Nick Grant‘s career hasn’t been the same since he went on tour with Nas and Lauryn Hill six years ago, and he’s now looked even further back to his childhood to illustrate just how much it meant to him.
During an interview with HipHopDX about his latest album, SUNDAY DINNER, the South Carolina rapper reflected on the star-studded trek while providing context on his “WORRYIN’ BOUT A CLASSIC” bar: “Remember watchin’ Sister Act to get me out my feels/
Twenty years later, I’m on tour with Lauryn Hill.”
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“That movie helped me deal with, like, just my cousin,” he explained, referring to the untimely passing of his family member in fifth grade. To distract himself from the household’s collective grief, Grant would put on the VHS tape of Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit starring Lauryn Hill and watch it repeatedly.
Though he said his younger self could “never have imagined” sharing a platform with the star, he was recruited to join her, Nas, Dave Chappelle and Hannibal Buress for the 2017 tour.
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“Man, I used to watch [Lauryn] every night,” he said about the experience. “It enhanced my show, it enhanced, like, how I interact with the crowd. Everything was, like, super strategic … everything was, like, y’know, very meticulous.”
To his surprise, the Fugees star was equally impressed by his stage show as she even told the up-and-coming MC that she’d been watching him perform from backstage and that he “killed it.”
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Saying that he was on “top of the world” during the run and he “wouldn’t trade that for nothing,” he recalled Scarface was also in the room when he was paid the aforementioned compliment. What’s more is the Geto Boys legend had never met Hill himself and had his first interaction with her in front of Grant.
Despite his fond memories of being on the road with Hill, she’s made a lot of headlines over the years for her iffy punctuality at concerts. Just last month, she clapped back at critics and told her audience they’re “lucky” she showed up at all.
“I’m always on her side with everything,” Grant admitted, pointing out that fans aren’t always tuned into what artists might be going through behind the scenes. “When I was on tour with her […] she didn’t come late one time.”
Nick Grant has earned the respect of numerous legends of Hip Hop over his still-young career. André 3000, most notably, is among many others of his stature who have a soft spot for the Southern spitter.
During the same interview with DX referenced above, Grant recalled meeting 3 Stacks and explained how influential the OutKast legend was on him and his career. The first time they met, he didn’t get to have a conversation with Dre. Their second meeting, however, was a mind-blowing experience for the 35-year-old.
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“My manager at the time, he called me like, ‘Yo, where you at? Meet me at my house,'” he said. “So I go to his house. He was like, ‘Aight, just ride with me real quick.’ [I] just met him there, left, went to the studio, [we] was just going to the studio, but he not really telling me what’s going on. So when I pull up, Dre’s in there.”
It was then that André would say something to Grant that would leave him speechless and stay with him for the rest of his life.
“When I walk in, no lie, bro, he’s like, ‘Yo, man, you like my favorite rapper. If we did a song together I’d have to be on my shit.'” he said, recalling the surreal moment. “Then I’m like, this is Dre! Like, ‘Yo, bro, without you there is no me rapping.’ There is no me without André 3000. I don’t have my confidence, I don’t have the way I approach verses if it’s not for Dre.
“[He’s] super cool. One of the coolest people, not just in the business, in life. He was like, ‘Let me know when you’re out in such and such’ — I was staying somewhere else at the time — and I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m definitely gonna let you know.’ He’s like, ‘I’ma come to the show when you…’ I’m like, whatever, awww here we go. Don’t lie to me.”
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It turns out 3 Stacks wasn’t lying. He did indeed show up to one of Nick Grant’s shows in Dallas, and not only that, he rallied to get others to come out to show.
