Mr. Grey- Remain Raw

Coming from San Jose, California, Mr. Grey brings a unique fusion of music influenced by every genre, from Hip Hop to Metal. Growing up, he learned to play guitar and bass and was a member of multiple bands, but in 2011 he focused his attention on the music he loves most: Hip Hop. One year later, he released his first album, "Lost Soul," which is available now on both iTunes and CD Baby. Drawing inspiration from internal and life struggles, he brings a hard-edged, emotionally charged style to the genre. Recently--from Oct 12th to Dec 8th--he traveled the nation in support of the "Love Bites" Tour with Kung Fu Vampire and Liquid Assassin, and now, freshly returned home, he will begin work on his second album. Back from the road he hit the lab and began working on his latest effort “Remain Raw.” Remain Raw takes Grey in a new direction with features from The Jokerr, Kung Fu Vampire, Twisted Insane, Rappin 4Tay, Mars, Bukshot, Hopsin and many more. Track listing

1. Intro Ft Tony D
2. City Of Angels Ft ClockworC & Joe Cutter
3. Ape Shit
4. Beast Ft The Jokerr & KD The Stranger
5. Remain Raw Ft Kurt the Krusher & Kung Fu Vampire
6. Little White Lie ft Twisted Insane & C-Mob
7. Suicide Blues
8. The Golden Rule Ft Rappin 4Tay & Gift of Gab
9. Supervillain Ft Intrinzik, Seth Rock, Justinsayne N8V & Mecha 1
10. Die Tonight Ft Kung Fu Vampire
11. Dance With The Flames Ft Mars, Ms. Be, Joe Cutter & CC
12. Razors Edge Ft Bones Almighty, Alex Demented, Bunny Chiba & Insane Poetry
13. Ruthless Ft ClockworC, Bukshot, & Insane Loc
14. Bringin It Raw Ft The Jokerr
15. Hellhound
16. Modern Mans Curse
17. Like A Bitch Ft ClockworC, Manic & CC
18. Cold Ft CC
19. Matter Of Time Ft Fury & Hopsin
20. The Future

Track by track review and rating Intro Ft Tony D- A short spoken word intro with a very simple beat backing it.  N/A City Of Angels Ft ClockworC & Joe Cutter- A very deep bass laden beat here.  The hook is decent but has a hard time coming through the bass.  The heavy bass also drowns out the lyrics a lot in this one.  The lyrics are solid and well put together despite this.  Joe Cutter adds a much slower verse that adds a nice change of pace in this one.  4/5 Ape Shit- Another heavy beat backed with a solid string assortment.  We see Grey take a quicker flow to his verses and it really works well.  This track will go over live for sure.  A simple but hard-hitting beat rounds this out nicely.  5/5 Beast Ft The Jokerr & KD The Stranger- A complex and slower beat drives this track.  Some fans may dislike The Jokerr based solely on his actions but there is no doubt he can flow with the best of them. Here it is no different.  KD The Stranger is a foreign born rapper who raps in Russian.  The combination of these three is nicely put together.  4.5/5 Remain Raw Ft Kurt the Krusher & Kung Fu Vampire- Kurt the Krusher provides the intro and outro here.  This beat has a great funk backing.  The hook leads the track and allows the user to enjoy the complexity of the beat.  Once again Grey speeds up his flow and it really works.  KFV gives a very good verse and adds his own flavor to this track.  4.5/5 Little White Lie ft Twisted Insane & C-Mob- In this song Grey dives into his personal past in this one.  Everyone has been in similar relationships and can find a verse here to bump.  Twisted Insane adds a solid verse to this track.  C-Mob finishes the track off nicely.  Overall this track works on every level.  4.5/5 Suicide Blues- This track completely changes the flow and pace of the album.  Here he gives us a strictly blues guitar riff backed with simple and slow lyrics.  This track is a risk and some listeners will dig it while other hit the next button on their iPod.  3.5/5 The Golden Rule Ft Rappin 4Tay & Gift of Gab- The beat is simple piano over a strong beat.  The hook is sung here and that is a good shift from other tracks on the album.  Rappin 4Tay brings that old school lyrical ability which counters Grey and Gift Of Gab very well.  4/5 Supervillain Ft Intrinzik, Seth Rock, Justinsayne N8V & Mecha 1- This beat is backed by a somewhat frantic string assembly.  The hard hitting beat drives the track forward really well.  The hook is solid and adds a lot to the track.  Every featured artists adds their own unique flavor and the mix of all these artists is well constructed.  4/5 Die Tonight Ft Kung Fu Vampire- From the beat to the lyrical content, this is Horrorcore.  A dark beat backs both artists here and it adds to the dark nature of this one.  KFV comes hard here and rounds this track off perfectly.  4.5/5 Dance With The Flames Ft Mars, Ms. Be, Joe Cutter & CC- This track has a very busy and complex beat which takes away from the lyrics and hook.  Joe Cutter adds a decent verse but the other 2 featured artists fall a little short in this one.  3.5/5 Razors Edge Ft Bones Almighty, Alex Demented, Bunny Chiba & Insane Poetry- Another very dark beat in this track.  A solid hook gives way to very dark lyrics in the verses.  All of the featured artists bring horrorcore verses and keep the tone of the track.  4/5 Ruthless Ft ClockworC, Bukshot, & Insane Loc- A quicker beat here but sticking with the dark theme.  The difference in flow between ClockworC and Bukshot plays off each other well here.  A solid track all around.  4/5 Bringin It Raw Ft The Jokerr- This is another track that highlights the lyrical ability of The Jokerr.  A really hard hitting beat drives aggressive lyrics and a solid hook.  Mr. Grey Adds a good verse to this track.  4/5 Hellhound- A very nice beat in this one.  The verses flow very well and fit more into his slower and more deliberate style.  The hook is unique and adds a lot to the overall feel of the track.  4/5 Modern Mans Curse- The beat in this one is very heavy.  The beginning of the hook gets somewhat lost but comes through in the end.  The verses are well done and make the track flow really well.  3.5/5 Like A Bitch Ft ClockworC, Manic & CC- This track is a direct response to a promoter/booker who took some cash for Grey to hop onto a tour and then refused to return the cash when the tour fell through.  A great hook holds nothing back.  Manic is a former artist on Unstable Entertainment and adds his story to this track.  A very solid response to a crappy situation here.  4.5/5 Cold Ft CC- Another deeply emotional track backed by a solid beat.  CC brings in a hook that is sung well.  Mr. Grey once again allows listeners into his life and it works here.  5/5 Matter Of Time Ft Fury & Hopsin- A seriously heavy techno vibe to this track.  Hopsin leads the track off and kills his verse.  Fury adds another solid verse and Mr. Grey finishes the track off well.  4/5 The Future- This is a completely instrumental track.  Filled with a lot of synth and slow melodic sounds.  It reminds the listener of Pink Floyd and it makes the end of the album calmer to finish off.  3.5/5   Overall Rating: 3.9/5 Conclusion:  Mr. Grey takes a ton of chances in this new album.  Some of them work and some of them do not.  Overall the album is very enjoyable and will appeal to a large audience from the underground to a more mainstream audience.  He gives people a glimpse into the darker depths of his soul and that will most definitely appeal to his listeners.  Is the album worth picking up?  Yes it is.  Most listeners will find many songs to add to their playlists.