Parents got him taking piano lessons in the elementary music school when he was in 2nd grade, but he dropped out 2 years later because he wasn't feeling that whole classical music thing as that was the only genre they were teaching. He later got some private piano lessons, learning the stuff he wanted to learn to play like Beatles and Rhythm & Blues in general. He and a few of his 4th grade classmates formed a band and became the youngest band in the history of his elementary school, playing school events on the regular. When he got to 7th grade he discovered Hip-Hop and felt totally overtaken and compelled by it's elements, especially by the power of the rhythmically accented poetry(RAP). He soon left the band, started writing and became an MC. His friends were amazed by his flow and delivery since there were no hip-hop artists in his home town Piran(Slovenia) at the time, except him and one of his classmates and they were dope on top of it! They formed a duo called Bow Down and threw the first hip-hop party in the history of their home town. In 1998, Gramatik met his first audio sequencing software on the computer of his classmate's older brother and felt like he got struck by lightening, totally overwhelmed by it! His parents were financially struggling at the time, so they couldn't afford a computer, so he was hanging out at his friend's house all the time, messing around with the sequencer when his older brother wasn't home. 2 years later his parents bought him a computer and the first thing he did was install that audio sequencer! He started producing his first beats and day by day felt more and more compelled by the craft & the magic of it. It wasn't long untill he discovered sampling which became his one true love in the music making process, chopping up all those old funk, soul, blues and jazz tracks he used to listen to all the time and making something completely new out of it was the best feeling ever. All of a sudden his life started to make perfect sense.
In 2006, he and 2 of his friends, fellow MC's, released their debut hip-hop album as a group called 5th Element, which was critically acclaimed throughout the country as one of the best hip-hop albums in Slovenia. After the album, Gramatik felt hip-hop just wasn't enough, that he was limiting himself with doing only one genre while he enjoyed listening to so many of them so he started producing House, Techno, Breakbeat, Electro, Drum'n'Bass, basically any genre that he liked which was anything that evolved from Blues, Jazz, Soul and Funk, as those ''father genres'' were all embedded deep in his style, whatever he would do. He realized that to him, music is much bigger than a genre name and their specific categorization, it's all about embracing what moves you and rejecting what doesn't. He released his first ever track on Beatport.com in june 2008, which was an Electro House track, a remix he did for DJ Vitamin D's track entitled Motherfuckers Know Whos The Best. The track ended up 24 on the Electro House Top 100 chart, a nice surprise and an excellent quality validation for this newcomer. Soon after that he ended up on 40 of the House Top 100 chart with his tribal banger Letz Get Ill while his Dreams About Her EP topped the Chil Out top 100 chart for 3 weeks. He kept releasing different stuff on various labels all owned by DJ Vitamin D which he became good friends with. Not long after his first release stroke the chart, Vitamin D suggests to him that he should scrap up those 20 hip-hop beatz he had sitting in a flash player on his myspace for over 2 years and release them as an album on the new Chill Out/Trip-Hop/Instrumental Hip-Hop label he's about to open inspired by those same beatz he was listening to. So Gramatik does that(thinking he won't sell more than 3 tracks off the album since they were just 2:30 minuets long hip-hop beatz, which are not commonly sold on beatport) and the album he entitled Street Bangerz Vol.1 get's released in december 2008 on the fresh new label Cold Busted. little did he know that the album was gonna catapult straight to the 1 spot on the Top 100 Chill Out chart and has been holding hostage the first 20 spots ever since. Street Bangerz Vol.1 has been a total success, completely unexpected, selling over 50.000 tracks world wide in less than 6 months on beatport alone. It made him realize that quite often, the things that you expect to work the least, usually work the most. Gramatik is now working on various projects while determined to keep up the SB series, dropping one a year, perfecting them volume after volume and hopefully tour the world in due time.
No Shortcuts
Gramatik Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm not to blame baby
'Cause I need you
I'm not to blame baby
You don't know what you're doin', doin', doin', doin'
I can't live in this world all by myself
I thought you said you want to be successful
He said when you want to succeed
As bad you want to breath
Then you'll be successful
???
The only thing you're trying to do is to get some air
You don't care no more about basketball game
You don't care what's on TV
You don't care about nobody callin' you
You don't care about a party
The only thing you care about when you try to breath
Is to get some fresh air
That's it
And when you get to the point
Where all you wanna do is be successful
As bad as you wanna breath
Then you'll be successful
And I'm here to tell you number one
That most of you say you wanna be successful but you don't want it bad
You just kinda want it
You don't want it bad as you wanna party
You don't want it as much as you wanna be cool
Most of you don't want success as much as you want to sleep!
Some of you love sleep more than you love success
And I'm here to tell you today
If you're goin' to be successful you gotta be willin' to give up sleep!
The song 'No Shortcuts' by Gramatik mainly talks about the struggle to achieve success and how one needs to be willing to make sacrifices in order to reach their goals. The lyrics, "Cause I need you, I'm not to blame baby" suggest that the person singing the song needs someone else to help them be successful, but at the same time, they are not trying to make excuses and blame others for their shortcomings. They then repeat, "You don't know what you're doin'," multiple times to convey a sense of frustration and uncertainly about whether they will ever truly achieve what they desire. The last line, "I can't live in this world all by myself," emphasizes the importance of having support and collaboration in order to succeed.
The song also includes a spoken word section that emphasizes the importance of being dedicated to one's goals. The singer encourages the listener to be willing to give up other pleasures in life in order to achieve success, and suggests that many people who claim to want success are not truly dedicated to the hard work required. The phrase, "When you want to succeed as bad you want to breath, then you'll be successful," emphasizes the extreme level of dedication and focus needed to truly achieve one's goals.
Line by Line Meaning
Cause I need you
I depend on you for the inspiration to succeed.
I'm not to blame baby
It's not my fault that I need you to succeed.
You don't know what you're doin', doin', doin', doin'
You may not understand the focus I need to succeed.
I can't live in this world all by myself
I need help and support to reach my goals.
I thought you said you want to be successful
An imaginary conversation about wanting success.
He said I'd do
The response to the question of whether success was possible.
He said when you want to succeed
The conditions for success as laid out by Gramatik's mentor.
As bad you want to breath
Success requires the same intensity of focus and effort as the need for air.
Then you'll be successful
Success is predicated on intensity of effort and focus.
The only thing you're trying to do is to get some air
The analogy that success must be as vital as air.
You don't care no more about basketball game
When you are determined to succeed, your focus changes.
You don't care what's on TV
Distractions fade away as determination takes over.
You don't care about nobody callin' you
Other distractions and the demands of others no longer distract you.
You don't care about a party
Social events are not as important as success.
The only thing you care about when you try to breath
The importance of clarity and intensity of focus for success.
Is to get some fresh air
Breathing is the simplest analogy for success that can be applied to all.
And when you get to the point
Reaching the level of intensity needed for success.
Where all you wanna do is be successful
When success becomes the only priority.
As bad as you wanna breath
Success requires the intensity of focus and will to succeed as urgently as needing air.
Then you'll be successful
Reiterating the essential meaning that to achieve success, one needs to possess unwavering determination.
And I'm here to tell you number one
Gramatik proceeds to reveal the harsh truth about the reality of success.
That most of you say you wanna be successful but you don't want it bad
Most people don't comprehend the level of sacrifice and effort it takes to succeed.
You just kinda want it
The lack of intensity shows the lack of desire for success.
You don't want it bad as you wanna party
The distractions of socializing do not lead to success.
You don't want it as much as you wanna be cool
Social marks of status such as wealth and recognition do not correlate with success.
Most of you don't want success as much as you want to sleep!
Many are unwilling to sacrifice sleep for success.
Some of you love sleep more than you love success
Sleep is favored over the potential for success.
And I'm here to tell you today
Gramatik is speaking as a successful artist who had to make sacrifices to get to where he is today.
If you're goin' to be successful you gotta be willin' to give up sleep!
Sleep and other distractions must be sacrificed for true success.
Contributed by Chase E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
zizipoil
@putzmitt3l
from another similar youtube video:
Track 1 0:00 - No Shortcuts Intro
Track 2 2:05 - Day Of The So Called Glory
Track 3 7:54 - Who got Juice
Track 4 14:20 - Liquified
Track 5 19:52 - Never That Easy
Track 6 25:20 - Take It Back
Track 7 30:23 - Blood Ties
Track 8 36:35 - I Really Do Believe
Track 9 41:48 - Defying Gravity
Track 10 46:24 - The Night Hawk
Track 11 50:56 - Step 007
Track 12 56:26 - The Uprising
Track 13 1:01:38 - Damage Intended
Track 14 1:07:08 - Get Baron Of WW3
Track 15 1:13:39 - To Get By
Cristian C
Buen album, como casi todos los de Grmatik, fantastico dj. Siempre inovando y sorprendiendo, pero con ese toque tan caracteristico que lo escuchas y dices: esto es Gramatik.
Jimmy Dean
The hip hop vocal samples G uses on this album are fkn BEAST! The terms 'DJ' and 'Producer' get tossed around WAYYY too regularly these days, (IMO) but Gramatik is the REAL DEFINITION of both of those.. All y'all up and comers into the nu skool electronic music production game shud try to mold your musical work ethic and knowledge around his, Gramatik is a SOUL FUNK WIZARD..take notes!!💜😉
Eva
This is simply sexy and SO groove-able! Love it, thank you for the hard work and determination <3
Eric Soltz
Dayum... this is too good... always listen to Gramatik when at the gym. So much better than listening to the crappy "music" they play out nowadays
desperate dave
OMG as an insomniac who never gets sleep.. and craves it... and works hard every day as a low income worker. the start of this track.. hit me..!!! SOO HARD!!! and I know the beginning of it. how he talks of a guy talking to a guru// and wanting to be successful.. and the guru tells him to show up in the early morning to a lake,, and says to wade into the water.. and he holds the guy under water.. and then comes what you heard!!
Tobe Landgraf
really dope and energetic mix !
Alejandro Roldan
Amazing. Thanks for the music trip!
444 Hertz Street
This is the bomb album!
Dan Hedden
Pure 🔥
Emanresu56
Sleep is pretty important for health tho.