Roach Gigz or Roach, is an American

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

per and

hyphy The term hyphy ( ) is Oakland slang meaning "hyperactive". More specifically, it is an adjective describing the hip hop music and the culture associated with the area. The term was first coined by Oakland rapper Keak da Sneak. History The hyp ...

hip hop artist from the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. Gigz released his first independent album in 2012, entitled ''Bugged Out''. He runs his own label, Goomba Records.

Career

Early career

While a student at Leadership High School, Roach Gigz was involved with Youth Radio, an East Bay Area nonprofit youth organization, and then started to develop an interest in

ping. In 2006, Gigz started rapping in his closet with a microphone, and started to create his own hip hop songs, which were liked by his peers. He first gained fame locally after forming a hip hop duo called Bitch I Go (B.I.G.) with rapper Lil 4Tay. Roach Gigz was given the nickname due to his resemblance to a character from the movie ''

Next Friday ''Next Friday'' is a 2000 American stoner comedy film and the sequel to the 1995 film ''Friday''. It is the first film to be produced by Ice Cube's film production company Cubevision. It was directed by Steve Carr and stars Ice Cube, Mike Epps, ...

'' named Roach, and "gigz" due to his frequent performance at gigs around Northern California.

2010-present

In May 2010, Gigz released his first major

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

entitled ''Roachy Balboa'', which received much airplay on Bay Area radio station 106.1 KMEL. Pitchfork music critic David Drake described the mixtape as "one of the most energetically fun rap records released this year." Gigz was selected to be KMEL's Top 10 Freshman Rappers of the Bay Area. In November 2010, he released his single "Can I Rap". A music video for the song was uploaded onto

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

and has received over one million views. Mixtape ''Roachy Balboa 2'' was released in January 2011, and the mixtape ''Bitch, I'm a Player'' was released in August 2011. Gigz was featured on the track "Golden State" with Bay Area rappers Bobby Brackins and Iamsu!, which was released in November 2011. Roach Gigz's first independent album, ''Bugged Out'', was released on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

on September 4, 2012. The album features fourteen tracks, and a digital booklet.

Discography

Studio albums

* 2012 Bugged Out * 2015 The Float

EPs

* 2010 Roach Gigz & Lil 4 Tay - From Another * 2012 Bitch I'm A Player

Mixtapes

* 2008 Bitch I Go Vol. 1 * 2009 Buckets And Booty Calls * 2010 Roachy Balboa * 2011 Roachy Balboa - Round 2 * 2012 Roach Gigz & Iamsu - Heartbreak Goomba * 2012 Hot Air Balloons & Cinnamon Sticks * 2013 Roachy Balboa - Round 3 * 2015 Roachy Balboa - Round 4

Influences

Gigz cites rappers

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

and Mac Dre as his musical influences, who are both artists that grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. He also states

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...

, Andre 3000, and

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

to be among his hip hop artist influences. He claimed that the first rap song that he heard that got him interested in wanting to rap was "Summertime in the LBC" by The Dove Shack, a

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

hip hop group. Gigz first heard of it in elementary school and described the fact that it was a "California song" made him feel connected to it.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roach Gigz American people of Italian descent 1988 births Rappers from the San Francisco Bay Area Hip hop musicians from San Francisco Living people 21st-century American rappers