GRIPAZEEM BE LIVING MOTIVATION – Applegarth Academy
GRIPAZEEM BE LIVING MOTIVATION – Applegarth Academy – Album Review + Bonus Track
Y’all know the name. Believe it or not, it’s the exact same GRIPAZEEM BE LIVING MOTIVATION that we reviewed earlier this week! Accept no substitutes. We checked out his debut record last time around, and this time as we cover his catalog from A to ZEEM, we’ll see how much difference a year made to his music. Manifest Destiny came out in 2023, and this year’s album Applegarth Academy came out in July.
I was probably a little on the worried side when “Weapons Of Mass Destruction” started up, but mind you, I felt like his last album didn’t start on the right notes either and it continually got stronger as it went on – so maybe it’s a good sign that I wasn’t that into Applegarth Academy’s first track. I’ll fully admit, I was a bit perplexed by the opening to this second record…I don’t know that GRIPAZEEM’s use of repetition is working in his favor on “Weapons Of Mass Destruction,” or the pace/structure of his flow. I do however, feel like that could just be my own personal take on this opening track – you might dig it, and if you do, then right on! GRIPZ has put in a solid performance and he hasn’t let anyone down in that regard…that’s really all you can do as an artist at the end of the day…after that, it’s really just about what grabs the attention of our ears. “Weapons Of Mass Destruction” didn’t really do it for me, but I’m confident that there are people that will dig it. What I do like is the use of effects, like the shooting sounds or the vocal sample going “pew” to go along with it. Making a whole verse out of “fuck you mean like that” is…fun…but yeah…it’s more geared towards a Trap audience than Rap, you know what I mean? I still want more words outta GRIPAZEEM personally, but this is designed as a Trap cut and the criteria is generally different in that genre…much more emphasis on the rhythm than the poetry y’all.
Where the concern comes in to Applegarth Academy right away, is hearing GRIPAZEEM basically use the same cadence and rhythm for his words on “Show Me The Money” as he just did with his opening track – that’s not gonna cut it for most listeners, and he’s got skills that don’t need to rely as much as he has been on repetition, in my opinion. That goes for what he does on the inside of a song, and it also goes for what he’s doing from track to track even more. It’s not just about switching up the sound of the music and assuming that’s enough – you gotta mix it up as drastically on the mic too, or things will likely blend together too much for the masses for them to separate one track from another. To be fair, GRIPZ does get a bit more diverse on “Show Me The Money” as it plays on, but you’ll notice what I mean as the first track ends and the next one begins…that’s where the similarities are the most comparable. As to whether or not the verse about Rupert Murdock works like…at all…I mean, honestly, I don’t know. In my opinion, it’s a no…but that would literally apply to a lot of what GRIPAZEEM is rapping about on “Show Me The Money” if I’m being real with ya. I think he’s got the ability to meet his listening audience a lot more in the middle than he currently is. Maybe more people can relate to rapping about Rupert Murdock than I realize…or maybe GRIPZ is wandering too far away from what listeners will be able to relate to. It’s one or the other, and only he’s going to know what the truth is based on the results of who’s out there listening. I suspect that he’s drifting a bit too far out there for most people to follow along with in terms of his theme…we can all relate to the idea of needing, wanting, or getting money – it’s all about the bag, I get it, I get it…but GRIPAZEEM has plenty of room to be more cohesive when it comes to the entirety of a track. Some of this stuff makes sense to add into one track, and he’s got other stuff that seems like he’s pulling in random ideas outta left field that don’t quite fit the rest.
Yeah man…I dunno GRIPZ…I think you’re gettin’ risky with this record, and I’d definitely be on the side of thinking that you’re both overcomplicating things and oversimplifying things at the same time too. On those first couple tracks, it’s the oversimplification factor…I think the repetition is a bit too much and it’s getting in the way of the potential longevity in each of those first two songs. When it comes to the third track, “Capitalism,” there’s actually a lot that I like in the lyricism & core concept…but this is where the lack of defined metering and having too many syllables in the mix proves to be too much. It’s the difference between sounding like you’re in full control and command of every word, versus ranting and raving about everything that’s on your mind without the kind of fluidity that creates the accessibility that the masses really need. So…yeah…where Manifest Destiny at least seemed like it settled in fairly quickly, Applegarth Academy seems to go in the other direction and keep things a bit more complicated than most listeners are going to be able to hang with. It’s as simple as this though GRIPZ…you know where you’re in the studio booth and spitting rhymes…those spots where you’re getting tripped up by your own words more than once during the recording…pausing for the beat to come around or speeding up to fit in all the words – those are the precise moments where it’s crucial not to just give it another run through, but to take your cue from that and get out the pen and paper to do a small rewrite in order to make life easier on yourself bro! I really like the music on “Capitalism” and I like the theme…as for the rest, I feel like there’s so much of a scramble to fit in all the words that listening gives me anxiety.
Where repetition seems to work out for him, and where you’ll find what is likely the most accessible cut in the first half of the record, is “Major Comeback.” This is a better example of GRIPAZEEM meeting his audience halfway…there’s still a TON of repetition goin’ on here, but he’s also added a few more words to his bars, and that feels like it’s enough to keep most of us interested. Did he just say he was going to “discharge in your bitch?” Talk about a “Major Comeback” – he might just come back for seconds, you feel me? Depends on how much “your bitch” enjoyed her time with GRIPAZEEM I reckon. Heck, if you’re not too careful, one “discharge in your bitch” might very well make “your bitch” HIS bitch from that point on…I guess it all comes down to how he wiggles his stick, you know what I mean? “I walk like this, I talk like this, cause I have no fear” – he certainly says what’s on his mind, you gotta give him that. As for taking the time to make a reference to Marshall Mathers…homie…bro…c’mon…there’s a massive difference between having the same job as someone and whether or not you do it in a comparable way. You’re both rappers, yes…but that’s about where the comparisons end. Eminem hardly dips a toe into Trap and never relies too heavily on repetition…so it does seem like the reference to Marshall comes in at a strange point on “Major Comeback” and we’re left to wonder why GRIPZ included that line at all. That being said, the music on this track is great, and I like that GRIPAZEEM gets closer to the metering he needs to be on-point and create that fluidity we need as listeners…it’s a step in the right direction, and Applegarth Academy definitely needed a victory of any kind at this point, even if it’s only a minor one. He’s got some hooks that undeniably connect on “Major Comeback” and that’s its main strength. Is he “putting London on the map?” I think that’s up for debate GRIPZ…I think ya got a long ways to go before you’d be able to make such an extraordinary claim, but I’ll readily concede it’s not an impossible goal.
Look…Trap is a tough genre to examine, and a lot of the pressure that’s on the artists in the genre exists entirely because of how close it is as a cousin to Rap, but they’re so completely different as styles of music. Rap is about the words and the quality of the content in the lyricism. Trap is about the rhythm, and that’s generally about it. So you end up in these situations where you get an artist like GRIPAZEEM who has a whole bunch of talent, but continually rhymes a word he’ll choose with the exact same word, over and over…and I just don’t know that this method shows us what he can really do, or the creativity he possesses in the best of lights. I hear too much repetition and my first instinct is to rail against it, because I feel like every artist gets into doing what they do because they have something to say – and I guess my concern with what I’m hearing on this album is that GRIPZ is losing sight of that a bit too much. I love the sound of the rhythm of his hooks on “Airplane Mode” and I absolutely love the music on this cut too, even though it’s a fairly minimal ingredient on this particular track in comparison to the levels on his vocals & where it all sits in the mix…the ideas are all good, but now it’s about expanding on them and finding ways to make them more intriguing. As it stands right now, most dedicated listeners would be able to memorize 50% of the words in these songs on a single spin, and by the second they’d know the lyrics from front to back…to me, there’s so much opportunity for GRIPAZEEM to create more of a reason to keep people coming back for another listen instead of showing all his cards too quickly. This is another step in the right direction though…the first half of Applegarth Academy finishes strongly and I can appreciate that…the momentum is once again on his side as we head into the record’s second half.
“America is calling and this shit it ain’t a stroll.” This is what I’m sayin’ GRIPZ…be careful brother-man. “Stroll” does fit the rhyme scheme you’re working with, but that’s a classic example of just finding a word that rhymes as opposed to saying what it is you really want to say…and there’s so much risk in that dude. Especially in a track where you’re proclaiming GOAT status already…I just feel like we’re skipping a step or two here and running long before we can walk, you follow me? You don’t wanna get caught rhyming just for the sake of rhyming bruh – you want to be spitting each and every word, repetitive or not, with undeniable purpose. I get that a lot of Rap lyricism whether it’s actual Rap, Hip Hop, Trap or whatever other derivative it might be…I mean, the braggadocious nature of the lyrics in those genres goes right back to the roots of its very beginnings – all that’s fine with me, but you’ve gotta be able to back it up or it can tend to fall extremely flat. Obviously if you’re going to actually Manifest Destiny, then you gotta believe in what you do – I understand that – but by the same token, you don’t wanna push things so far that it breaks the suspension of disbelief on the other side of the speakers either. GRIPZ is looking to lay down some classic insults by bringing your mother & father into the conversation on “Word On The Curb” – and I’m all for it…your parents probably deserve it – but again, I feel like he’s bending too far to get to moments like these & that he needs to step back from the material and figure out if what he’s doing is really going to connect with the average everyday listener if he really wants to grow his audience. Like, the breakdown of “Word On The Curb” practically breaks the entire song in a way that it can’t recover from…the fluidity and flow all but disappears at that point on this track. I do love the initial concept/title of “Word On The Curb,” and I feel like if GRIPZ can just focus a bit more, and start to narrow the scope of what he’s rapping about thematically, it’ll really pay off in the long run. Once again, the music remains a key strength – he knows exactly what kind of beats he wants to work with and what will suit him best, now it’s just about refining his ideas and getting the most out of them.
Diversity and versatility my friend, that’s the pathway forward. As “Prosper” started up and GRIPAZEEM used the same approach to the beginning of this track as he has to so many of the rest, you can’t help but feel like he’s stifling his own potential. I don’t think he’s doing it on purpose, but I do think he’s not really standing back from the material to realize how many similarities there are from track to track and not quite understanding how much that can hinder the accessibility of his music overall. You can hear from the lyricism of “Prosper” that GRIPZ actually has a very insightful mind, so it’s not like the things I’m saying are beyond him…but that being said, we can often lose sight of what’s holding us back while we’re in the creating our art. We get so close to the material that it can be extremely hard, if not outright impossible, for many folks to stay objective about what they’ve created. You end up in a situation like this, where GRIPAZEEM has many new things to say on a track like “Prosper” that have a lot of genuine value, but because he’s said so much in such similar ways, he’s essentially watering down the potential reach of each track from a lack of the diversity & versatility an album truly needs. Like I was saying earlier, switching up the music isn’t enough on its own – you gotta switch up the structure, the approach, the ideas, the way things move…those are just a few examples of what needs to change and there are SO MANY MORE inside of any kind of music. Identity is a good thing to have, and I think that to GRIPAZEEM’s credit, no one would mistake him for anyone else – so don’t get me wrong, the fact that he’s already established his voice in the Rap/Trap game is a HUGE advantage for him over others, but he’s still go so much room to continue to evolve his craft and challenge himself to reach greatness.
Case in-point once again…as “Inspired” started up, I was absolutely, 100% completely sure that once GRIPZ rapped his way through the first hook that he’d go back for another round – because that’s precisely how so many of the songs on Applegarth Academy have been structured. Think of it like this GRIPAZEEM…any time anything out there, be it movies, music, work, LIFE – anything you can think of – once it becomes predictable, chances are, you lose interest in it, don’t you? Never mind the music for a second…I’m talking about literally anything you can think of from your own personal experience – when you feel like something is too predictable, that’s a problem, ain’t it? Think of a rollercoaster for example – the first time you ride it is the best, because you have no idea where the twists and turns are. The second time is probably still fun enough, even though you have a much better idea of where the twists and turns are. By the third or fourth time you ride it, you know where everything is gonna be, and the thrill has literally been replaced by the dulling of predictability – make sense? When we’re on track eight of a record and the vast majority all have the same approach and structure to them, that becomes troublesome to say the very least brother. Don’t get me wrong, I always want to support every single artist and band that has come my way and I would LOVE to be nothing but positive in every review that I write…but I have a different sense of responsibility to the scene than others do. This place we run here, it’s all about tough love G…I might not tell ya a bunch of stuff you’re gonna want to hear, but if you’re really being objective, I’m 100% positive you’ll understand my intention is always to help people just like you level UP…because you’re capable dude. You’ve got the skills, and we’ve heard’em at many points on both Manifest Destiny and Applegarth Academy too…but the similarities from track to track are going to be noticed by everyone listening, not just me. There’s so much room to diversify your sonic palette, your methods & approach to making music, and the quicker you can do that, the better off you’ll be. “Yeah I need discipline” – his words, not mine…that’s the real key to longevity, and I do agree with him. On a positive note, some of the most insightful & socially aware lyricism he’s got is found on “Inspired.”
To his credit, even with the similarities you’ll find from track to track, there’s something about GRIPZ that you want to cheer for, and you’ll also find you still can’t help but vibe with a couple tracks in this lineup even if his approach will still remind you of another. For myself personally, I felt like “Airplane Mode” and “Activist” were tracks I always looked forward to, and chances are, that’s because the rhythm of his words seemed to fit the music just a little more than some of the others. When it comes to “Activist,” you can instantly hear the uniqueness of the music he’s using, and you can also feel the punch & potency of the word “Activist” & the effect it has on the song overall. Do I love the lyrics on “Activist?” Some of’em! And there’s a lot that I don’t too – but on the whole, I really like the way this particular song sounds. I’ll be real with ya…I feel like there’s a lot about Applegarth Academy that has the main star of the show taking a step backwards rather than forwards when compared to his debut album, but it’s not something I’d get down about if I was GRIPAZEEM…we learn something from every scenario in life. It’s all about adapting, adjusting, and refining…if he can do those things, which I’m sure that he can, then he’ll be absolutely fine. I’m positive he’ll make a MASSIVE leap with his next record.
All he’s gotta do is listen – not to me, but to himself. The more he realizes how many things he’s doing in a similar way, and that he finds the most success with his music every time he does things just a bit differently than the time before, the better off he’ll be for his future ahead. Like, listen to the difference it makes in “Do Not Disturb” by taking just a slightly different approach to how the beginning of this song works and not instantly repeating himself. I’d be completely sure that the majority of people tuning into this record will come away from it feeling like “Do Not Disturb” is probably one of the best tracks on the album, if not THE best cut it has to offer, and that’s largely because he’s doing things just a tiny bit different than he already has. It’s AMAZING how much of a difference that can truly make, and I feel like GRIPAZEEM BE LIVING MOTIVATION confirms what I’ve been tellin’ ya from the get-go with this last track on Applegarth Academy. Hopefully it’s the kind of thing that resonates with him & reinforces the strength of diversity in his material, and that the collective response to it from listeners will show him the advantage that being less rigid with his structural approach gives him in the music he’s making. I listen to “Do Not Disturb” and feel like he’s so close to getting it…this is a genuinely positive step in the right direction…there’s a lot to love about the execution on this last track and the needed diversity that it brings to the album. Great music and attention to detail all-around on “Do Not Disturb” – it’s a strong note to go out on, and hopefully, it’s a nod towards him realizing his potential for the next album ahead. Performance-wise, he’s strong on every cut as far as I can hear…now it’s about finding a way to create material that complements what he’s capable of, bringing more variety to his approach, and leveling UP.
I will say this…one HUGE positive in what GRIPAZEEM has been doing is the way he’s been going about promoting his music by creating a single as the title track, and releasing that prior to the album. That’s a unique marketing idea, and I honestly think it’s extremely clever! I do think in both cases, whether it’s Manifest Destiny or Applegarth Academy, that the individual singles surrounding the albums have been some of the strongest tracks I’ve heard from the guy so far. Like, listen to “Applegarth Academy” will ya? I swear, if he had diversified his material to THIS degree throughout the actual album, you’d never have heard me complaining at all! You can hear a bit of newness or perhaps nervousness in the singing parts of “Applegarth Academy,” but that’ll fade over time the more that GRIPZ learns to believe in his abilities…dude CAN sing, he proves that on this single…and the more he embraces that with confidence, the more he’ll be able to do with that. This particular single not only has what I’d consider to be the best verses and bars I’ve heard from him to-date, but it also proves he can create a seriously effective hook too! So while it’s a bit of a mixed result this time around when it comes to the second record he’s made…to me, this single has absolutely shown us that the next breakthrough in his career is quite likely to be a monumental leap forward…this is the kind of diversity, versatility, and variety we’ve been yearning for, all on the inside of one single song. The effort he’s putting in deserves that next significant breakthrough, and I’ll be stoked to hear it when it happens for sure. Make no mistake, I’m in his corner, and I’m looking forward to hearing GRIPAZEEM BE LIVING MOTIVATION raise the stakes on every level.
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