Exclusive Interview with Curtis Grant

Artist Spotlight: General Grant

General Grant, ragga and soca king in Trinidad and Tobago, is back on the U.S. musical stage, striking out in a new direction with “Human,” a fusion of R&B, soca, reggae and hip-hop.

We sat down with General Grant to talk about their creative journey, inspirations, and what’s next.

MusicsWeek: Can you walk us through your typical songwriting process?

Curtis Grant: My process is fluid, but it usually begins with a feeling or a phrase that resonates deeply. Sometimes it's a chord progression on the piano or a loop I build to create a mood. From there, I chase whatever emotion starts to surface. I let the song reveal itself, layer by layer. I try not to force anything, I listen.
Typical song writing process is about Feelings how you feel at times ,its just normal comes with different atmosphere and vibes.

MusicsWeek: Where do you find inspiration for your lyrics and melodies?

Curtis Grant: Inspiration is everywhere in conversations, in silence, in people watching, even in nature. I pull from personal experiences, but I also try to step into other people's shoes. Melodies often come from how certain words make me feel their rhythm, their weight. Sometimes all it takes is hearing a line in a film or reading a single sentence in a book to spark something.
Finding my inspiration to my beats and lyrics is pertaining songs or beats that is chosen the riddim must tie in to song.

MusicsWeek: How do you handle writer’s block or creative slumps?

Curtis Grant: I’ve learned not to fight it. Creative slumps are part of the cycle they mean I’m processing something deeper. When I hit a block, I step away. I go live life. I read, travel, walk, rest. Sometimes, creativity needs stillness to breathe. I remind myself that the well refills when you stop digging and start observing.
Writer's block I handle it by keep on writing doh matter how dark it comes ,never give up never stop performing .always keep your self ready mode.

MusicsWeek: What comes first for you: the music or the lyrics?

Curtis Grant: It depends, but often it’s the music a melody or a groove sets the emotional tone, and the words follow naturally. Other times, I’ll jot down a lyric idea in the middle of the night, and everything gets built around that. I stay open to either path. What matters is staying true to the energy of the idea.
According to what is required ,or what come 1st Really can be in any order.

MusicsWeek: How do you know when a song is truly finished?

Curtis Grant:  A song is finished when it stops asking questions. When I can listen and not feel the urge to change a word or tweak a sound, I know it's done or rather, that it's time to let go. Perfection is an illusion. Emotion is the real goal. If it makes you feel something truly feel it’s ready.
I know when a song is truly finish is When I AM  comfortable within myslef, when so I don't have to go back to do edits, I supervise the track an mixing process 1st hand.

MusicsWeek: How do you decide on the theme or concept for an album?

Curtis Grant: Albums usually reveal their themes through the songs themselves. I write without filters at first, and then I look back and notice the common threads recurring emotions, ideas, or questions. That’s when the concept begins to crystallize. It’s less about deciding and more about listening to what my own work is trying to tell me.
The them or concepts sometime I take a word that stands out more on the track, or just something you keep saying the most .the song sometimes name it self through the hook of a word or phrase.

MusicsWeek: Do you write music on the road or only in a dedicated space?

Curtis Grant: Both. I believe creativity should follow you wherever you go. On the road, I keep voice notes, journals, and portable gear. But I also have a few sacred spaces where I can go deeper a room with just the right light and quiet. Each environment brings out different sides of me, and I try to honor them all.
I write music at any place necessary ,you may catch inspiration,  you might be walking in the park or  travelling in a bus sometime you get that inspiration late in the night or early in the Moring when the place is still nothing much happening.

MusicsWeek: Have you ever had a dream to inspire a song or an album?

Curtis Grant: Yes, absolutely. Dreams bypass logic they dive straight into emotion and symbolism, which is the core of great songwriting. I’ve woken up with melodies in my head or images that turned into lyrics. One dream even inspired the entire tone of a record it gave me the color palette before I even wrote a note.
A dream to inspire a song I will say no everything comes from active operations.

MusicsWeek: How do you handle a song idea that doesn't fit into your current project?

Curtis Grant: I save it always. I believe no idea is wasted. If a song doesn’t fit now, it may be the seed for something later. I have folders of fragments and demos I revisit when the time is right. Sometimes a track that didn’t make sense in one era becomes the centerpiece of the next.
Songs that don't fit my current project I will just sit with producer and brain storm revised and make changes, sometimes the decision may  be a team effort.
 
MusicsWeek: Do you ever revisit old songs to rework or find inspiration?

Curtis Grant: Constantly. Old songs are time capsules they remind me where I’ve been, and sometimes they show me where I still need to go. I’ll often find a lyric that didn’t hit before but now feels urgent. Or I’ll reimagine a melody in a whole new genre. Growth as a songwriter means learning to see your past with new eyes.
Re-visting old songs definitely Yes sometime you have to re visit old to merge with the modern day music or merge so sometimes you takes idea and chemistry from it without repeating it.