If I asked you to imagine the picture of what a rapper is, I could garuntee that the image in your head is at the opposite end of the spectrum as Grieves. However, this skinny little white boy does not claim to be something he is not. He may seem rather juxtaposed within his world of rap but he seems comfortable within himself.

Heavily influenced by the famous Chicago blues clubs that his father introduced him to at a very young age, Grieves' music is very much soulful and can easily be categorized as emo. His consistently metaphorical lyrics are deeply introspective and are often spine chillingly cold. Though his demonstration of semantics is highly intricate his delivery is perfect and is flawlessly maintained during his live performances. The raw emotion in his voice is beautifully accompanied by a profesionally mixed production that gets you nodding your head with no hesitation.

The Seattle based emcee released his frist album, Irreversible, in 2007 and is often depressive with subject matter based around troublesome relationships from family to women. Comparisons with Atmosphere are understandable but Grieves' approach remains original and unique with a more apparent emphasis on imagery. This is greatly evident in Get Down where the wordsmith almost effortlessly builds a sense of claustrophobia, "I get down, and it's impossible to get up/ A heart full of bricks and a mouth full of hiccups/ With more dust to kick up than envision itself/ Handcuffed to the furnace of my own vision of hell./"

Nevertheless, when Grieves attempts to show his sense of humour, he becomes undone. Over the disco beat of Capital Hill Girls he attempts to find comedy in the blur in aesthetics between boys and girls. This may be hilarious to a more local fan but as an outsider, I feel he comes off looking weak. This massively contrasts from his impressive handling of more sombre topics.

A year on and Grieves released his second album on Black Clover Records. The album shares it name with G.F. Mlely's jazz piano album, 88 Keys and Counting, referencing his father's influence. With production from his close friend, Budo, on this album there is definitely a noticeable improvement musically. That's not to say Irreversible's beats weren't any good (they were) just they were often lost behind the genius of the lyrics. Budo's production steps up to the high standards of the lyricism.

Identity Cards would be one of the stand out examples of Budo's instrumental craft with an upbeat piano laden tune. The song features Luckyiam of Living Legends and Grieves is brutally honest and comically sarcastic about his lack of typical hip hop attributes with rhymes such as, "I mean look at me, I ain't covered in gems/ I don't know what hyphy means, dude and neither do my friends/ I don't go to the club, I don't fight for fun/ Shit, I'm almost 25 and I ain't never shot a gun./"

All his tracks are complimented with a catchy hook, often sang by Grieves himself. He has a great singing voice too. This is exhibited on the extremely dark October in the Graveyard that is wholly sang by Grieves. Combined with a couple of instrumentals, they provide a nice intermission where the listener can catch their breath from the relentless awe of the clever rapping.

Grieves is an artist who knows exactly who he is. He has brought various different genres into hip hop and has created an original new product that, even if you aren't a fan of hip hop, you should definitely give a listen to. Like music to your ears.

 Listen Here:

Grieves - Unedible