Terry Sanchez Wallace Jr. (born March 23, 1994), known professionally as Tee Grizzley, is an American rapper. He first began posting music online following a two year prison sentence, he released the song " First Day Out" in 2017. It quickly gained

viral The word ''Viral'' means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). It may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spre ...

status—earning two million views on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

in under three weeks—due to a social media challenge enacted by American professional basketball power forward

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. ( ; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and ...

, after which the song peaked within the top 50 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and led him to sign with

300 Entertainment Theory Entertainment LLC, doing business as 300 Entertainment, is an American record label founded by Lyor Cohen, Kevin Liles, Todd Moscowitz, and Roger Gold. The label's roster includes acts across multiple genres such as hip hop, rock, pop, ele ...

. Its release preceded his debut mixtape ''My Moment'' (2017), and was followed by the single " From the D to the A" (featuring

Lil Yachty Miles Parks McCollum (born August 23, 1997), known professionally as Lil Yachty, is an American rapper. He first gained recognition in August 2015 for his viral hit "One Night (Lil Yachty song), One Night", the lead single from his debut extend ...

), which received

double platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music Sound recording and reproduction, recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video ...

certification by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA). His collaborative mixtape with

Lil Durk Durk Derrick Banks (born October 19, 1992), known professionally as Lil Durk, is an American rapper. Regarded as a pioneering artist in the Chicago-based hip-hop subgenre drill music, he is often considered the subgenre's most commercially suc ...

, '' Bloodas'' (2018), was followed by his debut studio album, ''

Activated "Activated" is a song by English singer Cher Lloyd. It was released on 22 July 2016 through Vixen Records. The song was made available to stream exclusively on ''Rolling Stone'' a day before to release (on 21 July 2016). Background In an interv ...

'' (2018). The album peaked at number ten on the ''Billboard'' 200, while his second and third albums, the

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer and rapper. Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, he is widely acclaimed for his distinctive production work and "stuttering" rhythm ...

-produced ''

Scriptures Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

'' (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 Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...

and

Mariah the Scientist Mariah Amani Buckles (born October 27, 1997), known professionally as Mariah the Scientist, is an American singer and songwriter. She signed with Tory Lanez's One Umbrella and RCA Records to release her debut studio album ''Master'' (2019) and ...

) entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 once more.

Early life

Wallace was born on March 23, 1994, in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, 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. In middle school he began developing an interest in

rap music Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

and eventually formed the musical group All Stars Ball Hard (ASBH) along with three of his friends, JR, Po, and Lee. Wallace took the

moniker A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

of ASBH Tee, and they began uploading their songs to

. 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 Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

to study finance and accounting. He and a friend 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.Three Arrested Following Robbery Attempt
WTVQ - July 2, 2014
Lexington Herald Leader Wallace went on the run, and fled to

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. On July 1, 2014, Wallace was one of three people arrested following an attempted robbery at a jewelry store in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

. 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. On October 16, 2016, he was released from prison in Michigan.

Career

2016–2019: Debut singles, ''My Moment'', ''Activated'', and collaborations

While in prison, Wallace began to take rapping more seriously and wrote the entirety of his debut mixtape. 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

, gained over 2 million views in less than three weeks. He later signed to

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

in 2017. He released his second single, "Second Day Out", in February 2017. His third single " From the D to the A" featuring

was released in March 2017. He released "No Effort" and its accompanying music video on March 31, 2017. His debut mixtape '' My Moment'' was released on April 7, 2017. Grizzley said that his record sales tripled after his song was featured in a

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

post. Grizzley's song "Teetroit" was released on July 28, 2017. The single "Beef", featuring

Meek Mill Robert Rihmeek Williams (born May 6, 1987), known professionally as Meek Mill, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he embarked on his career as a battle rapper, and later formed a short-lived rap group the Blo ...

, was released on September 1, 2017. He received two 2017 BET Hip Hop Award nominations for Best New Hip-Hop Artist and Best Mixtape for ''My Moment''. He released the song "Win" on October 6, 2017. He released the song "What Yo City Like" with rapper

on November 30, 2017, as the lead single for ''Bloodas''. The two then released the joint mixtape ''Bloodas'' on December 8, 2017. He released the single "Colors" on February 2, 2018. The single "Don't Even Trip" featuring

Moneybagg Yo DeMario DeWayne White Jr. (born September 22, 1991), known professionally as Moneybagg Yo, is an American rapper known for his melodic trap and Southern hip hop music style. White signed with fellow Memphis rapper Yo Gotti's record label, ...

was released on March 14, 2018. On March 9, 2018, Grizzley had a feature in

's new album

Lil Boat 2 ''Lil Boat 2'' is the second studio album by American rapper Lil Yachty. It was released on March 9, 2018, by Capitol Records, Motown and Quality Control Music. The album features guest appearances from Quality Control labelmates Quavo and Offse ...

in the song "Get Money Bros.". His debut studio album, ''

'', was released on May 11, 2018. In August, he received a 2018 MTV Video Music Award nomination for Push Artist of the Year. He released the mixtape ''Still My Moment'' on November 9, 2018. In May 2019, he released the single "Locked Up". On August 20, 2019, his vehicle was shot at in

. His aunt/manager Jobina Brown was killed in the shooting, she was 41. He and the driver survived the incident unharmed. On September 20, 2019, Grizzley released his single "

Satish Satish is a masculine Indian given name (or patronymic surname). Notable people with the name include: * Satish K. Agnihotri (born 1956), Indian judge * Satish Chandra (politician), Indian National Congress leader * Satish Chandra (historian), Ind ...

" accompanied with a music video to commemorate Brown's death.

2020–present: ''The Smartest'', ''Built for Whatever'' and ''Half Tee Half Beast''

In January 2020, Tee Grizzley released the single "Red Light". In March, he released the single "Payroll" featuring Payroll Giovanni. His song "No Talkin" was featured in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

film '' Coffee & Kareem''. He released the song "I Spy" on May 1, and "Mr. Officer" on June 5 in response to the

murder of George Floyd On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black American man, was murdered in Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old White police officer. Floyd had been arrested after a store clerk reported that he made a purchase using a c ...

and

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or Public order policing, a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, b ...

. The song features

Queen Naija Queen Naija Bulls (; born October 17, 1995) is an American singer and media personality. Born and raised in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Bulls began her career as a YouTube vlogger, and appeared on the thirteenth season of ''American Idol''. Her 2017 si ...

and members of the Detroit Youth Choir. He released the mixtape '' The Smartest'' on June 19. 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 Dayvon Daquan Bennett (August 9, 1994 – November 6, 2020), known professionally as King Von, was an American rapper and gangster from Chicago, Illinois, who was affiliated with the Black Disciples gang. He was considered a preeminent figure ...

and

Young Dolph Adolph Robert Thornton Jr. (July 27, 1985 – November 17, 2021), better known by his stage name Young Dolph, was an American rapper and record executive. He first garnered mainstream attention for his guest appearance on O.T. Genasis' 2015 sin ...

, as well as

YNW Melly Jamell Maurice Demons (born May 1, 1999), known professionally by his stage name YNW Melly (initialism for Young Nigga World Melly), is an American rapper and singer. He rose to fame in 2018 following the release of his single "Murder on My Mi ...

Quavo Quavious Keyate Marshall (born April 2, 1991), better known by his stage name Quavo (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman of the now-defunct hip hop group Migos. Formed with his nep ...

G Herbo Herbert Randall Wright III (born October 8, 1995), better known by his stage name G Herbo (formerly Lil Herb), is an American rapper. He signed with the Chicago-based record label Machine Entertainment Group in 2011, at the age of 16. His debut ...

, and

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. He met Kanye West as a teenager, and signed with his record label GOOD Music, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings in 2007. He gained popul ...

. 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". On October 4, 2024, Tee Grizzley released his fifth studio album ''Post Traumatic''. It was preceded by the singles "Suffer in Silence", "

Swear to God "Swear to God" is a song by American rapper Tee Grizzley featuring American rapper Future, released on May 10, 2024 as the second single from the former's fifth studio album ''Post Traumatic'' (2024). It was produced by Wheezy and Juke Wong. Bac ...

", "Robbery 7", "Detroit", " Blow for Blow" and "Situationship", which were all released in 2024.

Personal life

In February 2021, My'Eisha Agnew gave birth to Wallace's first child, a son named Terry Wallace III. Grizzley married My’Eisha Agnew June 4, 2023. Grizzley is an avid gamer and began streaming in 2020 to fans on the video streaming platform

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle c ...

. The vast majority of his streams are centered around ''

Grand Theft Auto V ''Grand Theft Auto V'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2008's ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', and ...

''.

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

Collaborative mixtapes

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Other charted songs

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grizzley, Tee 1994 births Living people African-American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers African-American male songwriters Rappers from Detroit Midwest hip-hop musicians Songwriters from Michigan American people convicted of robbery 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians American Twitch (service) streamers 300 Entertainment artists