Allen Le Grand

Allen Le Grand is a 22-year-old Hip-Hop artist from Fort Washington, Maryland. He’s a rapper. producer, engineer, and member of DMV multimedia collective CHESS. His musical influences include Stevie Wonder, Andre 3000, Wu-Tang Clan, Sade, Kid Cudi, Eminem, Gil-Scott Heron, Marvin Gaye, Kanye West and The Neptunes. Allen recently released “LUMA” a six track project featuring .knight, ObiiSay, and WOLF. On this tape, he shows his eclectic sound with slow, mellow emotional songs and energetic raps.

What was your first experience with music?

Probably sometime as a really young child that I don’t vividly remember. I did notice myself wanting to pick up instruments at the age of 8 or 9. 

You come from a family of musicians how did their work inspire you growing up?

I’m definitely inspired by some of the paths they chose in music and how they interact with the art. Being humble and not seeking certain pleasures etc.

What sort of instruments did they play?

My dad played bass guitar, drums, and saxophone. My brother plays the drums. Most of my aunts and uncles on my mom side play a lot of different instruments in church. Mainly a lot of pianists other than that.

Who are some of your musical influences?

Stevie Wonder, Outkast, Hov, The Neptunes, Kanye, Prince, A Tribe Called Quest, and George Clinton.

When did you start making music?

 I started messing around with making beats at about age 15.

Tell me about your musical journey how has your style and sound changed over the years?

 I started picking up FL Studio in middle school but didn’t really take any direction producing til I was in the 9th grade. I remember wanting to do stuff with music and use a lot of the sounds I was hearing from GOOD Music and N.E.R.D back then. After studying a bunch of different genres in high school and growing as an instrumentalist and producer I’m learning to shape my sound and use the vocals as its own instrument and all that it encompasses. 

What’s the story behind your stage name?

My birth name is Allen and the ‘Le Grand’ is French for “the great”. One of my main mans Kimo gave me that name. We were working on some stuff one day and he would study a lot of the culture and fashion of France. It stuck with me but I contemplate a name change every now and then.

What is the meaning of the name “Luma”?

Luma is a supreme alphabet representation of Love, Universe or You, Master, and Allah. Some of those principles stood out to me and inspired my vibes of the songs. 

What is CHESS and who are its members? What have you learned since joining that collective? Has it changed the way you create music?

 CHESS is a multimedia collective with 12 total members; Myself, .knight, Friends Forever, Dizzy Gordo, Codie Monowi, Ponch, Antrone, CJ, DaRaun Crawford, Dbubbz, MEKILÉ, and Keegan. CHESS stands for chasing hope every single step. I’ve definitely learned the skill of collaboration and compromise. I was always cool with certain members of CHESS so naturally, We’ve all evolved together as artists. @thechessteam for their socials

The making of “Luma”

I recently lost a computer and a few hard-drives with a bunch of my music on it. These songs were some of my first recordings getting back up on my feet with recording equipment. I recorded the EP in about 2 to 3 months time, aside from Tokyo Loft. That track features my bro ObiiSay; we did that for another project sometime in 2016.

The story behind “Love”

Love doesn’t necessarily have a story but I would say it is about being self-aware of your intentions with people and honesty.  

What’s your favorite track on “Luma”?

My favorite track would have to be Shimmer. I produced it haha I enjoy my keys.

Listening to your music gave me a Drake-like feel, what’s your favorite Drake project and why?

 Probably Take Care or Thank Me Later. I definitely think the most memorable Drake tracks were from the Take Care era.

When you say “look right in my eyes done dealt with pain, I seen it all” what events in your life are you talking about? What pain has your experience in our life?

Losing friends, getting evicted, family members turning on you, but mainly death taking people away from your life. My pops and my grandparents who were relatively young died pretty tragic deaths all within less than a decade.  

What do you want people to feel when they listen to “Luma”?

I want people to feel comfortable when listening to LUMA. I think it shows my range as an artist and I try to put things in my music to make people feel good and guided in some way.

Follow Allen Le Grand on Twitter (@allenlegrand ) and stream his new project “LUMA” below