PurgatoryDigital Tears: E-mail from Purgatory
Digital Tears: E-Mail from Purgatory is a 2004 album by Manhattan, New York rap artist MF Grimm, going by the name of GM Grimm.-Track listing:# "Intro"# "All Y'All"# "Stable"# "Dr...
under his Monsta Island Czars
Monsta Island Czars
Monsta Island Czars is a hip-hop group based in New York City, New York, USA most notable for members MF Grimm and former member MF DOOM.-History:...
moniker Superstar Jet Jaguar.
Grimm's life story was retold in a comic book autobiography, Sentences: The Life Of MF Grimm, which was released by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
' Vertigo imprint in September 2007.
In 2008, MF Grimm, under his real name Percy Carey, was nominated for two Eisner Awards for Sentences, Best Reality Based Work and Best Lettering. He was also nominated for, and won, two Glyph Awards for Best Cover and Story of the Year.
MF Grimm has recently appeared on National Public Radio to relate his life story and future plans.
Discography
- 2000: MF EPMF EPMF EP is a split EP released by New York rappers MF DOOM and MF Grimm in 2000 .-Track listing:# "Doomsday" #* Performed by MF DOOM#* Produced by Mister Jason#* Scratches by DJ Fakts One#* Recorded and Mixed by Papa D!...
(with MF DOOMMF DoomDaniel Dumile is a hip hop artist who has taken on several stage names in his career, most notably MF DOOM, where the "MF" stands for metal face, and for tracks he has produced, metal fingers...
) - 2002: The Downfall of Ibliys: A Ghetto OperaThe Downfall of Ibliys: A Ghetto OperaThe Downfall Of Ibliys: A Ghetto Opera is the full-length debut album by Manhattan, New York rapper MF Grimm, released on January 12, 2002 on his own independent label Day By Day Entertainment....
- 2004: Digital Tears: E-mail from PurgatoryDigital Tears: E-mail from PurgatoryDigital Tears: E-Mail from Purgatory is a 2004 album by Manhattan, New York rap artist MF Grimm, going by the name of GM Grimm.-Track listing:# "Intro"# "All Y'All"# "Stable"# "Dr...
(as GM Grimm) - 2004: Special Herbs and Spices Volume 1Special Herbs and Spices Volume 1Special Herbs + Spices Vol. 1 is the third collaboration album released between American rappers MF DOOM and MF Grimm, released in 2004 on Grimm's own Day By Day Entertainment label. Unlike their previous works, this CD is solely focused on MF Grimm's rhyming over MF DOOM's production...
- 2005: Scars and MemoriesScars and MemoriesScars & Memories is the fourth full-length album by Manhattan, New York rapper MF Grimm, released in 2005 via his own Day by Day Entertainment label. While most of the tracks were written during the early 1990s, the original song reels were stolen, forcing Grimm to re-record many, if not all of...
- 2006: American HungerAmerican HungerAmerican Hunger is a triple album released on CD. It was released in 2006 by Manhattan, New York rap artist MF Grimm. It is also the first triple album in hip-hop history...
- 2007: The Hunt For The Gingerbread ManThe Hunt for the Gingerbread ManThe Hunt For The Gingerbread Man is a concept album by Manhattan, New York rapper MF Grimm that follows a variation of the children's tale The Gingerbread Man. According to the album, the Gingerbread Man escaped from the fox by making him throw up...
- 2008: Mad Flows (self-released Compilation Album)
- 2010: You Only Live Twice: The Audio Graphic NovelYou Only Live Twice: The Audio Graphic NovelYou Only Live Twice: The Audio Graphic Novel is a hip hop album by Manhattan, New York rapper MF Grimm released on June 8, 2010. It is entirely produced by Twiz the Beat Pro...
- 2011: Supreme Excellence
External links
- Official Day By Day Entertainment Website
- Official MF Grimm and Percy Carey Website
- http://www.complex.com/blogs/tag/percy-careys-comic-book-corner/ Percy Carey's Comic Book Corner, The Official Comic Book Blog
- http://thepercycareyshow.blogspot.com/ Official MF GRIMM and Percy Carey Blog