Tee Grizzley

The second song on Tee Grizzley’s 2020 mixtape, The Smartest, is titled “I Apologize.” On the track, the Detroit MC, born Terry Sanchez Wallace Jr. in 1994, takes himself to task for going mainstream and trying to grab radio singles instead of relying on the emotional honesty that garnered him so many die-hard fans in the first place. “I love criticism. That’s how I thrive, what I’ve created myself off of,” he told Apple Music when describing the inspiration for the song. On the track, he raps, “The last shit I dropped was some industry songs I thought was gon' be lit/Now I know if I keep doin' that, I ain't gon' be sh*t.” This was the beginning of a course correction for Grizzley, who initially came to fame off of his debut single, 2016’s “First Day Out,” which chronicled his release from jail after being locked up on robbery charges for three years. This honest vulnerability and the mournful, contemplative piano-fueled beat led Grizzley to stardom, even attracting the attention of LeBron James, who posted a video of himself jamming out to the single. Grizzley quickly diversified his sound, incorporating the classic electro bounce of Detroit production on “No Effort” and paying homage to his idols on 2019’s “Heroes” from his Scriptures LP. No matter where his sound goes, Grizzley is intent on keeping his listeners thrilled. “I don’t give a fu*k how much I like my songs,” he told Apple Music. “If my fans don’t like it, it don’t mean nothing. I do it for the people.”