Album Notes

After the highly successful, classic 2004 release “Insomnia”, Chicago-native Griffen moved to Los Angeles and recorded, then released the highly anticipated, but not-so-well-received “DrunkMusik” album in 2006.

Collaborating with Bionik (arguably the next Dr. Dre) on 7 of the 12 songs on the “Supernovacaine” album in 2006 (feat Prince Po, Ice-T, Black Silver, MC Zulu, Treasure, Volume 10, and more), Griffen began to rebuild and expand his fanbase while recording a body of work designed to not only cross, but erase genre boundaries.

2007 and 2008 found our young lyricist behind the scenes of the upcoming Black Ice project and peeking in on Aceyalone sessions at Bionik’s studio, …absorbing. At the same time he recorded and released (for FREE download) 2 mixtapes unlike any mixtape done to date.

With the supreme assistance of Bionik, Griffen birthed the first of the two mixtapes with “Tha Purpill Mixxtape”, hip-hop songs reverse engineered over Prince music. The second was to come 8 months later featuring hip-hop songs intermingled within some of the greatest works of Sade and be known as “The Paradise Mixxtape”. Over 5,000 free downloads later (per installment), the albums were paired together in one online-exclusive package entitled “Purpill Paradise”. The feedback was and is still unreal.

With an increased knowledge and awareness to the inner workings of music as an industry, Griffen returns with a brand new offering for 2009. Produced entirely by Bionik and featuring minimal guest appearances (Earatik Statik, Black Silver, Aceyalone, Treasure), “Tha Urn” is Griffen’s most personal collection of work to date and showcases a versatility virtually unseen in today’s ‘hip-hop’ artists. From the street savvy “Narcs On My Neck” to the dramatically-paced “Unacceptable Losses” he captures real-life scenes with words in a way that makes the stories familiar to you, catchy and easy to follow. An audio-painting, if you will. After all, hip-hop started with stories... so he took it back to the essence and penned relatable stories over unrelenting production.

This last project between Griffen and Bionik is reminiscent of the magic captured in the early 90’s chemistry of Dr. Dre & Snoop Doggy Dogg. Bionik’s clean, pounding orchestration is the perfect compliment to Griffen’s intricate cadences, vampiric voice and unworldly wordplay. The duo weave a complete package and tip-toe the delicate line between hardcore and commercial viability flawlessly. Songs like “Touched featuring Treasure”, a fly love song, and “Show Me Sumthen”, the 2009 stripper anthem, break new ground musically for both Bionik and Griffen without losing the listener in the process.

The results of this musical relationship are on full display on this incredible album, available for a limited time exclusively in the digital format…


Also available:
Griffen – Insomnia
Griffen – DrunkMusik
Outfitt – Tha Shock & Awe Campaign
Bionik - Supernovacaine

**in the meantime, log on to yessur.com and download all 11 available Griffen mixtapes absolutely FREE.