On his brand new release, "Midwest Kids," Grimmy has released a track and managed to crack open an old, dog-eared journal of small-town survival, written in blues samples and knuckle-dragging truth. Behind the name Grimmy stands Hunter Gotcher, an artist born into Tulsa whose alter ego flourishes in the darkness, spinning trauma into trap and openness into verses. This song is as much generational as autobiographical.
"Midwest Kids" takes you to a place that feels lived-in and raw, an emotional landscape composed of dirt roads and broken homes, the kind from which Napolitano's earlier outfit, the Distillers, emerged. Grimmy's urgent but steady voice brims with the wisdom you can only get from watching too much go wrong too early. Central to the track is a baleful blues sample that stitches the past into the present, acknowledging the deep channels of pain and resilience that dink through the bedrock of American music.
Robert Johnson's ghost is in the background, humming as Grimmy dances at his crossroads. It's an allegory that lands with choices, paths, and the perils of standing motionless in a location that never moves. "Midwest Kids" is a subdued scream. It vouches for every kid growing up in a place where hope seems like a fairy tale, and the path of least resistance is the one least conducive to self-discovery. There is beauty in his brokenness and power in his honesty. The song is all the more moving for its refusal to be pitied, and it's a promise to carry on, continue dreaming, and, critically, be heard.
On a musical level, Grimmy combines soulful melody with experimental hip-hop in a manner that sounds both classic and modern. His flow straddles melody and spoken word, like a preacher who grew up on 808s and old blues records. The result is a sound all his own, southern, spiritual, and unflinchingly authentic. "Midwest Kids" is a mirror, a memory, and a message. Grimmy made you the protagonist for those who have ever felt invisible in the middle of nowhere.
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