If you want to get a sense of how deeply respected Kalan is among his peers, just look at the shortlist of his collaborators, a who’s who of modern West Coast hip-hop and R&B: Ohgeesy, Blxst, G Perico, Mozzy, Dom Kennedy, BlueBucks Clan, 1TakeJay, and Westside Boogie. As Pitchfork once said: “when you’re talking about L.A.’s new wave of shit-talking, designer- obsessed rappers, Kalan.FrFr should be included....”

On the Los Angeles asphalt, he’s a mythological figure who has somehow avoided corny myth-making. We can list his hits starting from when “Right Wit It” became a mandatory drop at every house party from San Diego to Seattle or mention the “Hot N’ Ready Freestyle,” where Kalan proved that he could spit as hard as any rapper in your Top 5. We can talk about his scene-stealing performance on Destiny Rogers’ “West Like,” where Kalan comes off like a young Roger Troutman. We can cite his melodic reveries on the Puma Mixtape. But when new album drops, the overarching vision will become crystal clear. The story of how he got here isn’t as important as where he’s going.

Tee Grizzley laces his rhymes with the kind of stories usually reserved for the big screen. He holds nothing back as he honestly chronicles trials, tribulations, and triumphs on the streets of his native Detroit firsthand with a documentarian’s attention to detail. Back in 2016, he returned home from prison and took the first step on the road to redemption. His debut single “First Day Out” went quadruple-platinum as he expanded his catalog with the double-platinum “From the D to the A” [feat. Lil Yachty], and gold-certified hits “2 Vaults,” “Jetski Grizzley,” “No Effort,” and “Satish.” 2021’s Built For Whatever marked his third straight Top 20 debut on the Billboard 200, Top 10 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart, and Top 10 on the US Rap Albums Chart. In addition to praise from the likes of Pitchfork, The FADER, and many more, he has garnered support from JAY-Z and LeBron James, while Ari Melber graciously hosted him on MSNBC’s The Beat with Ari Melber. He regularly streams GTA RP, Call of Duty and more, to over 1 million followers on Twitch. As a businessman, he runs Grizzley Gang Music to sign up and coming artists along with Grizzley Gang Gaming which hosts Grizzley World RP one of the most popular GTA RP servers. 2022’s visual album, Chapters of the Trenches, extended his viral “Robbery” video series and incited tastemaker applause with Billboard citing him as “Rap’s Martin Scorsese.” In its wake, he joined forces with Skilla Baby for the joint mixtape Controversy highlighted by “Gorgeous.” Now, he continues to captivate the next chapter out loud via his music—especially on his anxiously awaited 2023 fourth full-length solo album on 300 Entertainment/Grizzley Gang Music.

Before his untimely death at the age of 28 in December 2021, Drakeo the Ruler was unequivocally the voice of Los Angeles street rap. Born Darrell Caldwell, Drakeo earned his first round of buzz from 2015's I Am Mr. Mosely tape, but established himself as a force whose impact would be felt far beyond Los Angeles city limits with 2017's Cold Devil. Drakeo's rap style was both menacing and conversational, the MC rarely emoting beyond a
sort of ransom-call Whisper. His reign as the voice of LA was marked by intervals of incarceration, Cold Devil having been recorded in 10 days of freedom that followed a nearly year-long stint in jail. Another bout of incarceration, ending in November 2020, sparked a remarkably consistent creative tear for the MC, with Drakeo releasing We Know the Truth, Because Y'all Asked, The Truth Hurts, A Cold Day in Hell, Ain't That the Truth, and So Cold I Do Em 2 in the span of a year. Drakeo the Ruler's voice could be found alongside any number of his LA contemporaries (Ralfy The Plug, 03 Greedo, Bino Rideaux, Blxst), but he also counted some of the biggest names in hip-hop among his fans-like Drake, who, in learning of The Ruler's
fatal stabbing, posted a picture from the MC's time modeling for his OVO
clothing label, writing that his "Talk to Me" collaborator had "always picked
my spirit up with your energy. RIP Drakeo."

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