Right at the end of 2020, Bear Grillz provided a highlight with the release of his long-awaited sophomore LP, Friends: The Album. The producer/DJ enlisted some of his closest friends and collaborators as featured in the the diverse tracks such as, “Give Em What They Want” which he worked on with Iration, “Run It (feat. Bok Nero)” with Riot Ten and the Adventure Club and JT Roach collaboration “Where We Are.” The collaborative effort is a throwback to how Bear Grillz started his music career almost a decade ago, when he released volumes of Bear Grillz & Friends collaborative EPs. Bear Grillz acknowledged the fun and eagerness he experienced working on the music with familiar faces and new artists like on “Taking Over,” his collaboration track with Tisoki and Sam Nelson. “My good friend Micah Martin introduced me to Sam Nelson,” Grillz recalled. “Once I heard his voice I knew I wanted to work with him on a track. I had the idea to combine our elements and get Tisoki on the track and just all came together so smoothly.” What initially started out as a potential four song EP to keep his releases current, turned into a full-blown album of twelve tracks that shows the evolution of Bear Grillz from his roots in the dubstep world. He stated, “my first EP was in 2013, so I started touring off that and you always have to keep evolving and getting better.”
Bear Grillz spoke with B-Sides about the new album, his thoughts on how not only he has evolved but how dubstep has as well, being recognized in the oddest places and more.
