The first time I listened to rapper Riff Raff I thought, ‘This artist is a joke.’ He was featured in a song performed by hip hop group The Far East Movement titled “The Illest” (2013). Riff Raff’s rapping was jarring against the beat of the song, and I questioned if he had a sense of rhythm at all. Additionally, his lyrics made no sense when they were strung together. However, with Riff Raff’s recent release of his mixtape “Aquaberry Aquarius” (2017), I was left feeling like the artist had a little more to offer than I originally thought.
Rapper Riff Raff’s new album “Aquaberry Aquarius” was released earlier this year
“Aquaberry Aquarius” opened with an acoustic guitar and elegant vocals from singer Lisa Cimorelli in the song “Hit Me Up.” Surprisingly enough, when Riff Raff entered the song, he managed to keep up with the beat and keep a tone fitting for the pace. But it was the fourth track, “Root Beer Float Ghost,” that had me feeling impressed. The rapper’s intensity as the song progressed drew me into his words: “Copycats gain purchase, so I changed my verse up.” Paired with the smooth beat and breathy vocals from singer Tomi DiBiase, the tune left the listener feeling a lot more mellow; it was stuck in my head for days.
Junior English major Katrina Jahn said she was first introduced to Riff Raff a few years ago. However, she was hesitant to listen to his music because of the way he portrayed himself. The rapper explained his exaggerated appearance in an interview with LA Weekly: “Though he seems intent to present as a clueless, lazy stereotype, in reality, he’s a calculated, hardworking striver with a genius for self-promotion.”
“Riff Raff is a prime example of how you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover,” she said. “Whether his lyrics are goofy or not, I wasn’t anticipating a white dude with multi-colored cornrows and a shark tooth grill to produce anything worth listening to.”
Jahn enjoys some of his older songs like “Bat Phone” (2012) because of the catchiness. She described the sound as “getting stuck with you for weeks but it’s not annoying.”
Jahn may approve of the rapper’s catchiness, which seems to be a goal for Riff Raff in a majority of his popular releases, but I don’t think getting lyrics like “tip-toeing in my Jordans” repeated in my brain waves is altogether pleasing. For those who may not need meaningful lyrics, Riff Raff’s backing beats makes giving him a chance a reasonable suggestion.