TEE GRIZZLEY

I started rapping when I was young, like 12, 11. But I wasn't really talking about nothing and it didn't really get me nowhere.

In chess, you gotta come up with a strategy. I made a lot of plans in my life. 'I'ma do this, I'ma do that, this is gonna happen, that's gonna happen.' And a lot of stuff don't go as planned. You really gotta act on events as they unfold. That's how I compare chess to life.

My goal is just to inspire. To tell people that's going through the same thing that I went through, that there's somebody out there that knows… that can relate.

My favorite Taylor Swift song is between 'Blank Space' and 'Wildest Dreams.'

I read a lot of Louis L'amour Western books.

It's kind of hard to tell your life story and state all facts and it still be sweet.

I have a relationship with God. I do believe in God, The Son, and Holy Ghost. But I respect everybody, and as far as the Muslims go, I like how they live because they have discipline. They have real structure and I like.

I really like R&B more than rap.

Getting off parole is like walking out them cells all over again. There was a lot of stuff I couldn't do when I was on parole. I had a curfew, couldn't go to certain cities, couldn't be around certain people, and you miss out on a lot of opportunities.

SAD!' is definitely one of my go-to songs when I want to vibe.

Ain't nobody gonna come from where I come from, keep it real as I did and make it with the local Detroit sound that has never made it in the industry before. Where I'm going, I don't feel like too many people from my city are going to blaze this trail.

I see myself as the godfather of the streets.

I was raised by my grandma, had aunties and sisters in the house.

Dudes like me, where I'm from with my sound, don't get signed! It ain't like labels in and out of Detroit and it's a guarantee and I got talent that everybody sees.

I just want people to know I'm mentally strong.

People so obsessed with being real in hip-hop because they don't want people to think that they're lying.

My whole life I saw everybody else get shine, I saw everybody else get money, everybody else wanted to rap. I saw them getting record deals and stuff like that. And everytime I saw that it was damn, I can't wait until my time.

A lot of rappers think they better than me because they saw me broke, going in and out of studios, and couldn't pay for studio time.

To me, being real is being yourself. You know, that's whether you're a pop artist or whatever.

A lot of my friends and the people I mingle with, they not famous. They don't got half of what I got. For me, what that do is, it keeps me humble. It keeps me grateful and appreciative of what I got.

I'm just gonna keep making good music and continue to stay in tune with the people and with reality.

When you in the positive light and good space, do everything to keep it that way and be real careful what you say and how you move because your world can come crashing down on you.

I can be more real and more vulnerable when I sing.

I knew for a fact I needed to get some money. I felt like I was good to go with the music. People around me weren't as confident, but they didn't have to be, because I was going to do it regardless.

If I'm just hanging with all stars and people with money, you can get lost and caught up. You get to moving like you got it made and you get to spending. That's how a lot of people go broke.