Grafh and DJ Mike's From the Bottom Mixtape: A Review

Grafh is no rookie. He has been around for a while, releasing strong mixtapes for years on the streets of New York. If you haven't heard him, he sounds a bit like a more clever version of 50 Cent, a Southside, Queens contemporary, circa 2002 - gun talk, occasionally crooned hooks street tales, and cocky verses over contemporary beats. And without a deal or a debut album under his belt, you can hear the hunger in his voice in his latest mixtape, From the Bottom.

Part of the problem is that too often he doesn't bring enough original to the offering. Sure, his nasal start and stop flow, is a bit unique, occasionally recalling Slim Shady circa 1999 (the first verse of Dat Bread, among other records), and his punchlines are fairly sharp, much sharper than anything most of today's emcees call skill. But it's hard to listen to the first track, the Swizz Beatz-produced Bring the Goons Out Remix (the title says it all), featuring Jim Jones, Red Café, Bun B, Maino and Cassidy, that the features are either more established and/or more polished than Grafh, so, in an era more emo-rap than gangster rap, what exactly is he bringing to the table that sets him firmly apart from a hundred other emcees? He may fare well if he continually focuses on lyricism, rather than gangster anthems: he sounds natural on a track with a Slaughterhouse member Royce Da 5'9" on My Life and Wu-Tang ClansmanRaekwon on the excellent Cold Black Hand. From the Bottom suffers from a weak hook, but it is one of the stronger records here, as is the tongue-twisting Willy Wonker Freestyle, Bout That (in which Grafh's lyricism complements Dipset's Jim Jones' cocky one-liners well), and So Easy, with Philly's own Cassidy. Both emcees, as expected, bring their A-game, and the hook is reminiscent of a Max B record. However, the best record here is probably the introspective, solo cut Sinning Again, with a monster hook and cleverly honest bars that could easily capture the ears of a few more underground fans.

On From the Bottom, he's content to make solid music for New York City, but there's little of national appeal. The beats largely aren't original (Diddy, Rihanna, Drake, etc.), but do showcase his dense rhymes well. Go Off! may be an exception, as it's rowdy hook and uptempo beat could fare well in the clubs in several regions. But the insularity of this mixtape is both its greatest strength and its greatest weakness. Hopefully, he emulates 50 Cent's business practices as well as his approach to mixtapes, and starts to flood the streets with this quality of material, week after week, month after month. If he does, the right folks should take notice.