Tee Grizzley – “Street Psalms” review

Here is the 6th studio LP from Detroit rapper & singer/songwriter Tee Grizzley. Originally a member of the quartet ASBH, it wouldn’t be until 2016 where he would blow up off his first solo single “First Day Out” & earned a contract with 300 Entertainment. His profile would continue to grow by dropping projects like his debut mixtape My Moment, the debut album Activated, his 2nd tape, Still My Moment, the Timbaland exec-produced sophomore effort Scriptures or my personal favorite: his 3rd mixtape The Smartest. Built for Whatever, Chapters of the Trenches, Half Tee, Half Beast & Tee’s Coney Islandwere generally mixed, coming off the sonically diverse Post Traumatic & declaring it’s Forever My Moment by spitting Street Psalms.

“In My Life” was a decent Detroit trap intro talking about not getting adjusted to being broke even though it took him a long time to get things right whereas “Walk” produced by Chopsquad DJ makes up for it from the the instrumental to Grizzley’s lyrics explaining that he balls late at night so he can party in the trenches. “Lou’s Deli” continues to head down that same trajectory in terms of quality explaining that he’s walking in the streets & stepping in the booth while “Seen Enough” featuring Polo G talks about being too deep in the water with the sharks.

As for “Make ‘Em See”, we have Helluva jumping behind the boards making it clear that he ain’t got no time to wait because he got a toddler & an infant when he’s not wrong there leading into “Chicken Different” suggest that this bitch changes her mind frame if she can’t handle what comes with the game. “Slow Me Down” makes it clear that he knows what it’s like to pray for something & then it ends up falling at your heels while “Voicemail” featuring [Rod Wave] talks about not getting sleep because of bitches abusing their numbers.

“Breath of Fresh Air” pushes towards the first half conclusion by assuring his girl that his emotions are safe with her & that he can’t wait to see her while “Van Nuys Aviation” recalling when people weren’t helping him when he needed it & wanting to take pictures with him now that he’s big. “Emotionally Intelligent” let the love of his life know that he’s constantly thinking of her & misses her dearly while “Trials & Tribulations” talks about the street shit being watered down to the point where they need to cut it out.

Continuing the 2nd half, I found the sampling on “Made It That Way” to be pretty interesting forcing himself to trap on days when he doesn’t even wanna do a damn thing while “In My Headphones” continues to show off some cool sample techniques talking about being quiet unless he means it. “Brain Cells” reunites with Helluva to hook some bells talking about the dumb shit he’s done lowering his intelligence while “Chase People” maintains the Detroit sound dismissing those calling even with him when he kept it going & they gave up.

“Back to Michigan” kicks off the final leg of Street Psalms with him & Helluva getting back together publicly admitting that 300 has given him a $20M offer in exchange for his penmanship while “Internet Detectives” takes a shot at that specific group of people. “Baby Teeski” pushes towards the end, talking about his family reasonably missing him & “New Chapter” finishes with a gospel influence speaking of having only God’s presence left.

Admittedly: As much as I liked Post Traumatic & Forever My Moment, I came away from Street Psalms enjoying it less than either or and it could be one of the weaker installments in Tee Grizzley’s discography. I appreciate the approach she took in terms of songwriting, although I don’t think the Detroit trap production was as enjoyable as the last couple projects that I previously had mentioned.

Score: 3/5

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Tee Grizzley – “Forever My Moment” review

Detroit rapper & singer/songwriter Tee Grizzley continuing the Moment series going with his 6th mixtape. Originally a member of the quartet ASBH, it wouldn’t be until 2016 where he would blow up off his first solo single “First Day Out” & earned a contract with 300 Entertainment. His profile would continue to grow by dropping projects like his debut mixtape My Moment, the debut album Activated, his 2nd tape Still My Moment, the Timbaland exec-produced sophomore effort Scriptures or my personal favorite: his 3rd mixtape The Smartest. Built for Whatever, Chapters of the Trenches, Half Tee, Half Beast & Tee’s Coney Island were generally mixed, coming off the sonically diverse Post Traumatic declaring it’s Forever My Moment.

The title track produced by Helluva boasts that he’s never done any hoe shit ever since being in the rap game for a little over a decade whereas “Customs” explains most people being aware of his life being different since the fame & not being broke in a grip. “They Shot at Trump” reassures the fact nobody is immune to being touchable regardless of money, power or fame over a Chopsquad DJ instrumental while “Overthinking” finds him becoming his own biggest critic.

“Jalen Hurtski” was a great choice of a single referencing the Philadelphia Eagles star QB Jalen Hurts in terms of how hard his shit stays hittin’ leading into “My God” making a plea for people to stay focused & not let be tricked out in the streets on top of him acknowledging his own imperfections. “Me Too” promises that that’s exactly what you’ll get hit with the second you try to press any of his buttons & provoke him, but then the lead single “Rick Jameski” talks about people being shocked at his status in Detroit trap.

It was only a matter of time until the bells made their way into the equation on “Stash House in Dearborn” letting y’all know you can find him wherever the racks are while “I Can’t Cap” finds him talking about never lying because he’ll always be blessed. “Beware of Dog” suggests that people should be more cautious regarding the sticks he has on him while “Pullin’ New Foreigns” describes the ways shit is different around his parts.

“Gone But Not Forgotten” takes 2 & a half minutes to remember the people in his life who’re no longer here whether it be his mother, his friend Charles Brown or the late PnB Rock telling God that he would give all this shit back to Him in a heartbeat to see either one of them 1 last time & the closing track is actually the 9th installment of Tee Grizzley’s prolific “Robbery” series, teasing a 10th entry down the line since he finished the tape by saying the saga’s incomplete.

Meshing confidence & gravity together, Forever My Moment feels like a full-circle statement from the Detroit star who changed the game almost immediately after coming home from behind bars 8 years ago. He gives nods to his beginning whilst making a testament to his artistic growth since My Moment was when most people heard him for the first time by channeling the hunger of his early days & the reflection of a man who’s lived through love, loss, loyalty & lessons.

Score: 4/5

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Tee Grizzley – “Post Traumatic” review

This is the 5th full length studio LP from Detroit rapper & singer/songwriter Tee Grizzley. Originally a member of the quartet ASBH, it wouldn’t be until 2016 where he would blow up off his first solo single “First Day Out” & earned a contract with 300 Entertainment. His profile would continue to grow by dropping projects like his debut mixtape My Moment, the debut album Activated, his 2nd tape, Still My Moment, the Timbaland exec-produced sophomore effort Scriptures or my personal favorite: his 3rd mixtape The Smartest. Built for Whatever & Chapters of the Trenches would both later be received moderately and responses towards Half Tee, Half Beast & Tee’s Coney Island were generally mixed, but some of the singles ahead of Post Traumatic made it seem promising.

The intro fuses Mobb music with Detroit trap talking about having post traumatic stress due to his father dying recently & barely knowing his own mother whereas “We Dem” produced by Wheezy works in a symphonic trap instrumental flexing that he’s still him. “Blow for Blow” featuring J. Cole finds the 2 over a signature Pi’erre Bourne beat which is fine except for the “I’m really him, Bruce Jenner, boy just ain’t” line feeling reminiscent to the 1 bar he had on “Pi” off Might Delete Later, but then “All I Wanna Do” goes for a soulful Detroit trap vibe thanks to FNZ looking to get money.

“More Than Half” hooks up some horns & bells from Helluva to talk about half these muhfuckas out here folding eventually leading into “Ride or Die” featuring Tink heading towards more of a synth-based direction for a duet about having only each other on their minds. “Diana” switches gears in favor of a futuristic trap flare courtesy of BNYX from Working on Dying comparing her bitch to the late Princess Diana herself just before the bassy “I Ain’t Sorry” featuring Hunxho that Chopsquad DJ laced sees both of them at their most remorseless.

Meanwhile on “10pm in Detroit”, we have Tee Grizzley on top of these pianos & 808s boasting that he got money flowin’ all night like “Drunk in Love” by The Carters prior to “Swerv” featuring G Herbo putting a minimal emphasis on the drums so they can trade verses with one another without a hook for 3 minutes detailing their gang ties. “WTF I Want” mixes these synth-horns with 808s talking about doing whatever he feels like while the pop rap/trap hybrid “I Know” discusses knowing how to turn dreams into reality.

“Dream Youngin’” starts the 2nd leg of Post Traumatic on some atmospherically chill trap shit thanking everyone who’s ever supported him throughout his career while “Situationship” featuring Mariah the Scientist gives a shot at fusing trap soul & pop rap finding both of them wishing each other the best in the end. “Trench Baby” gets back on the Detroit trap tip talking about being born in the trenches of the Murder Mitten while “You Hear Me” featuring YTB Fatt comes through with this underwhelming team up looking to get their bags up.

Future makes up for some of the mediocrity joining Tee on “Swear to God” boasting that your album doesn’t even slap like Mixtape Pluto does which is valid since he took it back to his roots on there while “Pop Shit” featuring Baby Grizzley finds both Grizzlies shooting for a piano-driven direction instrumentally going from playing GameCubes to VS Cubes. “Deposits Crazy” gives thanks to God for somehow helping him through the pain in his life & “Detroit” featuring 42 Dugg serves as this bangin’ tribute to their hometown.

“Blueprint” pushes towards the final moments of the LP challenging everybody to step up & give back to the city in some type of way while “Suffer in Silence” talks about going off by loyalty & the way you treat him without anyone telling him that shit’s gonna change. As for an official closer, we get treated to the 7th AND the 8th installments of Tee Grizzley’s famous “Robbery” series with Helluva hopping behind the boards for both tracks that Segway into one another perfectly.

The Smartest still stands as my favorite tape in the Detroit trap star’s discography but when it comes to his full-lengths, I came away impressed with Post Traumatic as much as I was with the mixtape that I previously mentioned coming out during the COVID lockdowns. It’s more sonically diverse than what someone might expect being used to the Detroit trap style, showing comfortably yet resolute with these homegrown Michigan beats backing him while thriving across styles from rugged trap to even poppier territory.

Score: 4/5

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Tee Grizzley – “The Smartest” review

Tee Grizzley is a 26 year old rapper from Detroit, Michigan coming up as a member of the quartet ASBH. However, it wouldn’t be until 2016 where he would blow up off his first solo single “First Day Out” & earn a contract with 300 Entertainment. His profile would continue to grow by dropping projects like My Moment, Activated, Still My Moment & the Timbaland exec-produced Scriptures. But just a few days ago, it was announced that Grizzley would put out his 3rd mixtape just in time for Juneteenth.

Things kick off with the title track, where Grizzley talks about family over a DJ Mustard instrumental with some luxurious keyboards. The next song “I Apologize” takes a look at the real side of him over a ghostly beat from Hit-Boy while the track “Trenches” with Big Sean sees the 2 talking about people praying on their downfall over a piano-inflicted trap beat. The song “Rap a Lot” makes a bunch of clever references to famous hip hop icons over a intergalactic-sounding beat whereas “The Funeral” talks about ratchets & I really dig the atmosphere that longtime collaborator Helluva provides in the instrumental.

The song “Lions & Eagles” with Meek Mill finds both MCs flexing over a gritty beat while the track “No Witness” sends a warning to people not to play with him over a bouncy instrumental. The song “Picture of My City” talks about growing up in The 313 over a more West Coast instrumental from none other than Scott Storch instrumental while the track “COVID” with Lil Baby sees the 2 talking about being quarantined over an energized beat

The song “Timeless” continues to brag over yet another instrumental with a West Coast feel to while the track “Slime” with Lil Keed discusses brotherhood over a spacious beat. The song “Everything” reflects on his younger days over an eerie instrumental while the track “Double Standards” talks about catching a bad bitch over a moody beat.

The song “Daylight” talks about trappin’ over a somber instrumental while the track “Winning” talks about going for yours over an abrasive beat. The song “Satish” is a tearjerking tribute to his aunt/manager JB & even though I found the George Floyd tribute “Mr. Officer” to be decent at first because literally everyone’s doing it right now, it does stand out a lot more to me in the context of the album.

Tee Grizzley is one of the best MCs to come out of my hometown in recent memory & I really think this could be the best thing he’s ever put out. The production continues to get better overtime & we get to hear the man at his most mature yet.

Score: 4/5