Here at Rosecrans Avenue we’re always searching for that next up-and-coming west coast star in the making. Well we have come across just that, once more. He goes by the name of Griff Tyler. The Inglewood native is capping off his solid 2020 campaign with his latest project, Play Your Cards Right. After releasing singles such as “Coffee”, and the lead single for this mixtape “Guarded” featuring Airplane James, with the latter being played on the L.A Leakers radio show, Tyler has had himself a successful year. The multi-genre artist looks to maintain his momentum, and take his career to the next level with this project.
Play Your Cards Right is a total of nine tracks long. Griff Tyler takes no time to set the tone on the introduction “Wild West”. For the title track, “Play Your Cards Right” it features west coast production from G$V. A strength of this project is the track placement. There’s a continuous flow, and tracks 1-9 tells the “westside love story”, just as advertised.
“Wassup” featuring G Perico is a perfect mesh of a smooth hook with Perico’s more up-beat guest verse. “Sayless Interlude” ties the project together, and the outro phone call just adds to the authenticity. On “4th Quarter” Griff shows his versatility as a dual-threat with a rapping verse that goes well with a guest feature from Enimeezy.
The street’s are saying “Cold Piece” is the one. Rightfully so, since it got radio play on the L.A Leakers on Sunday. When Griff was asked what motivated him to make that track he responded with:
“I feel like the culture has shifted a lot in a way where women are rising up and taking what’s theirs no matter the obstacle. It’s a great time for women in today’s culture. I felt like it would be fun to put a creative spin on it from my perspective, making a vibe that both females and males could sing and love.”
“Guarded Too” is the perfect sequel to the lead single. It displays his point of view, opposed to his significant other’s which was the subject of the predecessor. Griff caps off his first release of 2020 with “End of the Day”.
West coast hip-hop has always had a reputation of “hardcore gang banging music”. That cliche is about to change real soon, and artists like Griff Tyler are the reason for that. If I could use one word to describe this project I would simply say “wavy”. Just because this isn’t “hardcore” doesn’t make it soft. This is a project that everyone, no matter what gender, can enjoy from front to back. Griff Tyler’s music is relatable to just about everyone. Play Your Cards Right is out now on all streaming platforms.
