Detroit motormouth Tee Grizzley broke out earlier this year with the pulse-quickening narrative of his track “First Day Out.” The song, which follows a just-got-out-of-jail title template that’s also been used by Gucci Mane, Fat Trel, and Kodak Black, first arrived last fall, but after endorsements from Jay-Z and Lebron James a few months ago, the video has now amassed over 75 million plays.
Grizzley’s followed up the single’s success with the excellent “My Moment” mixtape, a bracing song (“Teetroit”) from the soundtrack of the recent film Detroit, and the Meek Mill-assisted “Beef.” Despite the star power attached to Grizzley’s aforementioned fans, Meek’s co-sign might mean the most, after the building beat and explosive subject matter of “First Day Out” amassed a handful of favorable comparisons to the Philly rapper’s “Dreams & Nightmares” intro. Today, Grizzley’s back with “First Day Out” producer Helluva to deliver another hit, fittingly entitled “Win.”
On it, Grizzley continues his entrancing cadence, with each flow switch upping the energy and momentum of the last, his voice alternating between nimble and bulldozing like he’s juking and breaking tackles en route to a 99-yard touchdown run. This time, the Detroit native is recounting his come-up, describing the experienced that makes his current victories sweeter, even going as far to say that he’s thankful for his past prison bid. “Music’s got us looking like the family’s selling bricks again,” he raps, sharing details from his past while focusing on his now bright future.
Once again, Helluva delivers with a beat that’s minimal enough to stay out of Grizzley’s way, but varied enough to expertly mirror the rapper’s slow-building peaks and valleys. This dude’s been making Detroit rappers like Doughboyz Cashout sound great for years, and it’s awesome to see him get mainstream shine alongside Tee Grizz.
There’s no word on a follow-up to “My Moment” yet, but with Grizzley inking a deal with 300 Entertainment earlier this year, it’s bound to show up sooner or later.