Our boy Grieves is on some next level shit with his new release “Winter & the Wolves.” It’s finally out and currently teetering back and forth between the #1 and #2 position on the iTunes hip hop chart.

That little # thing you saw before the numbers just then? That’s called a pound sign, and it can also mean the word ‘number’ – just so we’re on the same page here and our readers aren’t wildly searching a “1” and “2” hashtag. Repeat after us: Twitter is the devil; hashtags are its demons…

He came at us earlier this month with talk of SXSW, his new album and how hip hop is just as strong as ever. He was excited then about his new collection of work, as he should have been. It’s one of those albums that will ultimately define him as a true working talent in the quest for genre royalty. His previous work was dope and we don’t put anything past his other six releases, but “Winter & the Wolves” is there – wherever there is – and we’re sure we’ll be seeing more of him in bigger and better placements around the industry.

But what makes it so great? We don’t know, you tell us. We can sit here and throw big words and likenesses at you all we want, but the beauty of music is that it’s taken subjectively and relates to the listener. Sometimes it can be personally reflective, other times just a means to pass time. Whatever the case may be, it’s your case. Own that shit.

To us though, the album is just raw hip hop that is against the grain of most contemporary club-ready mixes and promotes relevant messages through the art of spoken word and rhyming abilities. Grieves isn’t always the most political, or cynical, or humorous – but he can be – and that, topped off with superbly catchy hooks and dancey piano work is what makes his songs so much fun to listen to. There’s humanity behind his (thankfully understandable) approach, and it’s refreshing in today’s industry.