| Tee Grizzley | |||||
| Birth Name: | Terry Sanchez Wallace Jr. | ||||
| Birth Date: | 23 March 1994 | ||||
| Birth Place: | Detroit, Michigan, US
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| Years Active: | 2011–present | ||||
| Label: |
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Terry Sanchez Wallace Jr.[1] (born March 23, 1994), known professionally as Tee Grizzley, is an American rapper. He first began posting music online in 2011; following a two year prison sentence, he released the song "First Day Out" in 2017. It quickly gained viral status—earning two million views on YouTube in under three weeks—due to a social media challenge enacted by basketball player LeBron James, after which the song peaked within the top 50 of the Billboard Hot 100 and led him to sign with 300 Entertainment. Its release preceded his debut mixtape My Moment (2017), and was followed by the single "From the D to the A" (featuring Lil Yachty), which received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His collaborative mixtape with Lil Durk, Bloodas (2018), was followed by his debut studio album, Activated (2018).[2]
The album peaked at number ten on the Billboard 200, while his second and third albums, the Timbaland-produced Scriptures (2019) and Built for Whatever (2021), peaked at numbers 20 and 15, respectively. His fourth album, Tee's Coney Island (2023) marked a period of commercial resurgence as its lead single, "IDGAF" (featuring Chris Brown and Mariah the Scientist) entered the Billboard Hot 100 once more.[3] [4] [5]
Wallace was born on March 23, 1994, in Detroit, Michigan, and was raised by his grandmother near the intersection of Joy Rd. & Southfield Freeway in the Warrendale neighborhood due to his mother and father constantly being in and out of prison.[6] In middle school he began developing an interest in rap music and eventually formed the musical group All Stars Ball Hard along with three of his friends, JR, Po, and Lee. Wallace took the moniker of ASBH Tee, and they began uploading their songs to YouTube. In 2011, his mother was sentenced to 20 years in prison for drug trafficking and released in late 2020. His father was murdered in 2012.
Wallace was the first member of his family to attend college in generations. He attended Michigan State University to study finance and accounting. After undergoing financial difficulties, he and a friend of his began to burglarize other students' dormitories. They stole $20,000 worth of electronics and money from other students in February 2014. On February 27, Wallace and Jeremy Ford were caught but released pending investigation.[7] [8]
Wallace went on the run, and fled to Kentucky. On July 1, 2014, Wallace was one of three people arrested following an attempted robbery at a jewelry store in Lexington, Kentucky.[7] [8] Wallace was sentenced to nine months for the robbery, and, while already serving that sentence, he was sentenced to 18 months to 15 years for the Michigan State robberies in September 2015.[9] On October 16, 2016, he was released from prison in Michigan.[10]
While in prison, Wallace began to take rapping more seriously and wrote the entirety of his debut mixtape.[11] After being released from prison, where he took the name Tee Grizzley, he released his debut single "First Day Out" in November 2016. The music video, posted to YouTube, gained over 2 million views in less than three weeks.[4] He later signed to 300 Entertainment & Atlantic Records in 2017.[3] He released his second single, "Second Day Out", in February 2017.[12] His third single "From the D to the A" featuring Lil Yachty was released in March 2017.[13]
He released "No Effort" and its accompanying music video on March 31, 2017.[14] His debut mixtape My Moment was released on April 7, 2017.[15] Grizzley said that his record sales tripled after his song was featured in a LeBron James Instagram post.[16] [17] Grizzley's song "Teetroit" was released on July 28, 2017.[18] The single "Beef", featuring Meek Mill, was released on September 1, 2017.[19] He received two 2017 BET Hip Hop Award nominations for Best New Hip-Hop Artist and Best Mixtape for My Moment.[20]
He released the song "Win" on October 6, 2017.[21] He released the song "What Yo City Like" with rapper Lil Durk on November 30, 2017, as the lead single for Bloodas. The two then released the joint mixtape Bloodas on December 8, 2017.[22] He released the single "Colors" on February 2, 2018.[23] The single "Don't Even Trip" featuring Moneybagg Yo was released on March 14, 2018.[24]
On March 9, 2018, Grizzley had a feature in Lil Yachty's new album Lil Boat 2 in the song "Get Money Bros.".[25] His debut studio album, Activated, was released on May 11, 2018. In August, he received a 2018 MTV Video Music Award nomination for Push Artist of the Year.[26] He released the mixtape Still My Moment on November 9, 2018.[27] In May 2019, he released the single "Locked Up".[28]
On August 20, 2019, his vehicle was shot at in Detroit, Michigan. His aunt/manager Jobina Brown was killed in the shooting, she was 41. He and the driver survived the incident unharmed.[29] On September 20, 2019, Grizzley released his single "Satish" accompanied with a music video to commemorate Brown's death.[30]
In January 2020, Tee Grizzley released the single "Red Light".[31] In March, he released the single "Payroll" featuring Payroll Giovanni.[32] His song "No Talkin" was featured in the Netflix film Coffee & Kareem.[33] He released the song "I Spy" on May 1,[34] and "Mr. Officer" on June 5 in response to the murder of George Floyd and police brutality. The song features Queen Naija and members of the Detroit Youth Choir.[35] He released the mixtape The Smartest on June 19.[36]
On May 7, 2021, Tee Grizzley released his third studio album, Built for Whatever, a 19-track record that includes guest appearances from artists such as the late King Von and Young Dolph, as well as Lil Durk, YNW Melly, Quavo, G Herbo, and Big Sean.[37]
On April 15, 2022, Tee Grizzley released the mixtape Half Tee Half Beast, along with a video for the track "Robbery Part 3". He explained the mixtape's title: "Yeah, I"m human like everyone else, but also the things I've been through and had to survive made me a beast".[38]
In February 2021, My'Eisha Agnew gave birth to Wallace's first child, a son named Terry Wallace III.[39]
Grizzley is an avid gamer and began streaming in 2020 to fans on the video streaming platform Twitch. The vast majority of his streams are centered around Grand Theft Auto V.
| Details | Peak chart positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [40] | US R&B/<br/>HH [41] | US Rap [42] | CAN [43] | |||
| Activated |
| 10 | 6 | 6 | 25 | |
| Scriptures |
| 20 | 10 | 9 | 43 | |
| Built for Whatever |
| 15 | 10 | 9 | 46 | |
| Tee's Coney Island |
| 65 | 24 | 20 | — | |
| Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B/<br/>HH | US Rap | CAN | |||
| My Moment |
| 44 | 21 | 16 | — |
|
| Still My Moment |
| 29 | 16 | 15 | 57 | |
| The Smartest |
| 22 | 14 | 11 | 88 | |
| Half Tee Half Beast |
| 116 | — | — | — | |
| Chapters of the Trenches |
| 124 | — | — | — | |
| Details | Peak chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B/<br/>HH | US Rap | |||
| Bloodas[46] (with Lil Durk) |
| 96 | 34 | 25 | |
| Controversy |
| — | — | — | |
| Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [47] | US R&B/HH [48] | US Rap [49] | ||||||||||||||||||
| "First Day Out" [50] | 2016 | 48 | 18 | 13 |
4× Platinum[51] | My Moment | ||||||||||||||
| "Straight to It"[52] (featuring Band Gang) | 2017 | — | — | — | rowspan="3" | |||||||||||||||
| "Second Day Out"[53] | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "From the D to the A"[54] (featuring Lil Yachty) | — | 48 | — |
| ||||||||||||||||
| "No Effort"[55] | — | — | — |
| My Moment | |||||||||||||||
| "Beef"[56] (featuring Meek Mill) | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "Colors" | 2018 | — | — | — | Activated | |||||||||||||||
| "Don't Even Trip" (featuring Moneybagg Yo) | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "Sweet Thangs" | 2019 | — | — | — | Scriptures | |||||||||||||||
| "Satish" | — | 48 | — |
| The Smartest | |||||||||||||||
| "Red Light" | 2020 | — | — | — | rowspan="3" | |||||||||||||||
| "Payroll" | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "I Spy" | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "Mr. Officer" (featuring Queen Naija and Members of the Detroit Youth Choir) | — | — | — | The Smartest | ||||||||||||||||
| "Married to My Enemies" (with Jackboy) | — | — | — | Living in History | ||||||||||||||||
| "Wit a Sticc" (with Stupid Young) | — | — | — | From Here on Out | ||||||||||||||||
| "For the Team" (with Blaze) | — | — | — | rowspan="3" | ||||||||||||||||
| "Bossa Nova" (with Kash Doll) | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "Gave That Back" (featuring Baby Grizzley) | 2021 | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
| "Late Night Calls" | — | — | — | Built for Whatever | ||||||||||||||||
| "Robbery Part Two" | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "White Lows Off Designer" (featuring Lil Durk) | — | — | — | Built for Whatever | ||||||||||||||||
| "Never Bend Never Fold" (with G Herbo) | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "313-414" (with Lakeyah featuring DJ Drama) | — | — | — | My Time (Gangsta Grillz: Special Edition) | ||||||||||||||||
| "Afterlife" | 2022 | — | — | — | Half Tee Half Beast | |||||||||||||||
| "Beat the Streets" | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "Buss It All Down" | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "Robbery" | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "Robbery Part 4" | — | — | — | Chapters of the Trenches | ||||||||||||||||
| "Jay & Twan 1" | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "Ms. Evans 1" | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "Tez & Tone 1" | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "Jay & Twan 2" | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "Dropped the Lo" | 2023 | — | — | — | Controversy | |||||||||||||||
| "B&E Pt. 1" | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "Gorgeous"[57] | — | — | — | Controversy and Tee's Coney Island | ||||||||||||||||
| "IDGAF"[58] | 98 | 30 | 22 | Tee's Coney Island | ||||||||||||||||
| "Grizzley 2Tymes"[59] | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "Robbery 6"[60] | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "Swear to God" | 2024 | — | 40 | — | ||||||||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Year | Certifications | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Money"[61] (Allstar Ballhard featuring Tee Grizzley) | 2017 | rowspan="5" | ||
| "Road to Riches"[62] (Ty featuring Tee Grizzley) | ||||
| "Supposed To"[63] (Duo Tycoon featuring Tee Grizzley) | ||||
| "#Moneybag"[64] (Gway featuring Tee Grizzley and YV) | ||||
| "We Got It Lit"[65] (Navé Monjo featuring Tee Grizzley) | ||||
| "Rollie On"[66] (Aoc Obama featuring Tee Grizzley) | Obamacare 2 | |||
| "Still Running"[67] (Cap 4z and K'hunnit featuring Tee Grizzley) | rowspan="3" | |||
| "Get the Money"[68] (Lougotcash featuring Tee Grizzley) | ||||
| "Any Means Necessary"[69] (Cash Kounty Pilot featuring Tee Grizzley) | ||||
| "I'm On 3.0"[70] (Trae tha Truth featuring T.I., Dave East, Tee Grizzley, Royce da 5'9", Curren$y, DRAM, Snoop Dogg, Fabolous, Rick Ross, Chamillionaire, G-Eazy, Styles P, E-40, Mark Morrison, and Gary Clark, Jr.) | Tha Truth, Pt. 3 | |||
| "Cold Summer"[71] (Jeezy featuring Tee Grizzley) | Pressure | |||
| "Dreadz n Bread (Remix)"[72] (Nook and Tee Grizzley and Sada Baby) | 2018 | rowspan="2" | ||
| "Freddy Krueger" [73] (YNW Melly featuring Tee Grizzley) |
| |||
| "Freak" Chris Brown featuring Lil Wayne, Joyner Lucas & Tee Grizzley | 2024 | 11:11 (Deluxe) |
| Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Bub. [75] | ||||
| "Jettski Grizzley" | 2018 | 4 |
| Activated |
| "2 Vaults" | 12 |
| ||
| "Young Grizzley World" | 2019 | — |
| Scriptures |
| "Friday Night Cypher" | 2020 | 10 | Detroit 2 | |
| "Rich Gangsta" | 2022 | 18 | What It Means to Be King | |
| "Robbery Part 3" | 20 | Half Tee Half Beast |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards | Best New Hip Hop Artist | Himself | ||
| 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards | Best Mixtape | My Moment | |||
| 2018 | MTV Video Music Awards | Push Artist of the Year | Himself |