The Diatribe (Winter and the Wolves)
By Justin Peterson (Weird Sense)
In case you missed one of the largest underground Hip Hop shows to hit Salt Lake recently, allow me to update you on an album uninformed “heads” may be missing out on. Seattle rapper Grieves has released his fourth album entitled Winter and the Wolves, and it is by far my favorite delivery by the signed artist to Rhymesayer’s Entertainment. From start to finish, I find myself listening to the crisp, harmonious hooks mixing to the piano laced beats while enjoying the substance heavy (while sometimes cliché) lyrics with relish.
Grieves, born Benjamin Laub, first was brought to my attention years ago as part of the group Black Clover along with Mac Lethal (“The Pancake Rapper” for those that aren’t familiar with any of the Love Potion Collections) and Soulcrate Music. He always came across as the goofy looking skinny kid with a voice that didn’t quite fit his frame. I liked him alright on a lot of their tracks, yet I thought he needed others to show his own. He went on to produce albums with a few songs on them that really stood out such as Scar Gardens off of Laub’s album Irreversible released in 2007. But until this album, Grieves always felt like a backup rapper that couldn’t quite stand on his own with a full album. I found myself enjoying his verses far more than even underground legend Atmosphere’s verse on Astronauts.
It is refreshing to see that indeed there has been consistent growth across the years. Winter and the Wolves shows that even cliché subjects such as a bad relationship still appeal to a wide audience, and if manipulated properly with catchy hooks and well produced beats by B. Lewis, can serve an artist well. The album leaves some room to grow, yet is good enough to overcome the slightly emo narratives that are being constructed. There are times when Grieves strays into the realm of having a soup’d up sense of self importance, but in all fairness, he IS a rapper. While some could criticize that his approach mirrors Macklemore’s without the attempt at selflessness, I think that in fact it humanizes him. Definitely looking forward to seeing what this up and coming Rhymesayer produces in the future if this trend continues.
Winter and the Wolves came out March 25, 2014 yet is just now getting the recognition it deserves due to a recent tour that just graced the mean streets of Salt Lake with a decent turnout at The Complex. This is definitely an album that is worth checking out, and if you get a chance to catch this artist live I highly recommend it. We will be playing some of his music on The Weird Socks Hip Hop Radio Show every Thursday, from 7pm to 9pm right here on Aggie Radio.
