The Ones: Uncle Bammo’s “Grabba”

With artists releasing songs at a fast and furious pace it’s difficult for the average hip-hop head to keep track of it all—no matter how tapped in they are. That’s why we created The Ones, a daily post to highlight the song you need to hear curated by the Levels team. We sort through all the new songs—across all the platforms and subgenres—so you don’t have to. Thank us later.

Uncle Bammo - “Grabba”

“Ain’t know nothin’ about that rock shit...this is boom bap shit,” are the words that grace the cover of Uncle Bammo aka Bammo Gz’s On the Run EP. Those words ring true once you hear Bammo on “Grabba,” with vocal aggression that would make the late Sean Price proud, and muddy production reminiscent of the days when the Boot Camp Clik were leaving their mark on the New York underground.

In recent years, Bammo has established himself as one of the most promising members of Brooklyn’s ECW collective—though he claims the Lower East Side. The On The Run EP is Bammo’s first release in months, given his current incarceration, which led to the project’s release on his SoundCloud through his ECW crew. On “Grabba,” Bammo is at his best when he’s describing a day in his life, even if it’s as mundane as the Air Maxes on his feet or the palm tree print shirt that has him looking like he frequents Tommy Bahama. Then, suddenly, Bammo will cut the wit and leave you with the message that the New York life he’s living is no joke: “I tried to warn him, all he had to do was run his necklace/I’m kinda stupid, irrational, when I’m hella reckless.”

Check out previous Ones, and listen to new rap from Uncle Bammo and more on our Spotify playlist, Apple Music playlist, and SoundCloud playlist.