Benjy Grinberg and his label, Rostrum Records, have been influential players on the indie hip-hop scene. Working with musicians like Mod Sun, Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller, and DC the Don, Grinberg has brought Pittsburgh’s authentic sound into the mainstream.
Grinberg’s successful career has been touched by tragedy. Grinberg was deeply affected when Mac Miller, a former artist on Rostrum Records, died of an accidental drug overdose in September 2018. Grinberg had difficulty resuming his career after his friend’s tragic loss, and he memorialized Miller in several ways.
Background
Benjy Grinberg is a proud son of Pittsburgh. He grew up in the Jewish neighborhood of Squirrel Hill. He first encountered rap as a small child visiting Israel, beginning a lifelong love of the art form. His love of rap was solidified when his father took him to see DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince at the age of 11.
Throughout his childhood and young adulthood, Grinberg was exposed to cultural experiences that encouraged him to pursue a music career. After college at the University of Pennsylvania, he moved to New York to work with a company called Digital Club Network. The company was involved with signing artists to contracts for webcasting their shows. Grinberg quickly moved up from this job and was able to find a position working for the legendary A&R executive L.A. Reid at Arista Records in Los Angeles.
After a three-year stint with L.A. Reid, Grinberg found Rostrum Records in his hometown of Pittsburgh. From the beginning, his label was concerned with “supporting good music and spreading it to whomever would listen.”
The label worked with several indie rap and hip-hop artists, including Boaz, The Bird and the Bee, Innanet James, and the singer-songwriter KT Tunstall.
Rostrum Records experienced its first major-league success with Wiz Khalifa’s 2011 album Rolling Papers. Grinberg signed Khalifa as a teenager and had nurtured his career to stardom. The album peaked at No. 2 on Billboard. In the same year, Mac Miller released Blue Slide Park. These artists raised Rostrum Records’ public image and showed that Grinberg’s philosophy of nurturing Pittsburgh talent was a good business strategy.
Unexpected Setbacks
In 2014, Wiz Khalifa split from the Rostrum Records label. One year later, he filed a surprise lawsuit that asserted that Rostrum had unfairly profited from a “360-deal” signed by the artist as a teenager. The shock of the lawsuit caused hardship in Grinberg’s professional life.
“The lawsuit was a huge surprise to me. It came out of nowhere and was one of the hardest times in my professional life,” said Grinberg. He felt that he needed to stand up for his reputation and name, combating misinformation spread in the community and the music media.
Grinberg eventually resolved the issues to the point where he had a working relationship with Khalifa since they still had business together. Understanding how Grinberg put his personal feelings aside to resume working with Khalifa shows that Grinberg is a respected professional in the rap world.
Overcoming Tragedy
In June 2018, the promising rapper Jimmy Wopo was killed in a drive-by shooting. Just months later, Mac Miller passed away as the result of an accidental drug overdose. While Mac Miller had amicably parted from Rostrum Records in 2013, he and Grinberg remained close friends.
Miller’s death had an indelible effect on Grinberg, and he found it difficult to return to work in the aftermath of this tragedy. “I’m back to normal life in one sense, but things are different. You know what I mean? Your life goes kind of 100% back to normal, but the world around you and the fact that Mac isn’t here, that doesn’t change just because I went back to my regular routine. Yes, I’m back doing what I would normally be doing, but I think about him every day,”
Charitable Work
Grinberg has become a leading philanthropist in the Pittsburgh area. He has worked with the Squirrel Hill Jewish Community Center, a community organization devastated by the Tree of Life shootings in October 2018. The shooting had a deeply personal effect on Grinberg, as he was at first worried that his father and uncle could have been on-site during the attack.
He had also worked with the Boys and Girls Club, starting pre-release goals with Mac Miller that rewarded the Club when these goals were met.
Benjy Grinberg’s Future Outlook
Grinberg and his label, Rostrum Records, will continue to be influential voices in the rap and hip-hop communities in Pittsburgh and across the country. His currently signed artists continue making creative and exciting music, and he has overcome serious tragedies and setbacks to continue supporting artists.
“Being able to work with artists to make albums and help them reach their goals; professionally, that’s what I’m here to do. If I wasn’t doing this, I don’t know what I’d be doing.”
