Grieves

Since his birth in Chicago, IL, Benjamin Laub (aka Grieves) enjoyed a diverse musical upbringing, exposed at an early age to the city’s local jazz and blues clubs by his father. After relocating to Fort Collins, CO and eventually Seattle at age 19, Grieves had broadened his array of musical influences to include punk rock and eventually became completely immersed in Hip Hop as an art form. Following his debut album Irreversible in 2007, Grieves began collaborating with local Seattle-based producer Budo, a talented multi-instrumentalist that helped complete the organic-yet-intense sound of 15 melodic, sample-free tracks that became 88 Keys & Counting. Following rave reviews of the album’s mainly digital release, Grieves and Budo hit the road once again to set up shop in New York City, where they are currently at work on the follow-up to 88 Keys, due for a Fall release this year on Rhymesayers. Untethered to common restraints of the hip-hop genre, the combination of Grieves’ singing and rapping with the refreshing horn, guitar, and keyboard driven production by Budo presents Grieves strongest work to date.