Seattle hip-hop artist Grieves brings gritty, self-reflective rap to Williwaw

"I ain't no scholar / I don't write no books," proclaims Benjamin Laub, better known by his stage name Grieves, in the opening line of his 2011 track "On the Rocks." The song is currently his top hit on Spotify and is one of the rap artist's most attention-grabbing tunes. It shares the same addictive quality that's throughout Grieves' music: eclectic hooks and infectious drum tracks that underscore Laub's unhurried, nonchalant vocals.

Despite the self-disparaging intro to "On the Rocks," Laub is a well-qualified scholar of hip-hop, and one whose experiences could fill a book. Laub didn't intend to become a professional musician, but his love of the genre led him to the stage.

"It wasn't passionate at first … I kind of got into punk rock and metal stuff in my younger junior high years, and then I started finding gangster rap — hardcore, West Coast gangster rap — from people's older brothers," Laub says. His interest was piqued by the genre's familiar funk samples and lyrical intensity; Laub began to absorb as much rap and hip-hop as possible.

Ultimately, it was Laub's discovery of the Rhymesayers label and artists like Slug, Brother Ali and Eyedea that really pushed him toward his own musical pursuits.

"It really swept me away and that was kind of the beginning of that," Laub says. As a teenager, Laub began keeping an eye on the rap battle circuit and eventually tried it out for himself.

"(My rapping) probably came around on some party s—," Laub says. "After awhile, I started to figure out that I was good at it."

Laub eventually found himself a home in the unique rap culture of Seattle, a scene that borrows influences from its West Coast neighbors but manages to be politically conscious and bookish at the same time. In his early career, Laub worked with his crew to create a space for aspiring artists who wanted to bypass the scene's hierarchies.

"We started this thing called 'indie hop.' Its sole purpose was to sidestep that superiority of the scene and just let people play," Laub says. "If they were organized, they wanted to rock, and they had their s— together, then they got to do that."

As Laub and his friends began booking bigger names and national talent, Laub felt pulled away from the insular Seattle scene, and by 2011, he signed to Rhymesayers, the same label that had inspired him as a 16-year-old. His 2011 album "Together/Apart" would introduce the young artist's brutally honest songs of tumultuous love, long nights and bad days to a national audience.

Grieves takes his national following seriously and tours religiously, stopping in states that might otherwise be ignored, like Montana and the Dakotas. His fans adore him for his live shows as well as his lyrics, which serve up a dose of struggle alongside hope. The 2011 track "Sunny Side of Hell" is a prime example: "I say grab hold yourself and face those days when you feel like / it always rains / I've seen the sunny side of hell, that which I never/ thought I'd find for myself / Never thought I'd find for myself."

Up next on his national checklist is Alaska, a state he's been wanting to visit "since forever." Laub and his crew plan on spending a few days in the state to explore after the gig. And after returning to Seattle, he hopes to be adding the finishing touches to his next album, which should drop in 2017.

Laub said his upcoming album should be his most honest, unique work to date. He said his most recent album, 2014's "Winter & the Wolves," was less of what he wanted and more of what he felt was expected of him as an artist.

"With this new record, I spent more time on myself," Laub says. "(There's) more of me as a human and less of me as a person that is merely reciting what I think you want to hear. There's more personality in this record than anything I've ever done."

Ultimately, the past decade has allowed Laub to grow into himself as an artist. "I was (initially) inspired by the hip-hop around me, it made me want to start making hip-hop," Laub says.

But now, at this point in his career, Laub finds himself inspired by artists spanning the genres — "It's come to the point I'm inspired by the music around me."

Grieves

When: 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8

Where: Williwaw

Tickets are $20 in advance