HHV Exclusive: League of Extraordinary Gz’ Greezo talks group success, “League Shit,” and Texas hip hop

By K.B. Tindal
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

Anyone familiar with the hip hop websites should be familiar with the eight-man Texas collective, League of Extraordinary Gz. Hailing from Austin, League of Extraordinary Gz consists of members from three previous groups. The League formed when Dred Skott, COD, and Southbound all merged.

They have worked nonstop since 2009 and were going strong in 2010 when the founding member, Octavis shouted “League Shit.” He would soon pass away and the surviving members of the crew chose to use League Shit as their album title. The album dropped last week.

Seeing how the League of Extraordinary Gz consists of eight members, Hip Hop Vibe only talked to one. Greezo talked to Hip Hop Vibe about the success of the group, which he considers a dream come true. He also spoke on League Shit and Octavis, who is his brother, and the Austin hip hop scene.

Read the entire interview below:

You guys have received a lot of praise in the media, is this something you all are embracing, or are you unfazed by it? Ah. It’s kind of a double-edged sword. It’s pretty cool to see the leading websites talk about you that way when you are fans of them. But, at the same time, we have to live up to that standard because it is a challenge.

For so long, Houston has dominated the Texas hip hop scene, how do you all feel about having the chance to bring some focus to Austin? Man, it’s cool because there are so many dope artists outside of us in Austin. There are so many people out here who are doing their thing. But yeah, Austin has a lot of talent and it’s good that we are helping cast that light on the city, so maybe people will tune into them. We are fans of all of Texas hip hop from Dallas to Houston, even though as mentioned, Houston receives a lot of attention already.

Can you explain to the audience how you guys came together as the League of Extraordinary Gz? I was having a birthday party and everybody came through. We partied and then we decided we wanted to do a mixtape, Southbound, C.O.D., and Dred Skott. Our chemistry was really good, between the three groups, so we decided to form a supergroup and it became its own monster.

Back in 2010, Octavis shouted “League Shit” on “We Gon Make It,” was the album title in honor of his memory? Yeah. This whole album and everything we do is in his memory. I remember the day he did that, and everything we do and will do is in his memory. Without my brother, the League of Extraordinary Gz even exists.

If he was still with you in the physical form, how do all of you think he would feel about your current success? Oh man. He would be… he would be really really excited. This is our dream that we prayed for and it’s crazy to see how far we have gotten. We’re in New York in all the big offices and he would be spazzing out right now. It was his dream to make it to New York with this one day and I know his spirit is somewhere jumping up and down right now.

Did you guys get the feedback you were looking for off the tracks you released before dropping the album? Uh. Not really man. I think the blogosphere support was awesome, but I think we are still unknown to the masses. It’ll take a little longer for the people to begin clicking on the songs. But 50% of it is just being out there, so it was a step in the right direction. Now, we have to deliver the energy to make the people give a fuck about what we’re doing.

South By Southwest was a major platform that helped all of you gain traction, how do you feel about how big it has gotten over the past few years? Um. I, personally, dig it. We have been actually showcasing SXSW for the past six years and we love it. It’s getting bigger each year and all the biggest people in the industry come right to our backyard, since we live in Houston. We make connections off that week in mid-March that we use for the rest of the year. I still like it and enjoy it, we grind hard out there every year and it pays off.

What has been the hardest part of being an eight-man collective trying to make it in the rap game? Oh man. There’s so many different levels to it, but one of the main things is that booking agents who are paying you are paying you as one act, so money has to be split eight ways.

A lot of people, when they encounter the League, they see how big it is, and they have to decide who they are vibing with when they decide to actually check the music out. But, for us, outside of being a family, we have to know that all eight of us have talent and we will do something individually to the game.

League of Extraordinary Gz is the springboard for us to drop our solo projects and this is our opportunity to introduce ourselves. Because it is just the League as this point, it can be difficult, because people ask the question about who is going to step out first. It is definitely going to be a journey.

With League Shit now behind you, what do you all have planned for the future? Yeah, basically, each artist is going to put out a solo project. It’s coming together for us, we are looking at League Shit as the springboard for us to make our mark on the game, so we will have a machine behind us. But, we all make quality music and that is the deciding factor.

How can we connect with you on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram? The Facebook page is The League of Extraordinary Gz, the Twitter page is LOEGz, we have a Tumblr, League of Extraordinary Gz, LOEGz.com is our website and it ties you into everything.

Follow K.B. Tindal on Twitter @KBTindal.