Monday, September 21, 2009

Grynch: Not such a mean one...

As I wander (neither weak nor weary) through Seattle, I keep coming across hip-hop music with which I'm unfamiliar, but which strikes me as being, for lack of a better descriptor, very cool.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I don't know much about hip-hop, rap, or whatever other nomenclature you choose to append to the rapid-fire pronouncing of rhymes over (preferably) dope beats... but I know quality when I hear it.

One hip-hop artist whose name keeps coming up when I approach DJs with questions on the level of, 'pardon, sir, but might you enlighten me as to the name of this artist? I find his work to be fly' is (once I get past the glares and the occasional smackings upside of haids) is Grynch. Having run into his music on no less than three occasions - including one at a Korean barbecue restaurant - I decided to search him out on the internet.

After suffering fruitlessly through literally four Seuss-related pages due to my lack of knowledge as to the unconventional spelling of his artistic pseudonym, I chanced upon a page which broke down a number of local hip-hop artists, Grynch among them - and I from there found his MySpace. Cradled in the venerable arms of that most scorned of social networking sites, I found a link to his actual website... upon which was and is (and is to come?) available for free download a veritable plethora of his music - including the tracks which I'm sharing with y'all this beautiful evening.

On this first track, "My Volvo," which was the first of Grynch's songs that I heard, he waxes lyrical about the virtues, not of b*tches and bling, but of the sort of beater we've all driven at some point in the past: "I've laughed in that car / I've cried in that car / knock on wood, I'll probably die in that car," he says, between listing the eccentric charms of his whip's shortcomings - and I kind of believe him.

Grynch - My Volvo


This second track, "Time," is perhaps a little bit more conventional in terms of hip-hop tropes, focusing on the changes Grynch sees as he moves through Seattle; but if the trope is a bit famiiar, the self-assuredness of the MC's flow, complete with some truly slick multisyllabic rhymes and a laudable willingness to deviate fom a predictable lyrical rhythm when necessary, make the track a more than enjoyable listen.

Grynch - Time


If you like what you hear from these two tracks, I'd urge you to check out Grynch's other work - it's good, it's fun, and it's free, and, really, who could ask for more than that?

Have a great Monday night, everyone!

No comments:

Post a Comment