Still Waters, Heavy Bars – G. Franklin Prepares to Drop ‘The Calmest’

“Real Gs move in silence like lasagna.” – Lil Wayne. It’s one of those lines that stays stuck in your head, not just because of the clever wordplay, but because of the truth in it. The real ones don’t have to shout — they let the work speak. G. Franklin is one of those real ones. Quietly, consistently, and with unshakable confidence, the Cincinnati-based talent has been building his catalog verse by verse. And now, on October 31, he’s ready to take another bold step with the release of his next single, The Calmest.

If you’ve been following G. Franklin since his earliest drops, you already know this isn’t some overnight story. His first appearances on Spotify — cuts like Fnsb and Soul Money — carried the hunger of an artist determined to break through. Projects like Think&grow and 11:11 dug deeper into his mindset, while his 2024 EP C.N.R showed a mature evolution of his craft, both lyrically and sonically. Through it all, there’s been a common thread: authenticity. G. Franklin never chases trends or cheap moments. His music is built on lived experience and sharpened through real struggle — and The Calmest is shaping up to continue that legacy.

Music has always been part of his bloodline. Raised in a household filled with rhythm and soul, his Pops and Great Grandma played piano, his auntie Lisa directed choirs, and the sounds of gospel filled the air. Then one morning, as a young kid barely out of diapers, he stumbled on Snoop Dogg’s “What’s My Name” on MTV — and everything changed. That spark lit a lifelong fire. Hip-hop wasn’t just something cool to nod your head to – it became a language, a purpose. And with influences ranging from Pac and Biggie to the timeless funk and R&B grooves of past generations, G. Franklin built a sound that’s grounded, reflective, and undeniably hip-hop.

But getting to The Calmest hasn’t been a straight line. The past year came with its share of challenges — enough that he didn’t write or record for a long stretch. The silence wasn’t intentional, but it was real. And it forced him to confront just how much this craft means to him. “I had to self-motivate,” he says. That resilience is the heartbeat behind the upcoming single. It’s not just another release date circled on the calendar — it’s a return to form, a re-centering of purpose, a declaration that the mission isn’t over.

The Calmest represents that state of mind — not loud, not rushed, but deliberate and composed. It’s about growth through struggle, and focus in the face of chaos. And if we’ll base it on his previous works, this new chapter will continue his tradition of crafting tracks that make listeners pause, think, and rewind.

Looking back at Fnsb, his unfiltered 2018 debut, you can hear the foundation being laid — that balance of grit and reflection, the storytelling rooted in real life, the pride in where he’s from. Songs like Two-4-Two and They Admired showed that same DNA evolving. Now, as The Calmest approaches, it feels like the next natural step — not a reinvention, but a deeper look into who G. Franklin is and what he has to say.

That, at its core, is the essence of Substantial Mind Music — his brand, his ethos, his promise to listeners. It’s music with something to say, delivered with the precision and patience of someone who’s seen too much to waste a single bar. G. Franklin’s chasing truth. And when that truth finally hits streaming platforms on October 31, it’s bound to resonate with anyone who’s ever had to fight their way back to center.

The calm before the storm is always quietest right before it hits. And make no mistake — The Calmest is coming.