“Insecure” — a confident new single where John Gilchrist delivers boom bap with a smile and low-key swagger
I’m always curious about new artist names that I come across. “How did you come up with that name?” Some monikers are just the artist’s name of course, but there are artist names that can inform you about the music you are about to listen to. Others borrow from a past influence or reference the artists life. And of course there are those that are just a funny phrase or play on words.
Californian producer, John Gilchrist, did a bit of all of that to come up with his moniker: Genra.
Gilchrist was raised in North Oakland and has been around music for as long as he can remember. By middle school, he’d begin recording his own music on cassette tapes. During sophomore year of high school, Gilchrist started perfecting his craft. A friend gave him a tape with nothing but jazzy boom bap instrumentals and it became the music he started shaping his style to. Growing up in Oakland, people would listen to him rap and sing and often say “you have your own style. It’s like you’re your own genre.” From there, the artist name took root. “Genra” — a derivation genre. A combination of John and genre in a way.
“Insecure” is the first single off of Genra’s upcoming EP” “Light Blue II.” The album is a self-reflective and unapologetic tribute to spending time on yourself. With a jazz-infused melody and stream-of-conscious lyrics, the album is the perfect compliment to a morning coffee or contemplative city strolls, but there is plenty of humor baked in as well. The flow is silky smooth, the writing is clever, the beat is tight, and there is a bit of jazz in the melody. Counterintuitively, “Insecure” proves what a confident lyricist and producer Gilchrist is.
Check out “Insecure” below and keep an ear out for Light Blue II (set to release later this year).
Genra – Insecure
