"I'm from New York and Grand Central Station is a popular attraction here in New York and since I'm on the grind I figured I'd call it [my album] Grind Central Station because it’s neverending, never slows down for you, and you just have to catch the next train."

When you hear of Jamaica, Queens, you may immediately think of 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks. However, another rapper named Gamble Royale has been on the rise as of late and making major noise in Queens and around the country. Known for versatility, Gamble Royale does it all from club bangers to conscious, social and political music. He has been grinding in the industry for years now and has had his music featured on several blog sites over the internet.

Yo! Raps had the opportunity to sit down with Gamble Royale to speak on the future class of Hip-Hop artists, the invisible rap age limit, the difference between independent and major labels and why LL Cool J is one of his biggest inspirations.

How did you come up with your stage name Gamble Royale?

Well, when I was with the nation of 5% my attribute was "Shaborn". I decided to take my music more seriously and added gamble to make "Sha Gamble". I’ve always been good at dice and cards so the name fit. After signing with Canonz Money Gang Entertainment I noticed that more than a little artists were using the name "Gamble", so I made it more distinctive by adding "Royal" since I am royalty in my own right.

You are an up and coming artist from the streets of Jamaica, Queens. Let us know some more details about your background.

I grew up in South Jamaica, Queens and I often moved and attended many schools. I moved an average of once every three years so I knew kid's from all sides of Queens from Hollis, Shadyville and Southside. My family didn’t have much but we did the best we could. My mom worked hard but after she got sick we moved in with my grandfather. It was hard and I still had to deal with school while she recovered. I always wrote music and freestyled for years. Rap was my outlet to deal with the shit that was going on. I was grinding trying to get money since I was young but I knew I wanted more for myself. Seeing rappers like LL Cool J in the neighborhood influenced me even more that I wanna do music. But I had caught a little case so my work in music lessoned. But those were all learning experiences.

What artist has been your biggest inspiration in Hip-Hop and why?

I would have to say Nas because I started rapping after I heard his classic Illmatic. I never heard an emcee use words that way. His delivery was crazy and he made it cool to be intelligent in the hood. His subject matter was relevant too.

If you could describe your music in three words, what would it be and why?

I would have to say: truthful, personal and creative. Because I want my fans to get to know me and the only way that can happen is putting all myself in my music. Creative because I follow no blueprints and make my own path. Those 3 things are missing in the game right now.

The future of Hip-Hop seems bright with new artists like Drake, J. Cole, Skyzoo, Fashawn, and Wale poised to take the crown. What will Gamble Royale bring new to Hip-Hop?

I will bring emotion to the game. Most artists speak on subjects that have no real importance. I understand that there is certain songs for certain things but overall people wanna be able to relate to your music. I wanna make people think sometimes when many people don’t. There's millions of things to talk about and I will take advantage of that fact. A new face, new style and some class to go with the hardcore street manner that I bring.

What was your biggest misconception of Hip-Hop before you really got involved in it?

Before I actually got serious about music I thought everybody or at least most artists got on because they had talent. Now I see that talent is a very small percentage of the game. I learned that marketing and promotion are the key players in success for an artist. Today, artists are more involved with their careers, not like in the 90’s where it was left totally up to the label and manager. I also realized that it’s not that difficult to make it big, it’s all about your team, money and grind.

At age 40, Jay-Z seems at least commercially better than ever. Do you think Jay-Z being the "King" in Hip-Hop helps the game or hurts it?

I think it does a bit of both. Jay-Z, at this point in his career, has no drive as far as protecting his spot. I think Jay-Z is in the position that he now brings Hip-Hop as a whole to another height. Today, it doesn’t seem like the older pioneers are willing to give up the spotlight. We need new voices and new talent. There's a new sound on the rise and I will be apart of it.

With the evolution of social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, do you think it's just as easy now for an unsigned artist to get as much exposure as an artist on a major label?

Yes, it depends on how serious you are about your music. If you are willing to work the extra long hours and sacrifice a little fun then all the outlets are out there. Artists need to stop pointing fingers and start looking in the mirror when it comes to their business moves because I never sleep.

If you were approached by a major record label and an independent label and offered similar recording contracts, what factors would make you more likely to pick one over the other?

The factors would be creative freedom, and the type of chemistry that exist at where I’m at. Financially they also have to be fair and realistic about expenses and assets.

Today artists are put in boxes, rather being deemed "gangsta rapper", "underground", "party rapper" or "conscious",  do you think it's fair for fans to put artists into categories when like humans, artists change everyday?

No, I don’t think it’s fair at all. Everybody is different and people contain the creativity to create original music so why would they have the same sound or style. Everything is borrowed from the previous and there is nothing new under the sun [laughs]. It’s just a matter of doing things a little different. I don’t agree with labels at all.

You are currently hard at work on your street debut album, Grind Central Station. Describe the choice in the title and the subject matter on the album?

Well, I'm from New York and Grand Central Station is a popular attraction here in New York and since I'm on the grind I figured I'd call it Grind Central Station because it’s neverending, never slows down for you, and you just have to catch the next train. I'm an up and coming artist so I have to grind like train stations and never stop, only at chosen destinations. That symbolizes my work to be one of the best. That will be dropping sometime this spring. We are currently working with Da Heat Holdaz and  Sean Ross, two producers that have that fire sound.

Speaking of your album, who can fans look forward to you working with far as artists and producers?

I'm working with Sean Ross, I like his sound. I have worked with him on other projects and it’s soulful and that’s my style, everything else is based off that. I want to get personal on tracks as I stated and his production allows me to do that. Also Shatek, he produced Fabolous and Drake’s Throw It In The Bag (Remix). I don't have any features, it's just me. I wanted to have my fans a chance to get to know me.

If today you can work with any artist in the music industry, who would you work with and what type of record would you make?

I would have to say Styles P. His flow is crazy and he speaks on mindful subjects that most just don’t do. I wanna do a Black Panther type track something pro black but not preaching to the people but just kicking some street knowledge to dudes.

I heard you launched your own website, what's the link for the fans?

Yeah, the website is www.gambleboutmine.com. It’s still under construction but new updates will be posted on Twitter. I have different areas of the site like model pics, new videos, and current hip hop news. Also blogs and info for new mixtapes etc.

It’s been a pleasure. Thank you for taking time out for Yo! Raps today. Do you have any shout outs and updates for fans to look forward to?

Shout out to the whole Canonz Money Gang Entertainment, Jaxz, Loreono, DJ S. Gutta, The Rap Depo, Dub, Naeezy, Holla H, all my Queens people, Skillz Beatz, Sean Ross, Shatek and all my BX people and to all my fans. Peace and shout out to Yo! Raps. Hit me up on Twitter at www.twitter.com/gambleroyale and www.myspace.com/gambleroyale

- By Eric Merriweather

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