Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.12.2016, Qupperneq 30

Music 30The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 18 — 2016
Icelandic rapper GKR released 'GKR'
last month, a formidable collection
of tracks. Here are his thoughts on
the album.
Velkomin
Produced by Smokygotbeatz, the
first track starts with strings
by Högni Egilsson from Hjal-
talín, who I share a studio in
Grandi with, alongside Marte-
inn and Tiny from Quarashi.
The track starts with “ég kem til
bjargar fyrir þá sem þurfa á því
að halda”—I come to the rescue
for those who need it. It could be
interpersonally, or just through
the lyrics. The track is about my
struggles with myself, about help-
ing others, drawing lines between
myself and others, welcoming
people, but on certain terms.
Treystu mér
This track is about getting my
dues, I’ve been putting in the
hours, working in the studio past
midnight. Talking about the day
it’ll all pay off. I’m also talking
about feeling above others, envy and
greed, both reminding myself and
others to keep the feet planted on the
floor. Produced by BNJMN.
Elskan af því bara
This is a cover of the Vaginaboys
track of the same name. I made
it with Stefan Ívars, MSTRO. The
first verse is about rejection, about
being a bit of a cliché, about the
anger and frustration. The second
verse is more about being sincere,
about valuing someone, about see-
ing the interesting things.
Slæmar fréttir
If the album is a journey, this one’s
the nightmare track. The anger.
The self loathing. Arguing with
the one you love. About tripping
up. About losing everything. About
looking up at the stars, and disap-
pearing—which is a reference to
one of my first tracks, “Hverfum.”
I talk about my father, I don’t re-
member him, I haven’t met him
since I was one year old. He’s Dutch,
I’m half Dutch, that's why I refer to
myself as the "Flying Dutchman.”
I want to fly out of this world. The
track becomes an explosion of an-
ger, ending up in a big fuck-it, to
all the lost energy, the unreliable
people, all these things that hurt
and distract you from where you’re
heading. Prod. by Marteinn!
Morgunmatur
We segue from the nightmare to
the dream. Based on a beautiful
looping sample, this track is about
taking all the hopelessness, not
feeling like getting out of bed in
the morning, and bailing on that.
Throw out the foul milk in the
fridge, open up a new one. Get out
of bed, have some lovely breakfast,
and go do your thing. Do what you
want, do it well, wake up happy.
Produced by Purpdogg.
Tala um
This is a funny segue. It’s about
last year’s success with “Morgun-
matur,” about being talked about.
Prod. by Marteinn!
Lifa lífinu (Bonus track)
This one is about living your life.
Taking chances. Enjoying it. It’s a
super positive track, with a fat beat.
I wasn’t sure about it, so I made it a
bonus track. I’m really happy I put
it in there now, it helps the flow,
and I just love it. Prod. by BNJMN.
Erfitt
It’s about a bunch of different feel-
ings. It’s not about any one thing.
It’s filled with funny lines and sto-
ries. Stuff like waking up my mom
in the middle of the night because
I couldn’t stop freestyling, practic-
ing in my room. I was whispering,
but she woke up anyway. She was
furious. It’s all a bit random. It’s
different from other icelandic hip-
hop tracks. Prod. by Marteinn!
Meira.
More. Wanting more. Everyone
wants more. More peace. More sex.
More booze. You know the feeling.
More. Prod. by Marteinn!
LISTEN &SHARE: gpv.is/tbt18
Words GAUKUR GRÉTUSON
TRACK BY TRACK
‘GKR’
by GKR
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