Grip

Atlanta rapper GRIP favors layered lyricism over prevailing trap currents, deploying nimble, ever-changing cadences across sonically dense backdrops. That emphasis on narrative density and thematic ambition in his opening commercial releases Porch and Snubnose prompted a partnership with Eminem’s Shady Records, which issued his first proper album, I Died for This!?, in 2021.

Born Kyle Clow in Decatur, he began writing rhymes while still in high school, drawing from local forebears T.I. and André 3000 as well as East Coast touchstones Nas and Mobb Deep. His initial commercial breakthrough arrived with the 2016 single “These Eyes,” an urgent account of routine adversity that later anchored the 2017 tape Porch. After issuing a string of standalone tracks across 2018 and 2019, he unveiled the conceptual project Snubnose that December; the thirteen-song set addressed systemic oppression within Black communities and was paired with equally potent videos that echoed its lyrical concerns.

Doubt and external disruptions—including the COVID-19 pandemic’s cancellation of a major tour alongside Brent Faiyaz—left GRIP contemplating an exit from music altogether. At that juncture Eminem extended an offer to join Shady Records; GRIP accepted and delivered I Died for This!? in August 2021, a debut LP that included guest verses from Eminem and Royce da 5'9" alongside contributions from Big Rube, Dead Cassettes, and Atlanta’s Wiley.