Tee Grizzley is one of the more creative rappers in the game when it comes to crafting stories.
For his upcoming album, Chapters of the Trenches (out October 14), the Detroit native held a special viewing party in New York City last month, where he premiered the project in full through 13 music videos put together like a movie or TV show.
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While each video tells its own story, the visuals are connected by an underlying theme. Tee Grizzley intended for his audience to take in the album this way — as a cohesive, unified body of work. The rollout for Chapters of the Trenches began with the “First Day Out” rapper unleashing a new music video for each song every Tuesday.
Tee Grizzley has already released five music videos so far with “Robbery 4,” “Jay & Twan 1,” “Ms. Evans 1,” “Tez & Tone 1″ and “Jay & Twan 2.” According to Grizzley, he wants his Chapters of the Trenches rollout to make listeners feel like they’re watching a new episode of a TV series airing each week.
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Once all 13 videos have been released, fans can watch them in sequence like a full-length film — and Tee Grizzley has the right combination of creativity and experience to bring these visuals to life. As he explains, authenticity only comes from real-life experience.
“You got to have some type of experience with this stuff,” Tee Grizzley tells HipHopDX. “You got to have some type of experience, you got to have imagination and you got to be creative. You got to have experience because you got to know how people will respond to certain things.
“You got to have imagination because you got to put some great shit in there. And then with creativity, you got to have that because, at the end, how will you leave people wanting more of this?”
The experiences that inspired this new body of work primarily came from Tee Grizzley’s upbringing in the streets of Detroit, but there’s also a more simple place that he tapped into to bring these stories to life. The 28-year-old loves a good television show, especially those that keep him on the edge of his seat.
“I watch TV shows, and one thing that I like about them and that makes me want to keep watching them is I got to see what’s going to be on the next episode,” he says. “I like TV series better than movies because it lasts longer and leaves you wanting more.”
One of his go-to shows is House of the Dragon, the new Game of Thrones prequel that’s been a huge success for HBO and its streaming platform, HBOMax. The show is set 200 years before the events of the original series, introducing audiences to a plethora of new stories and characters.
Tee Grizzley's Upcoming 'Chapters Of The Trenches' Album Is A Storytelling Masterclass
Tee envisions something similar for Chapters of the Trenches, with hopes of expanding the album into a larger franchise through which he can continue telling more stories.
“In the future, I definitely want to do more chapters. I definitely want to add extra parts to the stories that’s on there. I want to intertwine stories and all that,” he says.
“As far as the plan for this album specifically, I plan on doing what I did in New York in eight to 10 different cities with the fans and my supporters. I’ll have them come out and experience it as well.”
Tee Grizzley is reveling in all parts of this album and its rollout. The whole process has pushed him to elevate every aspect of his creativity, from his sound to the style and direction of his music videos. Having such creative freedom is where the Motor City MC feels most comfortable.
“When I’m doing any story, unlimited thoughts come to my head like, ‘How could I create a favorite character for somebody?’” he adds. “’How could I make them fall in love with these characters? And how can I do something to spark some emotions in the people that’s watching it?’”
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The music videos for Chapters of the Trenches evoke a range of feelings in the viewer, from happiness to sorrow. It’s almost impossible for someone not to feel anything at the sight of an innocent woman getting shot in the head (like in his “Jay & Twan 2” video), and Tee Grizzley takes his fans on an emotional journey.
“I want my audience to feel excitement, for sure,” he says. “Excitement, surprise… I want people to be surprised and feel things they wouldn’t expect. I want people to have ups and downs. I want them to have happy times and I want them to have lows too, to balance it out. I just want to take them on an emotional rollercoaster.”
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When it comes to his peers, Tee Grizzley hopes they can be inspired by his music videos and embrace their own creativity and originality. After all, that’s what Hip Hop has always been about.
“I want other artists to take away that it is okay to be creative,” he says. “It’s okay to be creative and expand on your ideas. You ain’t got to try to do something that the next person doing because it’s working for them and may not for you. Be creative in your own way. We’re all individuals.”
With all the colorful personalities present in Hip Hop today, one can argue the competition is high when it comes to creativity. But Tee Grizzley sees it differently.
“I feel like there is a lack of passion in the art,” he admits. “In the sense that a lot of people do this shit just for the bag. That’s just as important because you got to eat, and you got to make it out and you got to pay your bills.
“But at the same time, I feel like if you just put the bag to the side and put all your passion in this shit and your real creativity, then you’re going to make yourself valuable. I want to become bigger than a bag. I want to become more valuable than a bag. It is deeper than that.”
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Although the stories in Chapters of the Trenches are fictional, there’s a strong sense of realism attached to them thanks to the lessons Tee Grizzley attempts to impart on his audience. There are always two sides to a story and Grizzley wants to touch on that because life isn’t always straightforward.
“The shit that’s cool, the shit that people want to show, and the shit that people want to see, is not reality,” he says. “It’s not reality, bro. Don’t nobody post a picture when they’re going through some shit. Nobody post a picture of their eviction.
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“So what the world is feeding off of right now, it’s only your good moments and that’s not real because there’s good and bad. I got to show you there’s two sides to this shit.”
