Grafh Recalls Pushing Back When Teddy Riley Asked Him to Change Part of a Verse

Grafh learned early on that trusting your instincts is a key part of the music game.

During a recent episode of The Almanac of Rap, the Queens rapper reflected on a studio session with legendary producer Teddy Riley while working on an intro for one of Riley’s albums. Although Grafh was still relatively new to the industry at the time, he recalled pushing back after Riley suggested changing part of one of his verses.

“I’m gonna change it,” Grafh remembered telling Riley. “But that sh*t right there is actually dope.”

Grafh’s manager, however, was immediately worried that he was jeopardizing the opportunity by speaking up too much during the session.

“My manager pulled me to the side like, ‘Why you talking back for? Just chill and do what you’re supposed to do,’” he said.

After asking everyone to leave the room, including Grafh, Riley spent time reworking the record before eventually calling the rapper and his team back in.

“You know something, Grafh? I just did a couple tweaks,” Riley told him. “You were right. It is dope. We gonna keep it like that.”

For Grafh, the moment became one of his earliest lessons about trusting his voice as an artist, even while navigating the pressures that come with being new to the industry.

“Normally, we learn fear and learn to be meek and quiet and just go with the flow,” he said. “And sometimes that ain’t it.”

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