Atlanta recognition for producer Kevin Go Grizzly Price highlights his music-education work

Kevin Go Grizzly Price, an Atlanta-based, Grammy-nominated producer, was recognized by the Atlanta City Council and used the occasion to describe his path from making beats in high school to founding a nonprofit that funds music, dance and theater classes for young people.

Price said he began making beats around 2008 and “started 2010, tenth grade year of high school after making beats for about 2 years,” a beginning he traced to hours spent learning production software on his mother’s laptop and early exposure to music from family and his art teacher. He told the meeting that he and other producers promoted their work on Twitter and responded to a manager’s request for beats that targeted artists such as Rick Ross, French Montana and Lil Wayne. He said representatives later invited him to a music conference in Washington, D.C., but he could not afford the bus fare; a representative then traveled to Atlanta to meet the then-16-year-old in person. Two years later, Price said, he was presented with a publishing deal.

Price described his production approach as building original tracks in the digital audio workstation FL Studio and then sampling those original tracks, rather than buying and clearing outside samples. The profile on the transcript lists artists his work has impacted, including Drake, Latto, Travis Scott, Nicki Minaj and 2 Chainz.

“It's almost surreal to me just to be recognized, especially by the city of Atlanta,” Price said. “A city that helped shape me into the producer that I am … to be recognized by the city of Atlanta it means everything to me.”

Sammy Ruth Scott, senior director of A&R for Atlantic Records, praised Price’s versatility, saying in the meeting that some producers “might only understand, like, one genre, but someone like a Go Griz who understands a vast amount of different genres, I think that's super integral and important.”

The transcript also notes that Price runs a foundation that raises funds to grant children access to music, dance and theater classes; Price said music “saved his life” and that he wants to provide similar opportunities to others. The recording cites influences including Led Zeppelin, Queen and Parliament-Funkadelic and mentions that Price credits an art teacher and an uncle with broadening his musical exposure.

The meeting material does not provide details on the form of the City Council recognition, any accompanying resolution number or vote tally, nor does it specify dates for future programs or the foundation’s funding amounts. The transcript also does not specify which Grammy nomination(s) are referenced.

Price’s remarks and the Atlanta City Council recognition were presented as a profile item in the meeting transcript; the transcript did not record further council action tied to the recognition.