Seattle's Benjamin Laub, aka Grieves, is a storytelling rapper who tackles heavy, real-world themes like depression and heartbreak, and then throws in some unexpectedly witty self-deprecation. Two years after he came out with his album Together/Apart in 2011, Grieves switched producers from Budo (who produced some of Macklemore's older tracks) to B. Lewis (who is new to the hip-hop producing scene) and released his fourth album,Winter & the Wolves. Some elements ofTogether/Apart, such as that record's jazzy piano melodies and occasional satire, have carried over to the new album, but Grieves' wordplay has gotten even sharper, and B. Lewis' beats are catchier and more energetic. Grieves tours with Connr Fynchan on guitar and Jacob Shaw on keyboard. Mouse Powell, Better Taste Bureau and Burnell Washburn make up the rest of the hip-hop lineup. (Tiffany Frandsen)