Grace Weber

As an artist that makes music that fits into multiple genres, like R&B, soul, hip-hop and gospel, Grace Weber has plenty of influences that have helped shape her sound. She grew up listening to the likes of Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Billie Holiday, Diana Washington and Boyz II Men, among others. As she got older and more into songwriting, she turned to Joni Mitchell, a Canadian singersongwriter. “I used to study her lyric books and just dive into her songwriting and try to figure out how she does it and how she’s so epically amazing,” Weber recalls.

She also mentions the effect Blond by Frank Ocean had on her personally, as well as her entire approach to music. “It changed my whole perspective of production and space in music and how much you can strip something down. It’s cool because Nico [Segal], who produced my album was in some of the Frank Ocean sessions,” she explains. She goes on to say how Frank Ocean’s style has had a large impact on her work. “Frank’s process and how much care he takes with every single line and every single melody is so cool, so he’s a huge influence.”

While she points to R&B, gospel and hiphop as her favorite genres and the ones that she gets the most ideas for her own music, she does have a secret obsession song, just like the rest of us. Fans would probably be surprised to know that it’s “Feels Like Today” by Rascal Flatts. “When I was in high school, if I was having a bad day, I would just blast “Feels Like Today,” it’s just a very positive, countrypop epic power ballad and that was my secret jam that I never played for anybody else but, for me it was my pump up jam,” she laughs.

On top of making an incredible album, Weber can also add Grammy Award winner to her long list of credentials. She received a Grammy for her contributions on Chance the Rapper’s album Coloring Book, which won Best Rap Album in 2017. “It was crazy, when the Grammys were happening, we were all in L.A. watching and had like a viewing hang with our producer Garren [Langford] and we were getting ready to go to the after party. I just wasn’t thinking if Chance wins, that means we are Grammy winners, I was just so excited for Chance and so excited to be there and be hanging,” she explains. “So, when he won Best Rap Album, Garren and I were like, ‘Does this mean we get a Grammy? Are we like, Grammy winners?!’ We Googled it on our phones like does this mean we get a Grammy, and it was a yes!”

Weber had worked on Chance’s track, “All I Got” although it wasn’t Chance’s track to start with. It started way back when Weber was trying to catch the attention of some producers that had struck a chord with her. “I had been wanting to work with Nate [Fox] and Nico and Peter [Cottontale] for a little bit. So, when I heard “Acid Rap” I was like, ‘Who the hell is producing this music? It makes me feel like I have to sing.’ When “Surf” came out, I was like I HAVE to meet these dudes,” Weber says.

She loved the type of music they were making; music that remind her of her roots. “They’re making future music, but it’s still timeless and classic. At the same time, it is just all so soulful and has clear gospel influences, which is what I grew up singing,” she explains. She had tried reaching out to them, to try and make something happen, but hadn’t heard anything back. Until one day… “A few months later, I got a text from my buddy and he was in L.A., I was in L.A. and he was like, ‘Hey, I’m at a studio with these producers you should come through, they like your voice, you should sing.’ I didn’t even know who the producers were. I show up to the studio and meet these guys named Nate and Nico and didn’t even process that they were the guys I had been trying to meet! I walked in and they were like, ‘Do you want to sing on this track?’ and I instantly like felt the same feeling that I felt when I listened to “Surf” and “Acid Rap” and I was like, ‘I HAVE to sing on this. This is magic.’”

At this point, Weber still hadn’t realized just who she was about to work with. “I just got in the booth I sang on the song and it went really great and I got out and everyone was super happy because we had just made some cool shit. She finally asks who these talented men were and she was surprised to hear their answer: “’Oh we go by The Social Experiment – I go by Donnie Trumpet and I go by Nate Fox.’ Once I heard that, it was that moment of like, ‘Shit, I just made a song with the dudes that I have been trying to meet!’”

Since there was clearly chemistry between the group, Weber went on to ask the guys of The Social Experiment to produce her entire record. “They said yes, so we started working on that in March. A couple weeks into the project, Chance walked into the studio and heard a song that we were making and basically asked if he could put that as the first song on Coloring Book so it turned into “All We Got” which was just incredible,” she says.

When asked what in her life influences her music, she points to pretty much everything she comes in contact with. Friends, personal relationships, books, other music – it all has a role in her songwriting. “Sometimes I write songs by being inspired by what my friends are going through, witnessing different things and this whole album is basically stories from my own personal experience,” she says. She goes on to say that this time around the recording process was somewhat different; they recorded and produced the record at the same time versus recording all of it, then producing all of it. It opened up her eyes to a new recording process. “I was getting inspired by the drums and sound of the keyboard and trumpet, all of the sounds of the whole beat and song were influencing my lyrics and influencing what the song meant for me. It was a really beautiful process; it was like building the whole song together. It opened my world up for writing and the options on how I can use my voice as an instrument.”

Looking forward, she’s pretty stoked for the entire record to come out, but there is one track in particular she’s extra excited about.

It’s called, “Happy Thoughts.” “It’s kind of the thesis of the album and I am just really excited for that one to come out,” she says.

Another project Weber has to be excited about is her non-profit that she runs, The Music Lab. “Our biggest mission of The Lab is noticing a young person for who they are, and help them celebrate that. Maybe it’s a kid at school who loves to sing but doesn’t want to be in the concert choir and doesn’t know how to express himself or herself artistically because there’s nobody there at that school that notices them, or there’s no class that really fits what they want to do. We try to supplement that and be like, ‘You’re so dope, yes, you’re talented, yes, you should pursue this, let’s help you find that confidence.’”

She points out that there is another mission to The Lab – bringing the Milwaukee youth community together. “Milwaukee is still one of the most segregated cities in the country. We thought this program would be a really great opportunity to bring kids from all different backgrounds together. We promote to all the high schools in the Milwaukee area, public schools and private schools and bring all these students into one room and show the young people in Milwaukee that we’re all Milwaukeeans and we can all come together through art and music.”

Weber feels very strongly that change is made possible via young people. “Change happens when the youth take it into their own hands. We tell them that the Milwaukee music scene is up to them define. Everybody coming through here, it’s not up to us anymore, it’s up to them.”

Whether she’s writing for Grammy awardwinning records, performing her own tracks or working on The Music Lab, it’s sure to be a great, powerful experience. We look forward to her forthcoming album and whatever she decides to try next!

Words by Lauren Klonowski | Photos by Addie Whelan