A post from a jaded old guy
Apologies for the long-winded post, but, if you can't tell, I was obviously very passionate about this man and his music. After seeing clips of this Wooli B2B at EDC, this shit truly breaks my heart to see. I'll probably get downvoted for this by the youngins of the fanbase, but fuck it, this is just my opinion and I know others feel the same way.
I first started listening to Griz in 2012 when my late friend showed me Mad Liberation. Being a former sax player in school, I was immediately drawn to his music. Griz then became my absolute all time favorite artist from the moment I first saw him live at my first campout festival ever at Summer Camp 2013 (this set is recorded and on SoundCloud, I highly advise you to give it a listen). The set was full of Mad Lib tunes and he was teasing music off of Rebel Era before its release.
I saw every Griz show I possibly could from then-on-out. Several years of Summer Camp, to several years of Grizmas, to rooftop DJ sets in Chicago, Mad Lib party in Detroit, and every midwest tour stop I could possibly make it to. Griz had some of the most creative and innovative music in the game and there was really nothing that topped it for me. All Good Records was an absolute gold mine of talent. Griz, Manic Focus, The Floozies, Sunsquabi, just so much amazing music. To this day, the LowTemp/Liberated Music Showcase on Halloween of 2014 at The Rave in Milwaukee is one of my favorite nights of music I've ever experienced. Exmag, Late Night Radio, Manic Focus, and Grizmatik. The energy in that place was absolutely palpable. All Good Records came shortly after this and it just felt like the electro funk/glitch hop scene was absolutely thriving.
Grizmas 2019 was the first time I really felt the shift, when he separated the 10-17 set from the "Full Flex" set. The 10-17 set was absolutely phenomenal and the Masonic was going completely bonkers; easily one of my favorite Griz sets I have ever seen. The Full Flex set the following night just did not do it for me. It just didn't feel like the Griz I had loved for so many years.
Then Covid came and we all got locked down, so that was the last time I had seen Griz play before the pandemic. Just like everyone else, I was so thirsty for a live music experience. North Coast 2021 comes around and my whole friend group came out for live music for the first time in MUCH too long. Griz was on the lineup, however, I was already going into it half-expecting something like the full flex set from the last Grizmas show I was at. To my surprise, it was even worse. Compared to what it once was, I couldn't have even told you that was Griz if I wasn't looking at the stage. Once he started producing music with artists like Jantsen (who also produced for Nectar) It honestly felt like he was trying to take the throne that Bassnectar had left vacant after getting cancelled in 2020. This is also when the feel of the crowd at a Griz show had completely changed from what it once was. It felt like Griz essentially became the refugee camp for Bassheads without a home.
I never hit Space Camp, nor his other curated event that's slipping my mind right now, but then Triple Rainbow comes around in 2022. Two nights of music at an amazing venue thats only an hour away from home? Alright, this is the last chance I'm giving Griz. According to the lineup of openers, I should expect to at least get one night of funky glitch hop, right? Night one passes, and, as expected, it's all dubstep. I maintain hope for night two, given that the lineup of openers that night, like CloZee, pointed to a night of Glitch Hop. Nope. Almost entirely dubstep. Again. CloZee had the best set of the weekend. At this point I have accepted that the golden days were over, and that my years of seeing Griz were truly coming to an end.
Ever since the marketing stunt (hiatus) he pulled, it has only gotten worse. Largely making garbage brostep music and shitty "flips" of pop songs with all of the most over-recycled bass artists in the scene, and completely leaving his old music, his creativity, and his OG fans in the dust. None of his old music gets rinsed anymore, almost as if the music and fans that made him famous never even existed. Each new song sounds the same as the last and the production value has become more important than the music. Am I old, salty, and jaded? Maybe I am. But God damn it, do I miss the Rebel Era and Say It Loud times. RIP to All Good Recs.
TL;DR: Watching his music slowly degrade into what it has become today has been absolutely heartbreaking. Griz has sadly become indistinguishable from all of the other tiktok bro step garbage because its what currently sells. Chasing the Golden Dollar.