Underground Fossils was an indie rap focused blog run by myself (Dimxsk) and by Trylemma, who passed August 3rd, 2024 from liver failure of unknown origin at the age of 34. We mostly posted week or twice weekly, the bulk of which were rare rips we made, found on old blogs, he acquired through his insanely broad connection to the scene, etc. We did all we could to make sure we didn't post stuff that (1) You could still reasonably buy from the artist directly, (2) You could reasonably buy secondhand for cheap, (3) You could download easily elsewhere, (4) The artist(s) asked us not to for any reason. Being involved in this blog was some of the most fun I ever had, even if at times it was time consuming, challenging or intimidating (having a readership). It was the product of one of the best friendships I've ever had. If I could say one last thing, it's to encourage all of you: if you have the time and desire, make your own UGF. Find a friend who loves this shit like you do and build it together. It will bring you incredible joy, enhance your connection to this amazing community, and change your life in unexpected and exciting ways. I know it did mine. Love you all!

Friday, March 15, 2019

Graves33 - The Cost of Living (2008)






This past Wednesday we reviewed Graves33's latest album, "Anatomy," so we thought it fitting, for this week's upload, to bring you Graves' early now out of print album, "The Cost of Living" from 2008.

"The Cost of Living" isn't Graves', then known primarily as "Graves" or sometimes "Graves33 & 1/3" I believe, first solo outing (that would be "Section Hate" which we have yet to track down - if anyone has it let us know!) but it is certainly a display of his early sounds. The album's production is much more dusty and boom bappy than his more modern cleaner synthy beats. Graves (who had been rapping with Seattle's Mixed Mediums Crew since the early 2000s) also had yet to really fully build his rapping style that he has today. Unsurprisingly, the rhymes and deliveries on here aren't as crisp or developed as the ones you'll find on "Anatomy." With that said, "The Cost of Living" is far from a bad project. Graves' voice and content provide a lot to enjoy here, especially in the latter half of the album with songs like "Razor Blades" and "Sink or Swim."

The album, like several of Graves' early projects, was dropped on Black Lab Productions, the label ran by Jewels Hunter. I'm pretty sure it was a CD only release. At one point, Graves had a project called "The Cost of Living in Section Hate" on his Bandcamp which collected select songs from "The Cost of Living" and "Section Hate," though that has seemingly been removed and obviously did not contain all of the tracks found on either album. As such, we bring it to you today. Both Dimxsk and I have the physical album, but we already had a UGDN rip of it from a buddy of ours, so we've provided that below. Peep it and enjoy!

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