Grieves

A Seattle-based rapper who is heavily influenced by the indie hip-hop duo Atmosphere, Grieves was born in Chicago. Thanks to his arts-loving father, he was introduced to the city’s jazz clubs at a young age, but after moving to Fort Collins, Colorado, he had to wait until he turned 19 to land in a city with a more suitable musical climate, Seattle. It was there that his love of punk and hip-hop could flourish, especially the latter, thanks to a fertile local community and a home studio. His debut effort Irreversible appeared in 2007 with a special guest appearance from underground favorite, Mr. Lif. A year later, his album 88 Keys and Counting would arrive featuring backing tracks from producer Budo. Budo would be back for 2011’s Together/Apart, Grieves' first effort for Atmosphere’s label Rhymesayers.