Being my own biggest critic is probably my biggest flaw, especially as a self-proclaimed Angeleno. The stakes just keep getting higher as I try to keep up with how fast this city moves, and that’s just from my perspective as a college student. I can only imagine what that pressure looks like for those moving here, chasing careers where all eyes are on you 25/8. From actors to musicians to creatives in general, I genuinely appreciate all the creatives in this city.
The move alone is stress-inducing, and for Grizz, he’s done it with just $20 in his pocket, trying to maintain his creative momentum. The 21-year-old moved to LA from Baltimore in February, shortly after releasing his single “Hide and Seek”, which is currently his only release. Nonetheless, the track has been making serious noise and gained attention from Grammy Award-winning producer Jay Versace, major record labels, and is now leaving listeners wanting more, giving them space to do what they do best: compare him to everyone else. Now, Grizz is navigating those comparisons in real time, balancing the pressure to live up to the song that captured our attention with him, all while feeding fans for what’s to come next.
Rebuilding his artistic identity is something he’s ready to take on. He’s from the East Coast, and I’ve learned they know how to make things happen when it matters.
Sydney Wanguhu: From one transplant to another, what has been your favorite and least favorite part about living in LA?
Grizz: The best part so far, I wanna say, has to be. How supportive everybody is of each other out here. You know, it’s actually very different, because back in Baltimore, you know, there’s a lot of [people] be hatin’ so bad. I will say that the worst part about this area is how fucking expensive it is.
Sydney Wanguhu: Did you already have a set community before you came out here?
Grizz: I knew one person, Zeke Blue, my roommate. He’s this artist that’s blowing the fuck up, and he was just like, “Get out of Baltimore like, I feel like you would have way more resources out here.” Which is true, kinda, but, like, not really at the same time. I have to restart from square one. Back in Baltimore, I had hella connections, like, for example, this Converse advertisement that I’m working on, I need to find a restaurant to film in, and if I was in Baltimore, I would already have one [secured] because I know business owners, even production teams, etc. [Now, I have to reach out to hella [people] I don’t even know anybody.
Sydney Wanguhu: You’ve been getting lots of love on your single, “Hide and Seek.” Since you dropped it at the beginning of the year, which has over 60,000 streams across platforms. When you dropped it were kind of anticipating that sort of anticipating that sort of feedback?
Grizz: Absolutely not. I took down all of my older music, [which were] my first songs that I’ve ever made. I was just like, if I’m gonna take this seriously, let me put out my best of the best. “Hide and Seek” was one of the first songs that I really liked. I already had a following and everything before [the release] because everybody knew me for, like, comedy and like, talking just on to my phone. I know it’s gonna take time to rebrand [but when] I posted my first snippet of Hide to Seek, it did 90K [views], and I was like, what the hell?
SW: Any memorable co-signs at all so far since the release of the song?
Grizz: Jay Versace really fucked with it and ColorsX Studio, which I’m really glad that they added me to their playlist, alongside the homie, Jed Soul, who’s, like, also coming up right now in the UK scene, which was really hype. I remember sending him the screenshot, and I was like, bro, we’re on ColorsXStudio, and he was like, “What? No way!” And then labels like Atlantic Records, Dark Room, which is under Interscope Records, NWS, and APG.
Sydney Wanguhu: Take me back to the making of this single, being able to to co-write with Jaiya and then your producer, Maison. What’s the relationship like there and how was it collaborating with them?
Grizz: I’ve only worked with one producer since I was 14, and [Maison] was telling me I should start making music for a solid year before I actually started. He is a genius. Everything that he’s learned, he has done himself. All the instruments, mixing, mastering, producing– definitely somebody that I really look up to. And Jaiya, I went to high school at Baltimore School for the Arts. I met her my freshman year in high school, and Mason [as well]. They came over my crib, and we were just fucking around, trying to figure out a song for a couple of hours. [Maison] was like, “Imma put on this beat, and I’mma go pick up my child. You guys have 30 minutes.”
Sydney Wanguhu: A time crunch, huh?
Grizz: Yeah, literally, within those 30 minutes. I wanna say that is one of the fastest times I’ve ever written a song. And “Hide and Seek” [first take] sounds nothing like how it does now. Like, we completely reworked the beat.
Sydney Wanguhu: What was the biggest component that changed?
Grizz: You know how it starts off with a guitar lead? That was never there. Most of the drums were never there; it was off on a whim. At first, everybody was telling me to release the demo. Out of nowhere, Mason texts me like, “Yo, I just did something new to the beat. Do you want to hear it?” And I was like, yeah. That’s when the final version came, and I posted it literally within the next two weeks. I did not expect any of [the love] to happen, especially right now. I thought I was gonna have to build my way up– I know which I still have to.
SW: What inspired the song? The first time I listened to it, I thought it was about yearning, but after we talked and I listened again, it felt more like a parasocial dynamic/relationship. Have you ever been in a similar situation where it felt a bit too real?
Grizz: So, funny enough, I wanted it to give off the effect of yearning, but make it uncomfortable. I’ve seen on TikTok [people ask], “What happened to yearning music? Can we bring this back?” And I was like, realistically, that is old news. It was inspired by, like, conversations that I had– and yes, I have had an experience where I was like…oh yeah, this is a bit too much. Not gonna drop any names, but she was very clingy, and I remember she got mad at me for going to work. And I was like, you want me…to take you on dates, and you want me to do all this, but you want me to be broke? Which doesn’t make any sense.
Sydney Wanguhu: Throughout socials, a lot of people are comparing you to artists with distinct sounds, saying you sound like “mid-2010s Tyler, the Creator” with “Hide and Seek,” and with the “Back in the City Freestyle” snippets, people say Smino, Monte Booker. How do you feel about that?
Grizz: I get comparisons because you have to apply it to something that’s unfamiliar, because, naturally, as humans, we do that. But I feel like the only valid time that you should be able to compare me is when, like, I’m performing. [Someone could say] I wanna go see his performance because it’s gonna make me feel the same way that this person made me feel when they performed, and how they made me feel more involved with the concert. I compare concerts to each other because it’s based on a feeling. Like, I’m a hypocrite because, like, even though I’m not comparing the music necessarily, I am comparing the vibe and how it makes me feel. But, [hypothetically], if you were in a class, and you got a fucking 80% on your math test, and your teacher comes up using you as an example, comparing you to another student in the class, you’re gonna be like, whatever. Like, that’s how I feel. You know what I mean?
Sydney Wanguhu: That makes sense. Having the opportunity to compare from that outside perspective, people are associating you with these artists and might assume you’re inspired by them.
Grizz: They’re right, but they don’t gotta know that! To be quite honest, I would say less of Inspiration and more influence.
SW: What do you think the line is between the two within your music?
Grizz: One is subconscious, and one is intentional– there’s a thin line. Now I may hear something within a song by Tyler [where] I really like these drums, and I want to make something like that, but I’m not trying to sound like him– I’m gonna dive deeper into that [and] find other sounds around that genre. That’s where I feel like familiarity comes in for people to recognize. Now, when I say Tyler, Smino, and Donnie Hathaway, and all these other artists that I listen to, I’m influenced. It is not necessarily, like, I’m actively listening to their song right now, [trying to] make a song like them. It’s just, during my younger years, when I was more impressionable [their music], and it’s been ingrained in me. That’s a subconscious redirection, you know what I mean? Automatically, whenever I hear a sound, kind of within [their] realm, I’m gonna try to, or subconsciously. It goes in that direction. But when you’re actively thinking about it, and you’re not trying to sound like that person, that’s where it becomes your own rendition, or an extension of yourself. There is a line between subconscious and intentionality. When I make something, I want to cater to my sound. Do I necessarily know why? Yeah, now I do because I’m pretty self-aware, and I’m able to admit it. But a lot of other people usually aren’t. When “Hide and Seek” dropped, people were like, this reminds me so much of “She.” I was like…bro, what are you talking about? The beat is completely different, the topic is different– any yearning song has its similarities. I could compare “Hide and Seek” to Ne-yo’s “Say It,” because he’s yearning for a girl, and I’m yearning for a girl. There’s always gonna be some type of similarity in some way, shape, or form, but at the end of the day. This is me, they’re not singing this song, I’m singing this song, this is my idea.
SW: Then how would you describe your sound?
Grizz: I really can’t put a finger on it, because every day it’s constantly evolving. One day I’m really inspired by, like, flamenco guitar, then another day I could be inspired by Baltimore Club. [But] a key component of my sound is my lyrics. I like to make stories because I feel like it’s more entertaining, and it leads to more open interpretive topics. For example, if you don’t relate to being a stalker, you could relate to the feeling of wanting to stalk somebody, but you know it’s wrong. You know what I mean? I like to address Issues that I personally see, or things that I don’t necessarily agree with. Back in the City is a song about ego and how I feel like there should be a death to it, and how that could be something that causes people to be that “typical nigga” but I also show it from that guy’s perspective and how much fun he is having. I try to convey the good and the bad, because there are both sides to literally everything.
Sydney Wanguhu: Do you feel any pressure to maintain that level of success after “Hide and Seek”? And what’s something you’re excited to drop that might surprise people who found you through that song?
Grizz: Yes, I’m stressed the fuck out. [But I’m excited about] my song, “Runnin’”[and EP]. I’m hoping to finish the project by May 30th, and drop in August fully produced by Maison. I really like “Runnin’”. I think the concept of it is super dope because sonically, different. It’s low-key left field from hype music. I’m whisper-rapping on it, and it’s so sick, but I honestly think [people] are gonna fucking HATE it! I think we were gonna hate it. I was just like, it’s so left, it’s so left.
Sydney Wanguhu: You like, you like playing in that lane, huh?
Grizz: Yeah, Rap is dying. I think it’s about time that we just have fun and we just say, fuck it.
For more updates on Grizz and his music, follow him on Instagram.
I hope you enjoyed the read! For more content, follow me on Instagram and Spotify:@sydneyy._
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