Is this an adorable, cuddly anthropomorphic cartoon bear? Aw.
[Video][Website]
[5.67]
Micha Cavaseno: The narrative of Tee Grizzley, a former felon blessed with the gift of rap, becoming a success, is a nice one. But when you get past the tale surrounding the song, the fact is, it’s boring as shit. A few people have compared “First Day Out” to “Dreams & Nightmares” which is logical, except the key difference is Meek Mill’s understanding of dynamic and tone in choosing to start slow and THEN hit the afterburner. Fact is, as much as Meek’s “MEEK MILL RAP LIKE” voice was considered an albatross for him, you see how vital it was compared to the timid volume gains attempted by Grizzley. It also doesn’t help that he’s emerging from a simmering Detroit scene where names like Rocaine, Pablo Skywalkin, the Bandgang/Shredgang collective and Molly Brazy are delivering cool and confident rapwork that makes Grizzley feel like an afterthought. Oh yeah, and the ‘introspective’ half of the beat sounds like he googled “Perkys Callin”/”Webbie” type beat rather than actually find something worth listening to or that conveyed real emotion.
[4]
Joshua Minsoo Kim: You don’t need to read Tee Grizzley’s XXL feature to see just how dead set he is on overcoming obstacles and succeeding. You hear it in his lyrics as he recounts his time in jail and the initial offer he received for his sentencing. The inclusion of a high school superlative anecdote is unexpected but you sure as hell understand just how important it was for him to win that. And the rapping, oh the rapping. It’s relentless and full of conviction, moving forcefully along with Helluva’s fidgeting piano melody. It’s a bit scrappy and borders on long-winded but there isn’t a moment where I don’t think it’s endearing. He ends the song with a reprise that sums everything up nicely too. He went through all this and he’s still on his feet, how can you not cheer for him?
[7]
Alfred Soto: I’m pleased he’s doing well, wish he had something more original to say, regret he hasn’t found a way to rap it.
[4]
Thomas Inskeep: I like the way Grizzley’s voice is just a little bit off, slightly southern but simultaneously northern (he’s a Michigander), and producer Helluva’s track actually builds excitingly, like a suspense novel. A fine debut.
[7]
Josh Love: This guy’s got a compelling backstory and the lyrics to “First Day Out” sparkle with the specificity of someone who’s lived the story he’s telling. The problem is the telling — stylistically, dude is unfortunately just not a good rapper right now, with a nonexistent flow and a bad habit of trying to cram too many words into a line.
[4]
Nortey Dowuona: This feels slight and almost about to collapse. The production wells up with a slight piano melody and soft strings, then swells with synth bass and limp 808s, seeming as it could all collapse with the wrong move. Although Grizzley is rapping, with a tight, eyes wide shut intensity, he slides over the beat unsteadily, but still swings back into the pocket without losing control. He remains too calm, too controlled, that when he needs to sound angry or passionate he sounds passive aggressive, whiny and bored. He occasionally comes up with a striking line (how he can’t go into any jewelry store in Kentucky and can’t return to Michigan State Uni, and complete shock and annoyance at being offered a prison term of 30 years) but it seems as if the pain that drove him to write this song has all fallen away from him. The words are there, the story is there, but the heart is silent. It’s just too careful and slight to feel it, even with it turned up in the headphones, as if there’s nothing to lose, as if he doesn’t care anymore. And if he wants to keep going, he has to care.
[6]
Ryo Miyauchi: Tee Grizzley dedicates exactly one bar to what got him locked up, which he mentions as if he’s telling a punchline to a joke. And hearing what he’s willing to do for retaliation, “First Day Out” is far from a reflective post-prison diary entry than, say, Gucci Mane’s. But as a statement of intent in the mold of Meek Mill’s “Dreams and Nightmares” intro, Grizzley’s intense hunger and ambition make quite the first impression.
[7]
Stephen Eisermann: I’m generally not a fan of rappers threatening to kill others in their music, unless they mean in a rap battle sense. “First Day Out” starts out promising, with Grizzley reminiscing about all the (frankly terrible) stuff he’s done in his life to a simple piano and string accompaniment, but when the track takes off, so does his aggression level, and no part of it is easy to listen to. Some songs make you uncomfortable because of what the song is saying about society/politics/etc, but this song aims to make you uncomfortable in an effort to… assert dominance? I really don’t know why, I just know I don’t enjoy it.
[2]
Anaïs Escobar Mathers: The words spill out of Tee Grizzley’s mouth so quickly and emotionally and it’s honestly stunning on first listen. Tee wrote this and the other tracks on his mixtape My Moment during an almost 3 year prison sentence and you can hear the defiance and the drive on it. The hook focuses on those who hoped for Tee’s downfall but are now watching him stand up and push through and succeed. It’s personal and powerful, harnessing the confessional into something magnetic.
[10]